UMUR "Skull" is the 4th full-length studio album by UK thrash metal act Evile. The album was released through Earache Records in May 2013. Evile originally started under the Metal Militia monicker and played eighties Metallica covers...

...and while I may be a bit out of line saying this, I´d say they are more or less still playing eighties Metallica covers on "Skull". Lead vocalist/guitarist Matt Drake has a voice and singing style that´s very similar to the voice and singing style of James Hetfield (Metallica), the riffing style and guitar sound are also very similar to the sound of vintage Metallica (with a slight nod towards Testament too), but if you´re familiar with the preceding releases by the band, it shouldn´t come as a surprise.

So it´s safe to say that Evile are not that original soundingact out there, but they are a really well playing band (especially lead guitarist Ol Drake needs a mention for his skillfully played solos) and their materiel are very well written too. Add to that a high quality professional sound production, that is, clear, hard hitting, and powerful, and "Skull" comes off as a really great thrash metal album, despite the clone factor issue. Tracks like "Underworld" and "Words of the Dead" are crushingly heavy and powerful thrash metal assaults, but Evile are also able to write more varied material like "Tomb", which is structurally quite challenging and features a couple of acoustic sections.

"Skull" is arguably a strong and powerful thrash metal release, but it´s a release that´ll most likely divide the waters because of how much Evile are influenced by Metallica. Some people will probably adore this while others will wrinkle their noses because of the clone factor involved. Objectively seen a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating isn´t all wrong.