Confirmed dates thus far:

Nov. 05 – Rochester, NY – Montage Music Hall
Nov. 06 – Farmingdale, NY – Crazy Donkey
Nov. 07 – Providence, RI – Club Hell
Nov. 08 – Baltimore, MD – Sonar
Nov. 09 – Virginia Beach, VA – Gil’s
Nov. 10 – Charlotte, NC – Amos’
Nov. 11 – Raleigh, NC – Volume 11
Nov. 12 – Jacksonville, NC – Hooligans
Nov. 13 – Orlando, FL – Club Firestone
Nov. 14 – Ft Lauderdale, FL – Culture Room
Nov. 15 – Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade
Nov. 16 – Cleveland, OH – Peabody’s
Nov. 17 – Columbus, OH – Newport Music Hall
Nov. 18 – Pittsburgh, PA – Diesel Nightclub
Nov. 19 – Manchester, NH – Rocko’s
Nov. 20 – Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom

Tickets go on sale today exclusively through EnterTheVault.com until May 28 at which point they will be made available through all regular ticketing systems.

The two memorial shows take place on December 7th, 2009 at Rio’s in Leeds and December 8th, 2009 at the Underworld in London, and will feature live performances from Irish thrashers GAMA BOMB plus special guests MUTANT and SEREGON. Tickets for the show are only available directly from the venue for £8 in advance, or for £10 on the door.

A huge raffle will also take place at the memorial shows, with loads of awesome prizes, limited edition and signed goods to be won, all of which have been generously donated by various bands and artists. All money raised will go to MIKE ALEXANDER’s family.

To view the prizes, head to http://www.mikealexander.co.uk/raffle.php

EVILE lead guitarist OL DRAKE comments:

“These two nights are for all the friends and fans of Mike who haven’t had a real chance to say goodbye, and also for us to hold something a lot more appropriate than any funeral could be. Mike wasn’t religious, and his beliefs were solely based in music, so there is no better way to say goodbye. He lived for music and metal. We picked a few bands who Mike liked and we’ll no doubt be playing a few covers on the night. We’re holding a raffle with LOTS of items kindly donated by some amazing people and bands from around the world. Keep an eye on our sites for details of these – please come along and grab a raffle ticket – all money is going to the family.”

GAMA BOMB frontman PHILLY BYRNE adds:

“It’s a real honour to play these shows for Mike. He was a star of a man and a brilliant friend, and it’ll be great to do something for his family and friends. We’re sure everyone will show their support for him at the shows.”

View the memorial shows flyer at http://earacherecords.com/myspace/MikeMemorialShows.jpg

For more EVILE news and info, head to:

http://www.myspace.com/evileuk

Now the influence of the aforementioned bands is still present, it’s of a much less flattering (or ripped off if you prefer) extent than before. Also, the era of focus has shifted from the early years to the late 80’s/early 90’s, drawing from the likes of …And Justice For All, Seasons In the Abyss, Sepultura‘s Arise and Chaos A.D. Most of the material here is of a much more mid paced style that falls in line with those albums, and even shows hints of the progressive that may bring to mind No More Color/Mental Vortex era Coroner – seriously, I thought that on more than one occasion and it’s a nice surprise.

The riffing throughout the album is stout and pretty creative and much of the solo work is of mesmerizing quality. The real star here though is vocalist Matt Drake who has really found his own style and sound, and falls somewhere between Tom Araya and James Hetfield, but doesn’t really sound that much like either of them.

Opening with the title track and “Now Demolition”, the tone is set at a sturdy mid pace and immediately shows the new focus and direction. Both songs are well written tunes with smooth transitions between multiple change ups, and some fine ax work. “Nosophoros” brings the speed and the first hints of that Coroner influence I mentioned, even if it’s slight, and an absolutely jaw dropping solo. “Devoid of Thought” is much in the same vain, and “Time No More” rocks and rumbles with the gait of the first two tracks. “Metamorphosis” is where the Coroner vibe really comes into play, with many more change ups and tempo shifts, all seamlessly tied into a cohesive, near eight minute run topped with some eerie atmospherics throughout. This vibe continues through the mammoth album closing instrumental “Hundred Wrathful Deities” and is arguably the albums shining jewel musically. Starting slow yet heavy, there’s a certain haunting quality to it that gradually builds throughout, and climaxes around the 6-7 minute mark where everything fades out except the lead which is positively spooky sounding, then picks back up slowly to the end. You may expect it to just explode into a total thrash fest at any moment, but instead remains controlled and utterly epic.

I don’t really have anything negative to say about Infected Nations, other than a couple mid album tracks (“Genocide” and “Plague to End All Plagues”) seem to drag just a little, but this is a minor gripe because they still have plenty working in their favor. The production is also spot on, courtesy of Russ Russel.

Infected Nations is hands down one of the years best thrash albums, and also one of it’s biggest surprises. Some purists of the genre may scoff at the lack of full on blitzkrieg speed, but they’d be missing the point completely. Definitely worth looking into if you liked the direction many thrash bands took in the late 80’s and early 90’s.

Following EVILE’s 2007 debut, ENTER THE GRAVE – an homage to the thrash of past – the band are now hitting out and marking a new milestone of their own with INFECTED NATIONS.

EVILE frontman MATT DRAKE comments on INFECTED NATIONS:

“We can’t wait for everyone to hear our new album, when we did Enter the Grave two years ago it was made up of songs we had been playing for a few years and some written in the excitement of actually getting to record an album, we were happy to just be making noise but since then we’ve learnt a few things and we’re more interested in making music. Evile fans can expect to hear a more mature offering, an album that concentrates on all aspects of what each member can do; it’s a heck of a lot more focused, more satisfying and we’re really proud of what we’ve achieved with it. Russ Russell has helped us to push ourselves to the next level and pull us out of the ’80s. The whole retro thing has been cool but we feel it’s time for us to leave that behind and stand up for ourselves and show people what we can really do, but fear not, it IS a thrash metal album, it is a 2009 thrash metal album, and we’re dying to blow your minds with it.”

INFECTED NATIONS was produced by RUSS RUSSELL (NAPALM DEATH), with the cover art created by MICHAEL WHELAN, famous for his sci-fi artworks along with classic album covers from such bands as SEPULTURA and OBITUARY. Check out the incredible cover art for INFECTED NATIONS here.

EVILE lead guitarist OL DRAKE comments on getting WHELAN involved:

“When we were thinking about artists we could approach for the album’s art, we went through many ideas and avenues. One day I was listening to ‘Beneath the Remains’ by Sepultura, and whilst looking at the artwork, I thought how much that simple yet detailed art really compliments the music. I thought “How good would it be to get Michael Whelan to do an original piece?”. I think Matt said something like “Haha yeah, like that’ll happen”, so as you do, I contacted his manager and got in touch with him. It turned out he was really interested in the concept of the art and jumped right on board. I think an album’s art is just as important as the music on the disc, so I couldn’t be happier with it. Can’t wait to see it on vinyl (with a backpatch maybe?).

“It’s such an honour to have a legendary, outstanding artist work with us on a brand new original piece, when just months previous to it starting, we thought it impossible. Thank you Michael for giving the album even more depth and meaning!”

You can also check out a video of OL DRAKE revealing and discussing the artwork here.

The full track listing for INFECTED NATIONS is as follows:

01. Infected Nation
02. Now Demolition
03. Nosophoros
04. Genocide
05. Plague To End All Plagues
06. Devoid Of Thought
07. Time No More
08. Metamorphosis
09. Hundred Wrathful Deities

Get EVILE’s debut album, ENTER THE GRAVE in Europe at http://www.earache.com/webstore/index.php/cPath/667_669_41 or in the USA at http://earache.com/uswebstore/index.php/cPath/667_669_41

For more EVILE news and info, head to http://www.myspace.com/evileuk

EVILE lead guitarist OL DRAKE checks in with some details on the band’s highly anticipated second offering:

“We’re very glad to announce we’ll be working with the brilliant Russ Russell on the next release at Parlour Studios, UK. Russ has produced excellent work with bands such as Napalm Death, Dimmu Borgir, The Exploited and many more. We’ve known Russ for a few years now. We first met him in London at one of our shows where he expressed how much he’d like to work with us sometime, and that time has come. I believe Russ can bring us a very interesting sound and approach to the new material which we’re writing. Expect a very crushing and interesting album! The cover art will also be very crushing and interesting! Definitely one for vinyl!

“We’ve been working non-stop on the new Evile material since before the Megadeth tour last February. We’re even into the demo process of the new album. Just last weekend we recorded the first 3 demo tracks we completed first. Looking back on what we’ve been writing, it’s surprising how diverse and different the material has got since starting on the first “album 2″ song. Don’t worry, it’s thrash, we’re just trying to use our brains more than our ‘ripped jeans’.”

EVILE’s as-yet untitled second album is due to be released in late 2009 through Earache Records.

EVILE are set to embark on their first full headlining UK tour in April with support from WARPATH and MUTANT. See them live at the following shows:

15 April 2009 – Birmingham, UK – Barfly
16 April 2009 – Newcastle, UK – Academy
17 April 2009 – Manchester, UK – Academy
18 April 2009 – Dublin, IRE – Fibber Magees
19 April 2009 – Cork, IRE – An Cruiscin Lan
20 April 2009 – Glasgow, UK – Barfly
21 April 2009 – Edinburgh, UK – Studio 24
22 April 2009 – Sheffield, UK – Corporation
23 April 2009 – London, UK – The Underworld
24 April 2009 – Prestatyn, UK – Hammerfest
26 April 2009 – Leeds, UK – Rio’s
27 April 2009 – Nottingham, UK – Rock City

With regards to the tour, OL DRAKE comments:

“Even though this is probably expected of us, I thought it only right for us to confirm we’ll be playing new material on our upcoming April UK/Ireland tour, as we’ve been playing the same old songs for the past 8 million years! See you all on the road soon!”

EVILE’s debut album ENTER THE GRAVE was recently reissued as a special redux edition, including a guitar pick, ENTER THE GRAVE patch and an exclusive 2-hour bonus DVD. Get your copy now in Europe at http://earache.com/webstore/index.php/cPath/667_669_41 or in the USA at http://earache.com/uswebstore/index.php/cPath/667_669_41

Keep up-to-date with all EVILE news and info at http://www.myspace.com/evileuk

This limited edition version of EVILE’s FLEMMING RASMUSSEN-produced (METALLICA) modern thrash masterpiece features the album housed in a special slipcase, and includes three bonus tracks, an ENTER THE GRAVE patch, a guitar pick and a DVD. Clocking in at 2 hours, this exclusive DVD features the band playing the entire ENTER THE GRAVE album live in rehearsal,plus live footage from the band’s European tour with MEGADETH, extensive band interviews and behind-the-scenes footage of the band on the road!

Have a peek at the killer-value ENTER THE GRAVE redux edition package at

http://earacherecords.com/myspace/EvileReduxAd2.jpg
EVILE’s ENTER THE GRAVE redux edition is out now worldwide and is available at all good music retailers, or can be purchased from the EARACHE RECORDS

European Webstore at http://earacheshop.com/store/evile.html

and the EARACHE U.S. Webstore at
http://www.earachestore.com/store/product360.html

Widely regarded as the hardest song to play on Rock Band, “Thrasher” is one of the tracks featured as downloadable content in the Earache Thrash Pack,  which also includes tracks from AT THE GATES and THE HAUNTED, available now on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Can YOU beat EVILE’s high score??? Hear the band’s thoughts on the game and check out their score at http://www.youtube.com/watch\?v=-Tu5eoFwwKI

Relive the return of heads-down, no-nonsense thrash metal with the special redux edition of EVILE’s FLEMMING RASMUSSEN-produced (METALLICA) debut album, ENTER THE GRAVE, in stores on October 13th in Europe and October 28th in the US. This limited edition version comes complete with the album
housed in a special splipcase, three bonus tracks, an ENTER THE GRAVE patch, a guitar pick, and a 2-hour DVD including the entire album played live in rehearsal, live footage from the band’s European tour with MEGADETH, extensive band interviews and exclusive behind-the-scenes footage
of the band on the road!

Have a peek at the killer-value ENTER THE GRAVE redux edition at
http://earacherecords.com/myspace/EvileReduxAd2.jpg

Catch EVILE on tour in Europe this November with SATYRICON and GRAVE at the following dates:

Nov 19 – Rotterdam, Netherlands – Waterfront
Nov 20 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Melkweg
Nov 22 – Rennes, – Antipode
Nov 23 – Paris, France – Loco F
Nov 24 – Birmingham, UK – Barfly
Nov 25 – Leeds, UK – Cockpit
Nov 26 – London, UK – ULU
Nov 27 – Antwerp, Belgium – Hof Ter Lo
Nov 29 – Lyon, France – CCO
Nov 30 – Lausanne, Switzerland – Le Romandie
Dec 01 – Winterthur, Switzerland – Salzhaus
Dec 02 – Milan, Italy – Alcatraz
Dec 03 – Rome, Italy – Alpheus
Dec 04 – Ljubljana, Slovenia – Media Park
Dec 05 – Zagreb, Croatia – Boogaloo
Dec 06 – Wien, Austria – Gasometer
Dec 07 – Prague, Czech Republic – Futurm
Dec 08 – Wroclaw, Poland – WZ
Dec 09 – Warzaw, Poland – Progresja
Dec 10 – Berlin, Germany – Kato
Dec 12 – Utrecht, Netherlands – Helling
Dec 13 – Lengerich, Germany – Satan’s Convention
Dec 14 – Frankfurt, Germany – Batschkapp
Dec 16 – Stuttgart, Germany – Rohre
Dec 17 – Saarbrucken, Germany – Garage
Dec 18 – Munchen, Germany – Metropolis
Dec 19 – Halle, Germany – Easy Schorre
Dec 20 – Hamburg, Germany – Knust

For more EVILE news and info, head to http://www.myspace.com/evileuk

Evile’s sound can best be summed up as what Slayer should sound like today, but they are by no means a Slayer carbon copy. You can hear a heavy dose of Death Angel, and elements of Testament, Exodus and of course Metallica in there too. Vocalist Matt Drake spits forth a very Tom Araya-ish vocal style with surprising clarity, yet not lacking any venom. Drake is also one of the bands two guitarists, with the other being his brother Ol, and together they create and lay down some sharp, precise riffs and solos that wail and shred with the best of ‘em. Ben Carter is the man behind the kit, and he handles his sticks and feet more than competently, supporting the already lethal guitar attack while the thick yet nimble bass tones of Mike Alexander are allowed to show through with clarity due to the impeccable production job by the legendary Flemming Rasmussen (Master of Puppets, …And Justice For All).

When “Enter the Grave” kicks off, you automatically know what your in for – a merciless thrash beating. There’s really not a lot of variety here, but when it comes to thrash, that’s not what one should be looking for – speed is what it’s all about, and Evile deliver the goods. However, a little variation does appear in “Man Against Machine”, where the band opens the song with a kind of eerie intro before diving into a frenzy, and closes it out with a slower, chunkier riff. Personal favorite “We Who Are About to Die” is more mid paced for the first couple minutes, bringing to mind portions of Seasons In The Abyss era Slayer, then of course picks up into maddening speed laced oblivion. Closer “Armoured Assault” begins with the sound of machine gun fire, explosions and a tank rolling over debris, and is the most frantic song of the bunch.

The only problem I could see someone having with this album is the glaring lack of originality – this is pure worship, with no intent of pushing the genre forward. If that’s not something your concerned with, then I see no reason why you shouldn’t shell out your hard earned dollar(s) for a fantastic thrash album, unless of course you don’t like thrash.