One of the most irritatingly untrue opinions frequently encountered in my work as a music journalist is that there are hardly any good young bands anymore. This was never true, but one thing that especially stands out lately is just how much young talent there is in the old school heavy metal scene. Case in point: Eternal Evil consists of four Swedes in their early twenties, and their third album ‘Forever Feared’ is an excellent album on which they combine elements from their influences in a fairly fresh-sounding way that doesn’t make them feel like a watered-down version of the bands that inspired them.

Nearly every media outlet writing about Eternal Evil describes them as a blend of thrash metal and black metal, but while those influences are fairly prominent in their songwriting – most notably the first generations of both of those styles – that also makes them seem considerably less melodic than they really are. The overall sound on ‘Forever Feared’ is one of relatively aggressive speed metal. There are guitar harmonies and melodic themes all over the album, some of the songwriting is surprisingly sophisticated, and there is more melody to Adrian Tobar’s voice than all instruments have combined on the average black/thrash record.

‘Forever Feared’ also is surprisingly dramatic in a King Diamond kind of way for an album this aggressive and riff-heavy. There is a darkness to some riffs, which is further enhanced by the fact that many songs develop in an unexpected manner, with riffs or clean strums popping up when you least expect them. This all helps Eternal Evil stand out in a field which frankly contains a lot of talented musicians. Although the album is dominated by pulsating riffs and pummeling rhythms, there is a creativity here that many older musicians could learn a lesson or two from.

While ‘Forever Feared’ is fairly consistent stylistically, some tracks stand out due to a minor change in approach. The title track, for instance, combines an almost gothic atmosphere in its verses with an excellent build-up towards the intense heavy metal of its chorus. Also, the album gets more theatrical towards the end, only to be annihilated by the scorching riff monster that is closing track ‘I Know, The Fire Burns Inside’. Another highlight is the instrumental ‘Stain of Roses’, which builds from an atmospheric first minute or so to a number of fantastic guitar themes.

No matter what it is you want from old school heavy metal, Eternal Evil delivers. There is a staggering number of cool riffs on the album, and they come together in a way that shows a maturity far beyond the band members’ ages, without sucking their unbridled energy out of the material. This is a difficult balance to strike, but it does not sound like it takes the band an unreasonable amount of effort. If you like your metal aggressive yet melodic, reasonably complex yet very memorable, and with tons of great guitar and drum work, Eternal Evil is the band for you.

Recommended tracks: ‘Forever Feared’, ‘I Know, The Fire Burns Inside’, ‘Triumph Through Pain’