Review by JD on November 17, 2010.

I love getting a new release from a band I had reviewed beforehand. Seeing if the band had a musical growth or if they ended up being somewhat a complete and utter tragic collapse is pretty much what I live for. S.D.D. is one of those bands that have come around for another time of picking my brain. Lets see if the band swam or sunk like a stone.

I had originally written how amazingly fun this band was. Crossed between old styled Punk Rock like the Dead Kennedys and metal in the vein of Motorhead, they are not what you would call a technical sort of band, but they great at what they do. Passion added in with a good amount of fun make a band just plainly enjoyable. Plainly put this band really does show that you don’t have to be axe-slinger gods to make some great music. Now as the two song CD single plays in the machine... the proof is in the pudding, but the pudding is spoiled.

The track called 'Atheist' starts off, a raucous sort of riff, that is not very original. It is catchy for a moment or two, but it lacks the spark they had on their previous release and becomes boring real fast. 'Hangman Blues' is a good song, but hardly ualifying as their best. It seemed that instead of going forward, they kind of lost both their way and fun. Gone is the old school
Punk and Motorhead things... now it is just bad Punk.

Hope the rest of the album when it comes out is way fucking better. If this is any indication, it will not be good. And for my original question... the answer is- they sank like a stone and drowned here, deciding not to swim a stroke. Sad!. On their first release that I had the pleasure of reviewing, they were amazing and fun, but not here. S.D.D. have turned into a band I do not want to hear anymore.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship:6
Atmosphere: 5
Production: 7
Originality: 4
Overall: 5

Rating: 5.4 out of 10

Review by Alex on May 17, 2020.

Death metal from Australia? why not?, never really been let down by the kangaroo safe haven and snake sanctuary so it’s no wonder I would latch on to this as soon as word broke of the activities. Evoker play OSDM the thrashing dark and dirty way with some black metal sauces thrown in here and there on their first EP Evil Torment.

'From the Depths' and 'Old Evil' hold steadfast to the OSDM riffing we are more than accustomed to while peacocking boiling speed and violent vocals, some doom metal at the beginning of 'From the Depths' early on in the song and later towards the end; while 'Old Evil' continues along the speeding trajectory though cutting the doom a tiny bit. However good those tracks may be even when offering nothing new to the genre, it was 'Shackled to the Grave' that won over my interest, forcing me to thoroughly consume Evil Torment. Something about that opening riff of the track that keeps me coming back; executed with the proficiency I'd expect death metal this sort to have and is supported by more finger licking leads. I think this is where the fun truly starts on Evil Torment, specifically, the listener is granted a more convincing introduction to the album, one that appears succinct musically with songs down the order.

After having found their footing on 'Exhumation of the Damned', Evoker closes the record that meets a memorable high through the guitar work on 'Parasomanic'.

After a few sessions with Evil Torment, a recurring thought happens to pinch me often in reference to Evoker's sound in terms of the genre. Because their doom metal sections are so well inserted and played, I think the music would have had a greater lasting impression had the bass been higher in the mix. However, Evoker makes up for this with their razor-sharp shredding and fiery pacing in the thrash/speed metal parts of their compositions. They emit a genuine embryonic death metal feel, but also a first wave black metal (Bathory) undercurrent could be felt adding to the diversity within the music.

Try to keep up with Evoker, they seem to be on to something.

Rating: 7.2 out of 10

Review by JD on November 17, 2010.

I love getting a new release from a band I had reviewed beforehand. Seeing if the band had a musical growth or if they ended up being somewhat a complete and utter tragic collapse is pretty much what I live for. S.D.D. is one of those bands that have come around for another time of picking my brain. Lets see if the band swam or sunk like a stone.

I had originally written how amazingly fun this band was. Crossed between old styled Punk Rock like the Dead Kennedys and metal in the vein of Motorhead, they are not what you would call a technical sort of band, but they great at what they do. Passion added in with a good amount of fun make a band just plainly enjoyable. Plainly put this band really does show that you don’t have to be axe-slinger gods to make some great music. Now as the two song CD single plays in the machine... the proof is in the pudding, but the pudding is spoiled.

The track called 'Atheist' starts off, a raucous sort of riff, that is not very original. It is catchy for a moment or two, but it lacks the spark they had on their previous release and becomes boring real fast. 'Hangman Blues' is a good song, but hardly ualifying as their best. It seemed that instead of going forward, they kind of lost both their way and fun. Gone is the old school
Punk and Motorhead things... now it is just bad Punk.

Hope the rest of the album when it comes out is way fucking better. If this is any indication, it will not be good. And for my original question... the answer is- they sank like a stone and drowned here, deciding not to swim a stroke. Sad!. On their first release that I had the pleasure of reviewing, they were amazing and fun, but not here. S.D.D. have turned into a band I do not want to hear anymore.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship:6
Atmosphere: 5
Production: 7
Originality: 4
Overall: 5

Rating: 5.4 out of 10

Review by Adam M on September 7, 2009.

Elenium has a manner of crafting of fairly brutal approach to complement technical styles and they come across as an entity with a one of a kind sound. There’s also of note a distinct symphonic approach to be found here that elevates their thoughts to different levels of complexity. It’s not overwhelming complicated though as it seems just the number of elements contributing to the whole make for a lot going on at a time. The music doesn’t really transcend into the realm of being avant-garde either, but merely shows enough progression to fall within that genre’s mindset.

The songs go into large crescendos and build up momentum into different territories quite well as they continually progress. This never becomes pompous over-indulgence, however, as the band are able to maintain control of their style quite well. They traverse the various territories quite solidly and the guitar playing is appropriately complex and varied. The biggest problem I have with the disc is that it doesn’t sound like anything particularly special and that’s what you might hope for from a progressive band of this type. The songs lack that special something to make them appropriately catchy or to draw you into what you’re hearing so it won’t let go. This makes them at time seems like sort of superficial progressive music, but there is enough good stuff to derive from the songs that they’re worth listening to.

The jaded rhythms Elenium maintain have some merit in their wares, but they don’t transcend the levels of being overly interesting at any point. This work has a unique flair and can be quite entertaining, but just doesn’t raise the bar enough to be truly involving.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 6.5
Atmosphere: 7
Production: 6.5
Originality: 8
Overall:7.1

Rating:7.2 out of 10