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Eviction > The World Is Hours Away > Reviews
Eviction - The World Is Hours Away

If Only They Had Been from New York - 75%

Vaseline1980, April 30th, 2020
Written based on this version: 1990, 12" vinyl, Metal Blade Records

Back when I was in my early teens both thrash metal as well as the medium of vinyl had become very unpopular, something hard to imagine nowadays. I remember picking up metal LP's for peanuts because, besides me, no one cared anymore. I have to admit that it was mostly records by bands that came late for the party anyway, like Gothic Slam, Estigia, Slaughter House and, indeed, Eviction's "The World Is Hours Away". I remember at the time being unimpressed by the latter, but kept the record anyway. Recently I put it on again and I have to admit that it isn't all that bad actually. Sounds like it's time to revise some history then.

I remember back then looking at the band pic on the cover and expecting something in the style of early Exodus or D.R.I. and I was probably bummed out because it wasn't a carbon copy of those classic bands. Listening to it now I hear a sound that makes me think more of old New York hardcore bands such as Sheer Terror, Breakdown, Killing Time or Judge, mixed with classic thrash metal like early Testament and Vio-lence. For a good part the music is uptempo but not crazy fast and the band know how to keep the flow in the music by varying these parts. In it's totality they sometimes remind me of M.O.D. as well as Suicidal Tendencies around the time of their "Lights, Camera, Revolution" album, but there's also some punky influences like in second track "Listen". I can't put my finger on it exactly but the name of Reagan Youth popped into my mind, which isn't bad at all, just good old fashioned hardcore punk. The A side of this record is really great, I'm pretty impressed by the band's mixture of thrash and hardcore but unfortunately they don't stick their landing. Halfway the B side the rot sets in when at the end of "Behind the Mask" vocalist Todd starts Robb Flynning it with lines like "Yo, Fuck It Up, Homeboy" and "Word!". Yeah, better leave the slang to Biohazard, buddy. The harmonica intro to the following song "Open Your Eyes" conjures up the image of Jackyl, that gimmicky monstrosity with the chainsaw song, but when the song picks up it's not that bad actually. Album closer "American Way" is just plain boring and sounds like something that Mötley Crüe would have dumped in the garbage bin. Give me the almost eponymous Sacred Reich track in it's place.

In my opinion this is a pretty solid hardcore/thrash record if you skip the last three tracks on here. If you have a heart for Bay Area thrash and also like albums like Cro Mags' "Best Wishes" or even Slapshot's "Sudden Death Overtime" this should fit you just fine. Despite it's flaws it's a pretty solid album that's worth a listen.

An Obscure Oddity from Pennsylvania - 80%

TexanCycoThrasher, January 27th, 2010

Not many have heard of this obscure gem known to us as The World Is Hours Away. And because of that not many have never heard what actually is quite a decent album, the main opinion towards this album has always been that it’s sub par in all aspects except the cover art, which I may add is pretty bad ass.

Now they aren’t the best musicians, but they’re not as bad as some make them out to be. Most of the time when I go to start listening to an album I keep my mind open to the results, rarely ever do I go into an album expecting to hear something on par with Energetic Disassembly or R.I.P. When I began listening to this I was not disappointed, my main reaction was an “Eh”, but this is one of those albums that grows on you as you listen to it, and among the things that takes some getting used to is Todd Porter’s vocals. It’s rather hard to describe how this guy sings, it’s like a deep growing sound, and that is literally the best that I can describe it. At a couple points in the album he speaks in a Mike Muir style angsty rant, these points are often out of the blue and kind of out of place. One of such times is at the end of “Behind the Mask” where Mr. Porter starts yelling random lines as the song ends and the instruments start and stop, I generally loose it when I hear him yell “Fuck it up home-boy!” and the other shouts that he belts out.

The guitars are pretty light in tone, so to say what this album majorly lacks in is heaviness. The riffs are pretty unmemorable as well, and the solos suffer the same fate. I’ve probably listened through this album about 10 times already and I could probably name just one riff and that would take quite a bit of thought to get it. And if you thought the guitars were light, you probably have not heard the rhythm section, if you can hear the bass that is. The drums are out there and sound fairly decent, but you pretty much go through the entire release without hearing one bass riff, it’s that under mixed. Now a bad ass little tidbit is the intro of “American Way” which is a beautiful acoustic piece, it just seems oddly out of place on a record that is mostly in the crossover vein of thrash.

The lyrics featured are the overused social commentary that you hear everywhere in thrash. Political rants, TV censorship, warfare, and you versus society are the ideas expressed in the songs. A couple exceptions are “Drunken State” and “Behind the Mask”, with their out of place rants about alcoholocism and two faced individuals.

Eviction’s one and only full length release is an amusing venture which lacks in several departments and has some offbeat vocals that take a bit of time to come accustomed to. But if one has the time and the cash I’d say this album is fully worth hunting down, but that’s just my opinion on the matter-80%

Hey, I Enjoyed It - 85%

FrayedEndsOfSanity39, June 4th, 2005

Time to give this band a decent review. Eviction gives us thrash with a touch of hardcore/crossover in The World Is Hours Away.

The album starts off aggressive with a decent riff on “Our World”. The vocals aren't spectacular but they go along with the gritty thrash Eviction plays. The only downside is when Porter talks about two minutes in. This is where I see the Suicidal Tendencies correspondence UltraBoris mentioned in their demo review. Otherwise, the band sounds nothing like Suicidal Tendencies. Although I'm positive they’re out there, I can't come up with a good example of a band that sounds exactly like Eviction. Perhaps they’re similar to a lot of thrash demos I've heard, not bad, but nothing standout.

Track two is titled Listen. It starts out with a punkish riff and is very crossover in its entirety. Someone else contributes to vocals, and it's a break from Porters rough barking voice. The song picks up and slows down from time to time, and has an enjoyable melody to it.

Drunken State brings us back to a standard thrash riff, but hardcore bares its face soon enough. The chorus is very melodic but retains it's gritty style with Porters raspy voice. It's not the type of metal I typically listen to, but I'll have to say I like this song. Just listen to it with an open mind. If you're only into death/thrash or speed/power this isn't for you. Marching Off To War is a mediocre song. Nothing great, an average midpaced thrash riff, with barking vocals. Three minutes through it picks up a little bit, but all in all it's just run of the mill thrash with a hint of hardcore. There's a small solo at the end, something I didn't notice in the first few tracks. Living In Emptiness is decent, it has an okay chorus, but the riffs blend in with those from early tracks. This isn’t uncommon with thrash bands that put out albums with ten or more songs. There’s always a few tracks that end up a little bland or monotone. You know what I mean.

You Decide is a simple song with a simple message. It tells people to think for themselves. Not very inspiring, but it has a pleasant melody over Todd’s gnarly voice. Trouble With Society is played in the vein of 80s crossover. If you’re a fan of crossover you may like, if not, keep your distance. Behind The Mask has a powerful chorus, and Porter even gives high vocals a shot. It was worth a try. Towards the end of the song the unthinkable happens when someone says “Fuck it up homeboy” and “Word”. Although they were being sarcastic, it can still turn any metal head away.

Open Your Eyes delivers a surprise. Hey, that rhymed. Anyway, the song starts with a harmonica. It has a southern classic rock sound, who would have expected that? But, after the random intro, it molds back into standard crossover. The same guy who sang in the track Listen helps out in the chorus of Open Your Eyes. He has decent vocals, just not metal enough. I can imagine this guy heading a punk band. Thus, Porter was a better choice for lead vocals. The first two minutes of The American Way is all instrumental. Eviction sings about violence in American society. Very original for a crossover band, still not bad.

The World Is Hours away is a thrash/crossover/hardcore mix. It sounds original but there were a number of these bands around in the late eighties. If you like gritty crossover leaning towards the thrash spectrum then you might want to check this out.