PROJECT EVIL – Project Evil

Italy’s Project Evil drops their seven song self-titled debut album in late August. Opening with “Fire At Will”, a Manowar-ish sounding rumination on war, Project Evil sets a tone that indicates that they will follow very well-trodden pathways laid down by the masters without really blazing and new ones on their own. The title cut plods along in an undistinguished fashion; An encouragement for fledging bands: if you are going to take your name from one of your own tunes, make certain it is as epic as “Black Sabbath”, as memorable as “Motorhead”, or as hard-hitting as “Iron Maiden”. Despite the boldly stated lyric of “Project Evil is born!”, the song fails to truly ignite—cigars would be unlikely to be passed around after such a birth.

“Fading To The Sun” fares a bit better, riding a promising NWOBHM riff skyward. “Pulsanda Tellus” sounds like an outtake from a late-period Thor album, and the promisingly named “Poker Of Skulls” suffers from a second-act downshift that threatens to drop the entire transmission before the solo cuts manages to keep the engine alive—barely—in a song burdened with lyrics as terrible as any you will hear this year, coming off like bad Running Wild fanfiction. “Bal Sagoth”, more plodding, and then mercifully the last song “Red Dawn”, which rewards anyone who stuck around until the end with Project Evil’s best performance. Italy has produced some of the best Metal in the world over the last few years; sadly, Project Evil fails to burnish that gleaming legacy.

TUNE INTO METALEXPRESSRADIO.COM at NOON & MIDNIGHT (EST) / 6:00 & 18:00 (CET) TO HEAR THE BEST TRACKS FROM THIS UPCOMING RELEASE!!!