Enter the Grave
Enter The Grave | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 27 August 2007 | |||
Recorded | 2007 at Sweet Silence Studios, Copenhagen, Denmark | |||
Genre | Thrash metal | |||
Length | 53:07 | |||
Label | Earache | |||
Producer | Flemming Rasmussen | |||
Evile chronology | ||||
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Enter the Grave is the debut album by the English
The album's lyrics were inspired by films, and topics such as Countess Bathory, witch burnings, and thrash metal. Enter the Grave was re-released as a limited-edition "redux" version on 13 October 2008 in Europe and on 28 October in North America. According to the Huddersfield Daily Examiner, Enter the Grave had shifted 30,000 copies by September 2009.[1]
Recording
On 18 October 2006, Earache Records announced that it had signed a record contract with Evile.[2] Looking for a producer for their debut album, the band decided they would send a request by email to producer Flemming Rasmussen "for a laugh"; Rasmussen had previously produced three Metallica albums; 1984's Ride the Lightning,[3] 1986's Master of Puppets,[4] and 1988's ...And Justice for All.[5] Lead vocalist / rhythm guitarist Matt Drake typed Rasmussen's name into Google, and the first result returned was the producer's official website. Drake emailed Rasmussen asking if he would be interested.[6] The producer replied a few days later, asking him to send several tracks. Drake emailed a number of mp3 files, but Rasmussen did not reply, leading Drake to worry that the producer "hated them, and thought they were shit." Earache Records subsequently emailed Rasmussen to formally ask if he would produce Evile's debut album, to which Rasmussen replied, "Yes".[6] On 12 March 2007, his involvement was made public.[7]
Pre-production with Rasmussen began on 28–29 April at Evile's
In turn, Evile's guitarists went into a room where another person sat with a microphone, ready to capture the sound. From the control room, Rasmussen would say "Right, play something". The respective guitarist would play his instrument, to which Rasmussen would respond "Right, move it left".
By 5 June, recording for Enter the Grave had been completed, and Rasmussen had begun mixing the album.
Marketing and promotion
On 23 April 2007 Earache released a six-CD collection entitled Metal: A Headbanger's Companion which included a demo version of "Enter the Grave" on its third disc.[17] Six days later, following a pre-production session, Evile performed a live set at Tottenham Court Road, London's Fopp store.[8] "Enter the Grave", "Schizophrenia" and "Armoured Assault" were made available for streaming on the group's official website on 25 June.[18] "Enter the Grave" was further included on an Earache summer sampler CD given out free with the August 2007 issue of Decibel.[19]
Fans who pre-ordered the album from Earache's webstore received an exclusive red 7" vinyl single, along with an Evile poster. This vinyl was limited to a thousand copies and featured two unreleased demo tracks — "Darkness Shall Bring Death" and "Sacrificial". The 7" single was also available to purchase from selected independent retailers.
Released in Europe and North America on 21 January 2008 and 5 February respectively, the song "Thrasher" surfaced on the compilation Thrashing Like A Maniac.[22] "Thrasher" was also part of the Earache Thrash Pack, downloadable content made available on 18 March for the music video console game Rock Band.[12] With producer Dan Fernbach of Static Films, Evile filmed a music video for the track on 28 August in South London.[23]
Lyrical themes
Enter the Grave's liner notes credit Evile as a whole for having written the album's lyrics.[9] In discussing his lyrical contributions during an October 2007 interview, lead vocalist / rhythm guitarist Matt Drake said that he was "really inspired by films"; "First Blood"'s lyrics were inspired by the 1982 film of the same name, whereas "We Who Are About to Die"'s lyrics were inspired by the 2000 epic Gladiator.[6] Inspired by an urban legend about Countess Bathory, the lyrics for "Bathe in Blood" were written by Drake while Evile were recording at Sweet Silence Studios – after penning the track's lyrics, he thought he "had gone too far".[6] "Burned Alive", meanwhile, was about burning witches; reading about witches and "how they were dealt with in olden times", Drake "thought it might be interesting to add a devilish slant to it".[24] Inspired by what he read, Drake wrote about burned witches going to Hell, returning, and then killing everyone.[6] Drake also wrote the lyrics to title track "Enter the Grave", and "Schizophrenia",[25] the former being about a serial killer.[24]
Written by bassist Mike Alexander, the lyrics to "Armoured Assault" describe a giant tank-like war machine.[9] Alexander wrote "Killer From the Deep"'s lyrics as well, which Drake thinks might have been inspired by 1975 thriller Jaws.[24] Drummer Ben Carter contributed lyrics for Enter the Grave, writing the lyrics to "Man Against Machine".[25]
Eduardo Rivadavia of
Critical reception
Originally scheduled for issue in early 2007,
Writing mostly favourable reviews of the album, many journalists referenced 1980s thrash groups, particularly Exodus, Slayer and
Ian Webster of Terrorizer wrote that "First Blood" is ultra-Exodus and goes head to head with the Slayer attack of "Schizophrenia" and "Armoured Assault"", and hailed the album as "the best UK thrash debut since Sabbat's History of a Time to Come", awarding nine out of ten stars.[15] Giving Enter the Grave four out of five stars, Kerrang!'s James Hoare commented that the album was "honed on a steady diet of early Slayer, Sacred Reich and Nuclear Assault", summarizing the full-length as "an absolute hair-swirling, air-punching beast".[34] Terrorizer dubbed Enter the Grave the nineteenth best album of 2007, whereas Classic Rock rated the full-length the thirty-eighth best album of 2007.[35]
Track listing
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Enter the Grave" | 4:31 |
2. | "Thrasher" | 3:08 |
3. | "First Blood" | 4:18 |
4. | "Man Against Machine" | 6:22 |
5. | "Burned Alive" | 5:52 |
6. | "Killer From the Deep" | 4:41 |
7. | "We, Who are About to Die" | 7:40 |
8. | "Schizophrenia" | 4:17 |
9. | "Bathe in Blood" | 6:22 |
10. | "Armoured Assault" | 5:39 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
11. | "Darkness Shall Bring Death (Demo)" | 3:26 |
12. | "Sacrificial (Demo)" | 3:49 |
13. | "Enter the Grave (Hell Demo)" | 4:20 |
Personnel
- Matt Drake – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, third guitar solo on "We, Who are About to Die"
- Ol Drake– lead guitar, cover concept
- Mike Alexander – bass guitar
- Ben Carter – drums
- Flemming Rasmussen – producer, engineer, mixer, masterer and additional backing vocals on "Enter the Grave"
- Anders H Mortensen – assistant engineer
- Vitaly S Alexius – cover illustration
- Tom Warner – layout
- Lucy Swift – photos
References
- ^ "Huddersfield thrash kings Evile talk about touring and new album Infected Nations". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. 28 September 2009. Retrieved 9 May 2010.
- ^ a b "Evile Signs With Earache Records". Blabbermouth.net. 18 October 2006. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
- ^ McIver, Joel (2004), p. 127.
- ^ McIver, Joel (2004), p. 140.
- ^ McIver, Joel (2004), p. 186.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Morgan, Anthony (October 2007). ""Armoured Assault" – Evile frontman Matt Drake hails gargantuan Thrash masterpiece Enter the Grave". Lucem Fero. Archived from the original on 12 April 2008. Retrieved 4 April 2010.
- ^ "Evile: Debut Album To Be Produced By Flemming Rasmussen". Blabbermouth.net. 12 March 2007. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
- ^ a b "Evile Begins Pre-Production Process For Debut Album 'Enter The Grave'". Blabbermouth.net. 2 May 2007. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
- ^ a b c Enter the Grave album notes, 27 August 2007. Earache Records, MOSH353CD.
- ^ a b "Evile: In Mixing Mode". Blabbermouth.net. 5 June 2007. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
- ^ "Evile Invites Fans To Ask Them Questions Via MySpace". Blabbermouth.net. 18 May 2007. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
- ^ a b Sean Baptiste (14 March 2008). "DLC Week of 3/18". Harmonix. Archived from the original on 7 March 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
- ^ "Evile: Video Footage From Recording Studio Posted Online". Blabbermouth.net. 4 July 2007. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
- ^ a b Kee, Chris. Enter the Grave review. Zero Tolerance. October 2007.
- ^ a b Webster, Ian. Enter the Grave review. Terrorizer. October 2007.
- ^ a b Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Review: Enter the Grave". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
- ^ "'Metal: A Headbanger's Companion': New Earache Collection Due in April". Blabbermouth.net. 24 March 2007. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
- ^ "Evile: 'Enter The Grave' Advance Tracks Posted Online". Blabbermouth.net. 25 June 2007. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
- ^ "Free Earache Summer Sampler in New Issue Of Decibel". Blabbermouth.net. 18 June 2007. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
- ^ "Exclusive Evile 7-Inch Free With Pre-Orders Of 'Enter The Grave'". Blabbermouth.net. 1 August 2007. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
- ^ "Evile: Video Footage From Manchester In-Store Performance Available". Blabbermouth.net. 29 August 2007. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
- ^ "Municipal Waste, Evile, Bonded by Blood Featured On 'Thrashing Like A Maniac' Compilation". Blabbermouth.net. 19 November 2007. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
- ^ a b "Evile: Photos From 'Thrasher' Video Shoot Available". Blabbermouth.net. 4 September 2008. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
- ^ a b c Kasper (29 August 2007). "Interview with Matt Drake". Metal Revolution. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
- ^ a b Chronis, Grigoris (8 October 2007). "Interview with Matt Drake from Evile". Metal Temple. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
- ^ Stewart-Panko, Kevin. Enter the Grave review. Metal Maniacs. November–December 2007.
- ^ "Evile: 'Enter The Grave' Lands on U.K. 'Rock Albums' Chart". Blabbermouth.net. 4 September 2007. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
- ^ "Evile: 'Enter The Grave' U.S. Release Date Announced". Blabbermouth.net. 11 June 2007. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
- ^ a b "Evile: Japanese Version Of 'Enter The Grave' To Include Bonus Tracks". Blabbermouth.net. 1 September 2007. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
- ^ "Dethklok, Down, Arch Enemy, The Bled First-Week Sales Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. 3 October 2007. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
- ^ Lawson, Dom. Enter the Grave review. Classic Rock. October 2007.
- ^ Kerswell, Ronnie. Enter the Grave review. Rock Sound. October 2007.
- ^ Ling, Dave. Enter the Grave review. Metal Hammer. October 2007.
- ^ Hoare, James. Enter the Grave review. Kerrang!. August 2007.
- ^ "Evile". Earache Records. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
Bibliography
- ISBN 0-7119-9600-8.