Known until recently under the name of Ignition, with even an album (2017’s Psycho) released, now these Germans return with a new name, a new album and the intention to create something different and better. Another Sin, Another Life will be released on September 27th and features 12 songs that consciously step away from the metalcore leanings of their previous effort.
Powerwolf’s bass player Charles Greywolf has done an impressive work with the mastering and the songs hit right away with heavy, full and very balanced sound. There is a fine line between thrash/ groove and melodic heavy metal that Drawn By Evil tread, and truth be told, in songs such as Ghost Of Blackness and Where Dignity Drowns, it all falls into place quite convincingly. At times, particularly in Downfall, I could get some power/prog vibes even (Evergrey, anyone?) at others (Shadows In The Moonlight), the mood of Volbeat is planted upon some Annihilator-esque riffing to quite good effect.
However, I cannot avoid the feeling that this is a transitional period for Drawn By Evil and they need time to fulfill their musical vision. Sometimes, Another Sin, Another Life sounds as if the band could not decide whose voice about a particular riff or main melody should be heard and thus, the album lacks identity. Enough other bands have been cited so far as influences in this review, yet there is even another one – the guitars in the closing Beneath The Mask Of Black Despair carry a classic The Haunted stamp. Singer Riccardo Prato is also not confident enough as to whether he needs to be more melodic or mare harsh during the thrash passages. Dropping a few metalcore nuances during the choruses doesn’t help solving the identity crisis either.
The conclusion here is that Drawn By Evil have planted the seeds of what they want to sound like, but these seeds need time to grow into something that can be original and of their own, however, a confident step, when in the right direction, is always reason for praise.
6,5/10
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