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AGAINST EVIL “Give ‘EM Hell”
AGAINST EVIL “Give ‘EM Hell”
By Dr. Abner Mality
My third time around with Indian headbangers AGAINST EVIL and they keep getting better. This time they’re really starting to hit the mark with their PRIEST-ish heavy metal. They aren’t quite at the home run level but this is a pretty solid hit up the infield...maybe even a triple!
“Lock And Load/Give ‘EM Hell” kicks things off with a ferocious roar and this is hard-charging traditional metal of high quality. I think it might be a better opening shot than what we got on “Invincible Shield” or “The Sinner Rides Again”, it’s that good. They keep the lightning striking with “Full Speed Ahead”, which lives up to its name. So far, so good. The lead vocals are still a bit of a problem, not being on the Halford/Ripper scale, but they’ve got a nice gravelly quality and the dude is putting all his energy into it. “Warriors” is a DIO style mid-paced cruncher that is effective in a less high speed mode. A great album so far!
With “Stay Dead”, there’s just a teeny drop in songwriting...certainly not enough to derail anything, but noticeable. “Lights Out” is more of an ACCEPT type rowdy rocker, a drinking song. “Hellfire” is a bit more to the HAMMERFALL side of the equation...fast enough, but more like something off the first two AGAINST EVIL albums instead of the earlier crackers like “Give ‘EM Hell” and “Full Speed Ahead”. “Creature of Night” is OK, but nothing to write home about, while “Killing Machine” ends the album with some grinding PRIESTish metal in good stead.
As you can probably tell, this is not anything for someone looking for genre-bending or the avant-garde. It’s for leather and spike wearing defenders of the faith and it shows AGAINST EVIL getting ready to be one of India’s top acts.
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