King's Evil was formed by two brothers from Tokyo, Japan in 1989. Like fellow
Japanese thrashers United, the band
started off mainly as a cover band, playing their favorite metal and thrash
songs. They did this, performing at various clubs up until 1993, when the band
were forced to take a hiatus due to members leaving. In 1998 the band reformed
and released their debut in 2001.
King's-Evil - Deletion of Humanoise (Spinefarm Records) 2001
1. "Victim and Hate" (5:06)
2. "Detonation" (3:35)
3. "Web of Lies" (3:46)
4. "Fanatical Devotion" (5:25)
5. "False Pride" (4:41)
6. "Punish With Death" (3:57)
7. "Core Dead" (4:51)
8. "Scream" (4:14)
King's-Evil are Japanese thrash metal! Unlike fellow Japanese thrash mongers, United, King's-Evil stick to traditional thrash metal without even a hint of hardcore or modern influence. King's-Evil are obviously heavily infuenced by German thrash metal acts like Kreator and Sodom, but they have a hint of the American thrash scene as well. While they are much heavier than Metallica, I still caught some of their influence in some of the riffs and songwriting. Certainly, early Slayer are also a large part of this band's sound. The vocals are of the thrash growl variety, bridging a gap between thrash and death metal. Oddly enough, the Japanese accent never really comes out, thanks mostly to the style. The mixture of traditional thrash riffing and the aggressive vocals is compelling to me. Unfortunately this disc is wrapped in one of the most insipid album covers ever. A cliché, crucified demonic looking creature will do nothing but detract people from checking out this band, especially if King's-Evil are trying to break into the American market. The mockery of Christ in the cover art is pathetic and does nothing but irritate me. The lyrics are not exactly what the cover might make them seem as they are not blatent, blasphemous, Christian hating venom, however they are still of an angry, rage-filled nature. Fortunately, they are sung in such a way it really doesn't matter much. So, while the music on this disc is quite enjoyable to this long time thrash metal fan, the overall feel of the disc is ruined for me by the lyrics and the poor cover art. Here is hoping for something better in the future.