The first thing I did was read up on the band members and the first one that stuck out to me was Jason McMaster. I freely admit I was a huge hair metal fan in the 80's (and still am). It took me a couple of minutes to remember where I knew that name from, but it finally hit me that he was the lead singer of Dangerous Toys way back in the day. Yes, he can pull off singing both 80's hair metal and now currently a combination of speed metal and power metal. That's the best way I can describe the sound of Evil United. If you can imagine Slayer combined with someone like Iced Earth when Tim Owens was singing, then you'll have a general idea of their sound. The rest of the band members are Don "DVS" Van Stavern on bass, Todd "Bird" Connally and John "JV4" Valenzuela on guitars, and Jason "Shakes" West on the drums. The theme of the music is mostly fantasy and war. The lyrics aren't impossible to understand, but it is hard most of the time and some of them I simply had to look up. Luckily, they are one of the few bands lately that still prints the lyrics inside the sleeve. One more word of advice, Evil United sounds better at a high volume. It's just not music that you would listen to quietly or when you want to relax, but then that's all speed metal!
The first song on Evil United is called "Blasphemer." It feels like it would fit on perfectly on Slayer's God Hates Us All album. Next up is "Dawn of Armageddon" which sounds a bit more like power metal in theme and sound. The third song, "Speak," is a bit slower, lower sounding and heavier, more of a down to earth sound, which fades right into "Rise and Fall of Earth and Man" which is back to the speed metal sound. They really like to alternate the tone and tempo and keep you on your toes. Number Five is called "Wargod." It's really heavy and reminds me of a videogame for some reason (not God of War though!). The sixth and ninths songs, "Dark Serenade" and "Lost Dream" are both instrumentals. "Dark Serenade" is a nice, soft, pretty instrumental that shows off their guitar talents whereas "Lost Dream" is definitely not soft and sweet. It reminds me of something I would expect to hear in a horror movie. There is a bit of rain-like sounds in the background and creepy noises every now and then. It's perfect for a haunted house or horror movie. The twelfth and final song, "Hexorcism," closes out the CD with a heavy, final feeling.
Evil United walks a line between speed metal and power metal, and it's a good combination. The talents of all these musicians combining into one band produce a wonderful sound that I highly recommend you listen to, if you're a metal fan. This is a great first album and I can't wait to hear more.
