Shrine of Desecration

Evilution were an old school death metal band from Connecticut, playing with the blasphemous and brutal edge of the Deicide school of death metal. The vocalist is reminiscent of Glen Benton, clearly influenced by him but with some of his own character shaping the sound. This album is quite concise, clocking in at just over 26 minutes, with a sample and non-metal instrumental track limiting the death metal itself to 23 minutes - long enough to make a strong impression, but a nice length to present the aggression of the band perfectly.

A brief history: Evilution formed in 1989 and split up 1999. They released two demos with very limited distribution. The band's most prominent accomplishment was opening for Deicide in Chicago at the show where they recorded their 1998 live album "When Satan Lives", though this album deserves to be more prestigious than an association with that era of Deicide. Bassist John York handled vocals until January 1997, when they added dedicated vocalist Josh Pratt, who appears on this record and seems like the natural and seasoned frontman for the band. The band was already in the process of recording the album at the time, which makes his performance even more impressive. York started playing guitar and the band picked up a new bassist around this time. Connecticut comrade Jamey Jasta, best known as the frontman of hardcore heroes Hatebreed, released the album on his label "Pure Death Records", a short-lived death metal imprint that didn't share the success of his main label, Stillborn Records. Apparently this album didn't sell very well, as copies of it have been offered as a free bonus with orders of Crowbar's new album from Stillborn - this is how I got the album, and I most certainly appreciate it.

Evilution alternate riffing styles, mixing palm-muted power chords, tremolo-picked riffs, and some squeals (though hardly Pantera-esque) but they rarely combine them, despite having two guitarists. Still, it works well for them, carrying energy and animosity and never tiring. Examining exactly what the band is playing might not be the most intensive exercise, but the music as a whole manages to be quite engaging. Brevity is on the band's side, as they aren't the most dynamic, but the album is split up nicely. It has 19 minutes of death metal, punctuated by a brief and blasphemous sample at the end of the third track, the seventh track is an electrified, middle-eastern feeling piece that has a dark and sinister feeling to it, and the final track is where the band's aggression becomes unhinged, unleashed in chaotic, melodic solos during the longer track.

The bands works well within the mix too - the drummer knows when to let back and allow an atmosphere to build (though not to excess) and the vocalist fits in nicely both below and above the majority of the riffing. The sound is sort of cavernous, but clear enough to sound like the sort of blasphemous death metal that people couldn't get enough of until they got sick of it a year after Vital Remains' "Dechristianize".

Solid album, a bit one-dimensional but brief enough that brevity enchances viciousness. Recommended if you like old school death metal.