### The Damnation: Evilution

#### 08/07/10 || Habakuk

“Evilution” already was a bad name when Rvminq Wild used it for a song in ’89, and, to great surprise, it still is 20 years later. Yes, 20 years, because this album was released in 2009 already, but only now it was sent to us at GD. Either the guys at Psycho Records need some help with their promotion efforts or GD just isn’t too important move on, nothing to see here.

This German fourpiece has seemingly dedicated itself to replicating what various metal sources have created before – modern sounding death/thrash à la Legion of the Damned that claims to be old school as fuck and for that reason quotes and quotes and quotes. Here’s a quick selection of second hand thrash and death buzzwords (buzzlines, actually, as all of these these make up a whole line) that you’ll inevitably overhear:

Morbid visions, Dead Empty eyes see no future, Mass hypnosis, Alien invasion (cheers, Tankard), Fight the power (how did Public Enemy sneak in here?), Immortally entombed (hello, Suffocation), Evilution, All shall perish (wow, still so young and already honored), Eyes of the insane (Wait, that’s not old school), Open the gates, Apocalyptic raids rain, Lost souls, Follow the leader, yadda yadda blah blah.

I fell for the hype with the first Legion of the Damned album, and boy was I pissed off at the constant brainless recital of classics. Now, enter The Damnation – a band that copies the copy band!

While Legion of the Damned were able to fool me with 30 second soundbits of frantic thrashing (not giving away that the whole “Malevolent rapture” album consisted of endless repetition of these snippets), here I can’t find anything like that. Maybe if I saw The Damnation live, there’d be a small chance to enjoy them if they put up a somewhat energetic show, but I doubt me seeing them in concert is going to happen anytime soon. There’s a bigger chance that I hear “Evilution” during my next visit to the 30th floor, because this record with its average production is full of elevator thrash. Lift death.

There is exactly one group of people that I’d recommend this to: Those who think Legion of the Damned are pretty neat, but too good at what they do. Everybody else: Take the stairs.

- Information
- Released: 2009
- Label: Psycho Records
- Website: www.thedamnation.net
- Band
- Michael Meyer: vocals
- Lutz Neemann: guitars
- Lars Gronemeier: bass
- Swen Ludwigs: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Black Hell
- 02. Alien invasion
- 03. The stoning
- 04. Sadist
- 05. Death head
- 06. Evilution
- 07. Savage
- 08. Immortally entombed
- 09. Black widow
- 10. Burning anger
- 11. Lunacy
- 12. The Crucifix