Cost: $2.00
No, this post isn't the result of any lucky holiday-appropriate bargain bin find on my part. Found this several months ago, and no better day to finally post about it.
This is my first time hearing any post-No One Gets Out! material. I'm not sure why, but for some reason I had thought they descended into awful "scary music" trends (think Marilyn Manson/Slipknot) for their late '90s reformation, and while there are plenty of things to criticize the band about nowadays, that isn't one of them.
It's immediately evident their sound has succumbed to more modern sound and production sensibilities, as the guitars are very chuggy. Of the two new tracks, one is good and one is bad. The songwriting of "Angel of Evil" seems quite old school (I was actually surprised that it's apparently new and not a reworked demo track or something), and it's pretty decent even though it would have greatly benefited being played by the 1985 version of the band. "Hell," on the other hand, is rather bland groove metal.
Then there are three re-recordings of older tracks. Although these are the best material on the EP, the more modern sound condemns them to being inferior to the originals even though the actual songs haven't been significantly changed. "Don't Metal with Evil" and "Evil Nation" are pleasant enough, but the rumbly guitars on "To Fight the Beast" make it feel way over-modernized and thus the worst of the reworked tracks. Brian Thomas' voice has obviously aged a bit, especially in terms of hitting highs, but since he makes no attempts at more modern or extreme vocals anywhere on the EP (which I had somewhat feared, given the chuggy riffage), I find it perfectly acceptable.
The closing cover of Alice Cooper's "Go to Hell" is so-so. Musically it's alright for a stripped down and heavied up version, but the vocals don't feel right--too much sneer, not enough menace. I can see it translating well as a metal cover, but this isn't it. It's also another song that would have been better served by the band's '80s lineup.
This was fine for its short novelty spin, but there's nothing here worth listening to over their old material, and it doesn't inspire much confidence from me in their newer stuff. It actually reinforces the songwriting strength of their classic material--"Don't Metal with Evil" still shines as a shock metal anthem, even recorded nearly 20 years later with crappy modern sound. A nice find for 2 bucks, and not something I would have expected to find in the bargain bin here.
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