Through minds possessed by unrelenting visions of death a third and darkest wave of mania manifests within the cultic summon of Leipzig, Germany-based black metal quartet EVIL WARRIORS wherein obsessive, droning diabolic spellcraft is unleashed upon the unwitting ear. Fallen toward increasingly bleak atmospheric regimen this third full-length album, ‘Evil Warriors‘, finds the band unbound yet steadfast in their creation as hypnotic and disruptive currents fuse into melancholic boil. Though it doesn’t offer an extreme reaction to their previous album, avoiding any danger of becoming labelled “progressive” in the process, elements of psychedelia and avant-garde voicing bring new interest to their shifting sands.

Arisen as a duo in 2007 and creating havoc from the first cut I’d assume Evil Warriors were named for a Possessed song though their original sound orbited their own form of primitive blackened death-thrashing mania via two raw demo tapes/CD-r releases. The first of which (‘Shut Up and Die!‘, 2008) is particularly inspired per some clear love for heavy/speed metal in the skeleton of their craft, performed live with guitarist/vocalist Beast ripping through single guitar driven riffcraft in a rehearsal level demo craft. They’d found a bassist by the time ‘In Chains‘ (2009) released and there you’ll get a better sense for where the band’s skulls were at in preparation for a full album. Echoic vocals, faster struck fills, and a general uptick in their black-thrashing attack surprisingly lead to longer songs which to my ear had at least some classic Darkthrone and Beherit style riffcraft in their blood while still rooting their attack in extreme/bestial thrash. Though these folks’ve always been maniac there is some great insight into their evolution to be found in those most bare and unhinged demos, well worth checking into as the band’s foundation.

The breakthrough take hit Evil Warriors via their debut LP (‘Expressions of Endless Dreams‘, 2011) a forlorn and intricately stated thrashing black metal album characterized by its dramatic atmospheric meander. It was a leap in skill, a heightened dynamic via a new quartet formation which’d yet carried the obsidian haunt of earlier second wave black metal. That original 2007-2011 era of the band would define them as sinister amalgam with some connection to ancient and arcane metal but the reciliation of their cell beyond 2015 would contort the possibilities, taking a few extra years to realize the work done in the interim ’til ‘Fall From Reality‘ (2018) released to some general acclaim. Applying the cold cinematic tension of early 90’s black metal nudged their sound away from the threshing Culte Des Ghoules-esque scratch of earlier work, achieving a similarly contemplative but far more aggressive cacophony sometimes rooted in atmospheric/melodic black metal distress.

That first album more broadly indicated that Evil Warriors would go where they’d pleased, that the flexion-heavy strictures of black metal would be their weaponry rather than noose. This’d been when I’d first gotten on board with the band and as such that second LP set a certain standard in mind, evident in brief review of their follow-up EP (‘Schattenbringer‘, 2020) which I’d praised for its free-handed movement, excitation of dissonance going on to praise its “mystifying energy, exuberant brutality and incensed performances.” while appreciating the progression of expression available to their work beyond the rugged ancient thrashing wrath of origin. The question I’d had going into this self-titled (and thusly, likely defining) work was whether or not ‘Evil Warriors‘ would compound unto iteration or into new unknown territory as ‘Fall From Reality‘ had, was there a deeper extreme to tunnel into?

The psychedelia swollen and saxophone struck intro to opener “Zweifel” indicate a clear interest in achieving new texturing as the nigh ~13 minute piece drones in swaying advance. Restlessly hallucinating in paranoiac rattle Evil Warriors‘ sound may not feature thrash-handed meter as often anymore but their interest in raw atmospheric black metal fuming yet persists through these longer-form pieces. The conductorial saunter of their main rhythmic track and the bray of saxophone over it around the ~7:15 minute mark is exacerbated by vocal snarl which is driven less by the diction of their lyrics and more as contrasting instrumentation, a frustrated and grunting harass pushed along by the slowly drawn gallop of the song. There is a heavier melancholic weight upon that introduction, less of the tension found on their prior LP carries over leaving a solemn, wounded feeling echoed within the greater dissonant clashing of “Suche” afterwards.

The largely instrumental flow through “Possessed” veers from ‘De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas‘ inspired bestial verve ’til the full jam session is revealed, once again inserting saxophone soloing to introduce disarray as Virus-esque noise rock chordage is shunted into the intensity of the second half of the piece. The avant-garde sensibilities applied to the first three pieces here aren’t overbearing or interruptive in any sense but they do create some meaningful disruption within resolute trampling wherein Evil Warriors appear more clear as estranged black metal force beyond their black/death/thrashing origin. This is probably the piece which best intimates the philosophy of the band as searchers, seekers rather than replicants.

Again emphasizing the dark, solitary moodiness of ‘Evil Warriors‘ closer “Fieber” acts as a fever-dreamed stream of rhythmic interest wherein they’ve enacted the mid-era Nagelfar fan within per the main rhythmic dance applied. Side B generally speaks to Evil Warriors having built these songs in the rehearsal room, pinning down a mood and core idea before melting it all together into darting flow. The designs of the song are implied well enough to avail via rapt listening but the greater float of their arrangements offer both organic bombardment and motorik repetition as they land. The effect is one of impending collapse, not of the performances so much as the psyche implicated within these darkly cast, often indecipherably phrased spells.

The freely-formed, increasingly miasmic nature of Evil Warriors latest makes good sense as a follow-up beyond ‘Fall From Reality‘ though it doesn’t end up replicating that exact level of confrontation and detail, instead opting for a set of five larger flooding events where ideas pulse loosely from within each mode. Rather than apply heavy metal stamping to their work in order to generate tightened interest here their atmospheric lilt is the main vehicle for nuance alongside some non-traditional instrumentation applied. The effect is darker, psychically dread-bound and ominous rather than straight up volatile in its directive. That isn’t to say that there aren’t bursts of interest within the action but moreso that the band’s work in general achieves a different level, or, type of cohesion than before. I’d found the full listen distant yet unruly, intoxicating in its saunter yet pensive in expression. Not their most outright memorable achievement in terms of note-for-note action but an impressive arc in their discography which rewards patiently zoned engagement. A high recommendation.

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