Evil Hunter appear to be a band who set out to tick all the boxes on the ‘how to make a metal album’ checklist. A dark name straight out of World of Warcraft? Check. Vocalist who can hit those high notes? Check. Leather jackets? Check. Photoshoot in creepy ruined church? Check. The list could go on, but you get the idea. This Spanish outfit are looking to appeal to fans of Saxon, Helloween, Judas Priest etc by heading straight down the traditional heavy metal route, with some tinges of glam and power metal thrown in along the way. But given that there are already many fantastic albums in this genre, have they done enough to stand out?
Predictable yet fun, opening track Surf the Waves breaks no new ground but does grab your attention and you find yourself almost unintentionally nodding along. A typical fast picked riff with double bass drumming plants this track firmly in power metal territory, complete with a melodic shred-tastic guitar solo. The vocals sound like a higher pitched version of Jorn Lande: that kind of rasp that sounds like the singer must have a throat full of gravel, resulting in powerful, distorted singing. The title track, Evil Hunter, makes full use of the vocal talents of Damián Chicano, adding backing vocal tracks to the chorus to give it an 80s glam, anthemic quality. Again, this track breaks no new ground, but is a good listen nonetheless, particularly the guitar riff. The opening salvo of tracks is completed by Heartbeat, another foray in power metal territory with a catchy lead guitar line and annoyingly infectious chorus.
It is unfortunate that after an enjoyable opening three tracks the album takes a decisive plunge into the cringeworthy. Decisive because the opening laugh and ‘let me be your love tonight’ line at the start of Hot Leather were clearly put there deliberately and with complete seriousness. The song sounds like a hormonal teenager decided to try and be the next Motley Crue. The lyrics do not have the tongue-in-cheek tone that makes bands like Steel Panther so popular, but instead sounds deadly serious: it is just bad lyrical song-writing all round, which is a shame as otherwise they could have had a good glam metal anthem on their hands. The following couple of tracks do little to redeem the album and pass by in a forgettable few minutes before we get to By Your Side: four minutes of keyboards and emotional vocals that sound straight off 1987 by Whitesnake. It is a perfectly good ballad, it just seems clumsily placed given that keyboards are not used anywhere else on the album and so the distinct instrumental introduction doesn’t really gel with the album as a whole. Closing track Open Up Your Eyes quickly returns to the core sound, with enough riffs, fast drum beats and vocal hooks to keep any metal fan happy.
Evil Hunter have produced a mixed bag for their debut album. The opening and closing few tracks will be enough to keep most metal fans happy, although I doubt it will entice any lifelong fans. Because these tracks are fun but very run of the mill it is the poor lyrical content of the middle couple of tracks that stand out and it is those, particularly Hot Leather, that really stick in the mind, but not for the right reasons. Evil Hunter are playing within a genre that has already (arguably) produced some of the greatest songs ever written and so standing out for the wrong reasons is not a good start. Of course, this is all personal opinion and such songs may not rile others as much as myself, but I think all could agree that some consistency would be most welcome on the next album. Evil Hunter have the musical talent and potential to make a great metal album, they just haven’t quite managed it here.
Highlights: Evil Hunter, Heartbeat and By Your Side.
Evil Hunter is released on 10th April 2018 via Fighter Records and can be purchased on bandcamp.
Evil Hunter can also be found on Facebook.
