2006-10-01
From the time I was first introduced with President Evil, on their EP "Evil goes to Hollywood", I marked them and have been following their progress. These German guys have managed to get from winning a local band contest to touring Europe alongside Ministry and signing in a respectable label in a rather short period of time – I bet there's at least one band out there going "damn, why them and not us?"…well, why them? I'll tell you why – President Evil capture the spirit of new school thrash by its testicles, and have the guts to play them a little.
The mixture between potent riffing, even more potent drumwork, crude basslines and Johnny Holze's rugged a-la-Tom Angelripper vocals really puts this album where it belongs (if there ever will be a new-school thrash hall of fame) alongside other albums which manage to infuse force and groove in such a homogenic way.
Plenty of feedback opens the Asshole-Show, swirling cymbals, a distortion wall and off we go galloping our dark horses into "The Electromagnetic Superstorm" (yes, this title is quite foolish and so is album's title but so is much of the world we live in today, and coming from a fun-loving band which doesn't take itself too seriously it is perfectly understandable. Another good example for this comes in the shape of "Action Express") which I must admit for some reason brought Motörhead to mind, and has sort of a murky feeling to it.
Different vibes come with its followers. The upbeat "Boneless" with the sawing guitars, blasting drumwork, and powerful vocals which fit so well and actually add some groove of their own, and the stoner-like "Demons Everywhere" with the simple repetitive main riff - both compensate for the not-so-strong opening.
The next couple of tracks are known from the debut EP (the decision to include the four songs from the EP is rather odd, since It's certain that it would have been better off if there were four "new" songs instead), the questionable Helmet influenced "Deathcar Racer" and the well-knitted "One sick bastard" sure bring back a couple of memories (along with a nice retrospective of where the band was and where it is today).
The major fault I find in this album is the track arrangement. This problem first struck when I got to the title track (#6), one that should have opened this album; but after several more spins it just got worse… the songs are still good and shiny but a wrong choice of their order just messes up the listening experience.
Another fault here is the existence of fillers such as "Riot Generator" (which was already on the debut EP), "Ragin' Silence", "Star Destroyer" and the interestingly title "Midnight Weedtrain" – however, this can be tolerated. Keep in mind that this is the band's first full-length and that after all, this is metal we're talking about…it's immensely hard to be original within the boundaries of the genre.
To balance things up check out "El Sadistico", which I crown the highlight of this album; it's grandiose, slower yet heavier and has a wicked solo – just like metal ought to be.
What does the future hold for President Evil? I'm no fortune teller nor do I believe in such charlatanism but I can say (the rather obvious) – they have heaps of potential, but just need a good enough producer to get the best out of them. Until then I'll just keep my eyes and ears open for the next show to come in town.
Ofer Vayner
