Enter the Grave
Encyclopedia
Enter the Grave is the debut album by the English thrash metal
band Evile
. Released on 27 August, 2007 in Europe and on 25 September in North America and Japan, the album received generally favorable critical reviews and entered the UK Rock Chart
at number 33. It was produced by Flemming Rasmussen
and recorded at Sweet Silence Studios, Copenhagen, Denmark. Rasmussen had earlier produced three Metallica
albums, a fact which raised the profile of Enter the Graves release. The track "Thrasher" was included in the 2008 Earache Thrash Pack, a downloadable selection of songs for the music video console game Rock Band
. The rest of the album is also planned to be released under the Rock Band Network
.
The album's lyrics were inspired by films, as well as topics such as a serial killer, Countess Bathory
and witch burnings
. Enter the Grave was re-released as a limited-edition "redux" version on 13 October, 2008 in Europe and on 28 October in North America.
announced that it had signed a record contract with Evile. Looking for a producer for their debut album, the band decided to send a request by email to producer Flemming Rasmussen
"for a laugh"; Rasmussen had previously produced three Metallica albums; 1984's Ride the Lightning
, 1986's Master of Puppets
, and 1988's ...And Justice for All
. Lead vocalist / rhythm guitarist Matt Drake googled Rasmussen's name, and the first result returned was the producer's official website. Drake emailed Rasmussen asking if he would be interested. The producer replied a few days later, asking "Send me some of the tracks over". Drake emailed a number of mp3, but Rasmussen did not reply, leading Drake to worry that the producer "hated them, and thought they were shit." Earache Records subsequently emailed Rasmussen to formally ask if he would produce Evile's debut album, to which Rasmussen replied, "Yes". On 12 March, 2007, his involvement was made public.
Pre-production with Rasmussen began on 28-29 April at Evile's Huddersfield
, West Yorkshire
rehearsal space. Soon after the band performed a live set at Tottenham Court Road, London's Fopp
store, which Rasmussen attended to observe Evile's live sound, and "further gain a feel" for the group's music. The album was recorded and mixed at Sweet Silence Studios, Copenhagen, Denmark. Enter the Grave was produced, engineered, mixed and mastered by Rasmussen, who also supplied additional backing vocals to title track "Enter the Grave". Anders H. Mortensen, meanwhile, acted as assistant engineer. Photographs taken during the album's recording sessions were posted at Evile's official MySpace
blog, where fans were also invited to ask the band's members questions about the recording process for Enter the Grave.
In turn, Evile's guitarists went into a room where another person sat with a microphone, ready to capture the sound. From the control room, Rasmussen would say "Right, play something". The respective guitarist would play his instrument, to which Rasmussen would respond "Right, move it left". Moving the guitar left, the respective guitarist would play again, Rasmussen replying with "Move it right. Alright, leave it there. Don't touch it". The respective guitarist would leave his instrument in that position, and the "record" button would be pressed. From there, the musician in question would play his parts. A Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier amplifier was tested alongside a Marshall
amplifier, but according to Drake, "the Mesa (sound) was nowhere near as good". Evile chose to record Enter the Graves guitar parts using a Marshall amplifier, and spent "roughly ten minutes" attempting to achieve "a decent sound". "A bit longer" was spent testing the drums so that a "nice" sound could be achieved, and so that the drums could be tuned.
By 5 June, recording for Enter the Grave had been completed, and Rasmussen had begun mixing the album. Video footage shot during recording sessions was uploaded to Earache Records' official YouTube
account on 4 July, providing an exclusive glimpse behind the scenes. In reviewing Enter the Grave, some journalists commented on Rasmussen's role as producer. Chris Kee of Zero Tolerance Magazine
said that "getting Flemming Rasmussen to produce [Enter the Grave] is a major coup and as you'd expect he's done a sterling job, these fine songs all being blessed with a clean, crisp, uncluttered sound", whereas Ian Webster of Terrorizer
felt that "booking a band into Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen to record their debut with legendary Metallica producer Flemming Rasmussen is one hell of a statement of intent from Earache." Eduardo Rivadavia of Allmusic also commented on Rasmussen's involvement, declaring that his production "is surely one large reason why the album is characterized by a distinctively crunchy, rhythmically airtight attack."
on the group's official website on 25 June. "Enter the Grave" was further included on a Earache summer sampler CD given out free with the August 2007 issue of Decibel.
Fans who pre-ordered the album from Earache's webstore received an exclusive red 7" vinyl single, along with a Evile poster. This vinyl was limited to a thousand copies and featured two unreleased demo tracks — "Darkness Shall Bring Death" and "Sacrificial". The 7" single was also available to purchase from selected independent retailers. On the day of the album's release outside of North America and Japan, Evile performed an in-store show at Manchester's Virgin Megastore
.
Released in Europe and North America on 21 January, 2008 and 5 February respectively, the song "Thrasher" surfaced on the compilation Thrashing Like A Maniac. "Thrasher" was also part of the Earache Thrash Pack, downloadable content made available on 18 March for the music video console game Rock Band
. With producer Dan Fernbach of Static Films, Evile filmed a music video for the track on 28 August in South London.
of the same name, whereas "We Who Are About to Die"'s lyrics were inspired by the 2000 epic Gladiator
. Inspired by an urban legend about Countess Bathory
, the lyrics for "Bathe In Blood" were written by Drake while Evile were recording at Sweet Silence Studios – after penning the track's lyrics, he thought he "had gone too far". "Burned Alive", meanwhile, was about burning witches; reading about witches and "how they were dealt with in olden times", Drake "thought it might be interesting to add a devilish slant to it". Inspired by what he read, Drake wrote about burned witches going to Hell, returning, and then killing everyone. Drake also wrote the lyrics to title track "Enter the Grave", and "Schizophrenia", the former being about a serial killer.
Written by bassist Mike Alexander, the lyrics to "Armoured Assault" describe a giant tank war machine. Alexander wrote "Killer From the Deep"'s lyrics as well, which Drake thinks might have been inspired by 1975 thriller Jaws
. Drummer Ben Carter contributed lyrics for Enter the Grave, writing the lyrics to "Man Against Machine".
Eduardo Rivadavia of Allmusic felt that the album's lyrics were characterized by "splatter-demonic lyrics, reminiscent of Bay Area
staples like Exodus
and Forbidden
– even early Slayer
for brief, exceptionally inspired moments." Metal Maniacs
Kevin Stewart-Panko commented that Enter the Grave contained "songs about such need-to-know topics as John Rambo ("First Blood"), sharks ("Killer From the Deep") and, umm, thrash ("Thrasher") abound in all their escapist ridiculousness."
and debuted at number 33 on the UK Rock Chart
. Released in North America and Japan almost one month later on 25 September by Earache Records and Howling Bull Records respectively, the album sold 200 copies in the United States during its first week of release. Its Japanese edition included the bonus demo tracks "Darkness Shall Bring Death" and "Sacrificial", both of which were also available as an exclusive red 7" single vinyl. A limited-edition "redux" version of the album was issued on 13 October in Europe and on 28 October in North America, housed in a slipcase. This re-release included three bonus tracks, an Enter the Grave patch, a guitar pick, and a two-hour DVD including the entire full-length played live in rehearsal, live footage from Evile's February 2008 European tour with Megadeth
, band interviews, and exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of the group on the road. According to the Huddersfield Daily Examiner
, Enter the Grave had shifted 30,000 copies by September 2009.
Writing mostly favourable reviews of the album, many journalists referenced 1980s thrash groups, particularly Exodus, Slayer and Testament
. Awarding the album eight out of ten stars, Dom Lawson of Classic Rock
described Enter the Grave as "a monstrous, life-affirming metal album that craftily welds misty-eyed nostalgia for the glory days of Exodus, Testament and Arise-era Sepultura
to contemporary sonic values". Rock Sound
writer Ronnie Kerswell observed that "title track "Enter the Grave" nods towards Slayer's classic "Angel of Death
"", and summarized by calling the full-length "old school as fuck", while awarding Enter the Grave eight out of ten stars. Dave Ling of Metal Hammer
gave the album eight out of ten stars as well, feeling that "with the galloping likes of "Bathe In Blood", "Thrasher" and "First Blood", Evile have fulfilled their side of the deal". Chris Kee of Zero Tolerance Magazine
noted that "the influences are easy to spot – Metallica
, Exodus, Testament, Forbidden, Laaz Rockit
, Slayer", but still called Enter the Grave "a triumph, a resounding war cry from the spearhead of the new UK thrash assault", awarding four and a half out of five stars.
Ian Webster of Terrorizer wrote that "First Blood" is ultra-Exodus and goes head to head with the Slayer attack of "Schizophrenia" and "Armoured Assault"", and hailed the album as "the best UK thrash debut since Sabbat
's History of a Time to Come
", awarding nine out of ten stars. Giving Enter the Grave four out of five stars, Kerrang!
s James Hoare commented that the album was "honed on a steady diet of early Slayer, Sacred Reich
and Nuclear Assault
", summarizing the full-length as "an absolute hair-swirling, air-punching beast". Terrorizer dubbed Enter the Grave the nineteenth best album of 2007, whereas Classic Rock rated the full-length the thirty-eighth best album of 2007.
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
band Evile
Evile
Evile is a thrash metal band from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire in the United Kingdom. Their debut album, Enter the Grave, was produced by Flemming Rasmussen at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark and was released worldwide in 2007 by Earache Records to critical acclaim by fans and critics...
. Released on 27 August, 2007 in Europe and on 25 September in North America and Japan, the album received generally favorable critical reviews and entered the UK Rock Chart
UK Rock Chart
The UK Rock Chart usually refers to the Top 40 Rock Singles and the Top 40 Rock Albums Chart compiled by the Official Charts Company from physical record sales in British retail outlets with larger than average genrespecific sales....
at number 33. It was produced by Flemming Rasmussen
Flemming Rasmussen
Flemming Rasmussen is a Danish engineer, producer, mixer and owner and founder of Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark.-Biography:...
and recorded at Sweet Silence Studios, Copenhagen, Denmark. Rasmussen had earlier produced three Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
albums, a fact which raised the profile of Enter the Graves release. The track "Thrasher" was included in the 2008 Earache Thrash Pack, a downloadable selection of songs for the music video console game Rock Band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
. The rest of the album is also planned to be released under the Rock Band Network
Rock Band Network
The Rock Band Network is a downloadable content service designed by Harmonix Music Systems with the help of Microsoft to allow musical artists and record labels to make their music available as playable tracks for the Rock Band series of rhythm video games, starting with Rock Band 2...
.
The album's lyrics were inspired by films, as well as topics such as a serial killer, Countess Bathory
Elizabeth Báthory
Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed was a countess from the renowned Báthory family of Hungarian nobility. Although in modern times she has been labelled the most prolific serial killer in history, the number of murders has been debated...
and witch burnings
Witch-hunt
A witch-hunt is a search for witches or evidence of witchcraft, often involving moral panic, mass hysteria and lynching, but in historical instances also legally sanctioned and involving official witchcraft trials...
. Enter the Grave was re-released as a limited-edition "redux" version on 13 October, 2008 in Europe and on 28 October in North America.
Recording
On 18 October, 2006, Earache RecordsEarache Records
Earache Records is a heavy metal-oriented record label based in Nottingham, UK and New York, USA. It helped to pioneer extreme metal by releasing many of the earliest grindcore and death metal records in the period 1988-1994.-History:...
announced that it had signed a record contract with Evile. Looking for a producer for their debut album, the band decided to send a request by email to producer Flemming Rasmussen
Flemming Rasmussen
Flemming Rasmussen is a Danish engineer, producer, mixer and owner and founder of Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark.-Biography:...
"for a laugh"; Rasmussen had previously produced three Metallica albums; 1984's Ride the Lightning
Ride the Lightning
Ride the Lightning is the second studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released on July 27, 1984 through the independent record label Megaforce Records. The album was certified gold by the RIAA on November 5, 1987 and was most recently certified 5x platinum on June 9, 2003...
, 1986's Master of Puppets
Master of Puppets
-Personnel:Metallica* James Hetfield – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar on track 1, first solo on tracks 2 and 7* Cliff Burton – bass, backing vocals* Lars Ulrich – drums* Kirk Hammett – lead guitarProduction...
, and 1988's ...And Justice for All
...And Justice for All (album)
...And Justice for All is the fourth studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released on August 25, 1988 through Elektra Records. It is the first full-length Metallica album to feature bassist Jason Newsted following the death of Cliff Burton in 1986...
. Lead vocalist / rhythm guitarist Matt Drake googled Rasmussen's name, and the first result returned was the producer's official website. Drake emailed Rasmussen asking if he would be interested. The producer replied a few days later, asking "Send me some of the tracks over". Drake emailed a number of mp3, but Rasmussen did not reply, leading Drake to worry that the producer "hated them, and thought they were shit." Earache Records subsequently emailed Rasmussen to formally ask if he would produce Evile's debut album, to which Rasmussen replied, "Yes". On 12 March, 2007, his involvement was made public.
Pre-production with Rasmussen began on 28-29 April at Evile's Huddersfield
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
rehearsal space. Soon after the band performed a live set at Tottenham Court Road, London's Fopp
Fopp (retailer)
Fopp is a chain of retail stores selling music, film, books and other entertainment products in the United Kingdom.-History:From its origins as a one-man stall in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1981, it expanded to a chain of over 100 branches throughout the country in 2007...
store, which Rasmussen attended to observe Evile's live sound, and "further gain a feel" for the group's music. The album was recorded and mixed at Sweet Silence Studios, Copenhagen, Denmark. Enter the Grave was produced, engineered, mixed and mastered by Rasmussen, who also supplied additional backing vocals to title track "Enter the Grave". Anders H. Mortensen, meanwhile, acted as assistant engineer. Photographs taken during the album's recording sessions were posted at Evile's official MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
blog, where fans were also invited to ask the band's members questions about the recording process for Enter the Grave.
In turn, Evile's guitarists went into a room where another person sat with a microphone, ready to capture the sound. From the control room, Rasmussen would say "Right, play something". The respective guitarist would play his instrument, to which Rasmussen would respond "Right, move it left". Moving the guitar left, the respective guitarist would play again, Rasmussen replying with "Move it right. Alright, leave it there. Don't touch it". The respective guitarist would leave his instrument in that position, and the "record" button would be pressed. From there, the musician in question would play his parts. A Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier amplifier was tested alongside a Marshall
Marshall Amplification
Marshall Amplification is a British company, founded by drummer Jim Marshall, that designs and manufactures music amplifiers, brands personal headphones/earphones , and, after acquiring Natal Drums, drums and bongos. Marshall amplifiers, and specifically their guitar amplifiers, are among the most...
amplifier, but according to Drake, "the Mesa (sound) was nowhere near as good". Evile chose to record Enter the Graves guitar parts using a Marshall amplifier, and spent "roughly ten minutes" attempting to achieve "a decent sound". "A bit longer" was spent testing the drums so that a "nice" sound could be achieved, and so that the drums could be tuned.
By 5 June, recording for Enter the Grave had been completed, and Rasmussen had begun mixing the album. Video footage shot during recording sessions was uploaded to Earache Records' official YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
account on 4 July, providing an exclusive glimpse behind the scenes. In reviewing Enter the Grave, some journalists commented on Rasmussen's role as producer. Chris Kee of Zero Tolerance Magazine
Zero Tolerance Magazine
Zero Tolerance Magazine is an extreme music magazine published by Obdurate Ltd. in the United Kingdom. Published bi-monthly, it can be found on newsstands in the UK, Europe and North America - and is available on newsstands in Australia and specialist retailers in New Zealand and Taiwan...
said that "getting Flemming Rasmussen to produce [Enter the Grave] is a major coup and as you'd expect he's done a sterling job, these fine songs all being blessed with a clean, crisp, uncluttered sound", whereas Ian Webster of Terrorizer
Terrorizer Magazine
Terrorizer is an extreme music magazine published by Dark Arts Ltd. in the United Kingdom. It is released every four weeks with thirteen issues a year and features a 'Fear Candy' covermount CD, a twice yearly 'Fear Candy Unsigned' CD, and a double-sided poster.-1993:Terrorizer published its first...
felt that "booking a band into Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen to record their debut with legendary Metallica producer Flemming Rasmussen is one hell of a statement of intent from Earache." Eduardo Rivadavia of Allmusic also commented on Rasmussen's involvement, declaring that his production "is surely one large reason why the album is characterized by a distinctively crunchy, rhythmically airtight attack."
Marketing and promotion
On 23 April, 2007 Earache released a six-CD collection entitled Metal: A Headbanger's Companion which included a demo version of "Enter the Grave" on its third disc. Six days later, following a pre-production session, Evile performed a live set at Tottenham Court Road, London's Fopp store. "Enter the Grave", "Schizophrenia" and "Armoured Assault" were made available for streamingStreaming media
Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...
on the group's official website on 25 June. "Enter the Grave" was further included on a Earache summer sampler CD given out free with the August 2007 issue of Decibel.
Fans who pre-ordered the album from Earache's webstore received an exclusive red 7" vinyl single, along with a Evile poster. This vinyl was limited to a thousand copies and featured two unreleased demo tracks — "Darkness Shall Bring Death" and "Sacrificial". The 7" single was also available to purchase from selected independent retailers. On the day of the album's release outside of North America and Japan, Evile performed an in-store show at Manchester's Virgin Megastore
Virgin Megastore
Virgin Megastores is an international chain of record shops, founded by Sir Richard Branson on London's Oxford Street in early 1971. Virgin Megastores are best described today as entertainment retailers....
.
Released in Europe and North America on 21 January, 2008 and 5 February respectively, the song "Thrasher" surfaced on the compilation Thrashing Like A Maniac. "Thrasher" was also part of the Earache Thrash Pack, downloadable content made available on 18 March for the music video console game Rock Band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
. With producer Dan Fernbach of Static Films, Evile filmed a music video for the track on 28 August in South London.
Lyrical themes
Enter the Graves liner notes credit Evile as a whole for having written the album's lyrics. In discussing his lyrical contributions during an October 2007 interview, lead vocalist / rhythm guitarist Matt Drake said that he was "really inspired by films"; "First Blood"'s lyrics were inspired by the 1982 filmFirst Blood
First Blood is a 1982 action thriller film directed by Ted Kotcheff. The film stars Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo, a troubled and misunderstood Vietnam War veteran, with Sheriff Will Teasle as his nemesis and Colonel Samuel Trautman as his former commander and only ally...
of the same name, whereas "We Who Are About to Die"'s lyrics were inspired by the 2000 epic Gladiator
Gladiator (2000 film)
Gladiator is a 2000 historical epic film directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Ralf Möller, Oliver Reed, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, John Shrapnel and Richard Harris. Crowe portrays the loyal Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius, who is betrayed...
. Inspired by an urban legend about Countess Bathory
Elizabeth Báthory
Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed was a countess from the renowned Báthory family of Hungarian nobility. Although in modern times she has been labelled the most prolific serial killer in history, the number of murders has been debated...
, the lyrics for "Bathe In Blood" were written by Drake while Evile were recording at Sweet Silence Studios – after penning the track's lyrics, he thought he "had gone too far". "Burned Alive", meanwhile, was about burning witches; reading about witches and "how they were dealt with in olden times", Drake "thought it might be interesting to add a devilish slant to it". Inspired by what he read, Drake wrote about burned witches going to Hell, returning, and then killing everyone. Drake also wrote the lyrics to title track "Enter the Grave", and "Schizophrenia", the former being about a serial killer.
Written by bassist Mike Alexander, the lyrics to "Armoured Assault" describe a giant tank war machine. Alexander wrote "Killer From the Deep"'s lyrics as well, which Drake thinks might have been inspired by 1975 thriller Jaws
Jaws (film)
Jaws is a 1975 American horror-thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name. In the story, the police chief of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, tries to protect beachgoers from a giant man-eating great white shark by closing the beach,...
. Drummer Ben Carter contributed lyrics for Enter the Grave, writing the lyrics to "Man Against Machine".
Eduardo Rivadavia of Allmusic felt that the album's lyrics were characterized by "splatter-demonic lyrics, reminiscent of Bay Area
Bay Area thrash metal
Bay Area thrash metal, or "Bay Area thrash", referred to a steady following of heavy metal bands in the 1980s who formed and gained international status in the San Francisco Bay Area, California...
staples like Exodus
Exodus (band)
Exodus is an American thrash metal band formed in 1980 in Richmond, California. Spanning a career of over 30 years, Exodus has gone through numerous lineup changes, two extended hiatuses, and the deaths of two former band members. Guitarist Gary Holt remains the only constant member of the band,...
and Forbidden
Forbidden (band)
Forbidden is a thrash metal band from the San Francisco Bay Area. Formed in 1985 as Forbidden Evil, the group was founded by Russ Anderson and Craig Locicero, who are both permanent members. Since their formation, Forbidden have broken up and reformed twice with numerous line-up changes...
– even early Slayer
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...
for brief, exceptionally inspired moments." Metal Maniacs
Metal Maniacs
Metal Maniacs was a heavy metal magazine founded in 1989 by Mike G. and Katherine Ludwig of Metal Shop. It was focused largely on covering extreme metal, with emphasis on the black and death metal genres...
Kevin Stewart-Panko commented that Enter the Grave contained "songs about such need-to-know topics as John Rambo ("First Blood"), sharks ("Killer From the Deep") and, umm, thrash ("Thrasher") abound in all their escapist ridiculousness."
Critical reception
Originally scheduled for issue in early 2007, Enter the Grave was released outside of North America and Japan on 27 August, 2007 by Earache RecordsEarache Records
Earache Records is a heavy metal-oriented record label based in Nottingham, UK and New York, USA. It helped to pioneer extreme metal by releasing many of the earliest grindcore and death metal records in the period 1988-1994.-History:...
and debuted at number 33 on the UK Rock Chart
UK Rock Chart
The UK Rock Chart usually refers to the Top 40 Rock Singles and the Top 40 Rock Albums Chart compiled by the Official Charts Company from physical record sales in British retail outlets with larger than average genrespecific sales....
. Released in North America and Japan almost one month later on 25 September by Earache Records and Howling Bull Records respectively, the album sold 200 copies in the United States during its first week of release. Its Japanese edition included the bonus demo tracks "Darkness Shall Bring Death" and "Sacrificial", both of which were also available as an exclusive red 7" single vinyl. A limited-edition "redux" version of the album was issued on 13 October in Europe and on 28 October in North America, housed in a slipcase. This re-release included three bonus tracks, an Enter the Grave patch, a guitar pick, and a two-hour DVD including the entire full-length played live in rehearsal, live footage from Evile's February 2008 European tour with Megadeth
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...
, band interviews, and exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of the group on the road. According to the Huddersfield Daily Examiner
Huddersfield Daily Examiner
The Huddersfield Daily Examiner is an English local daily evening newspaper covering Huddersfield and its surrounding areas. The first edition was published, as a weekly, on September 6, 1851, as the Huddersfield & Holmfirth Examiner and the newspaper has been published on a daily basis since...
, Enter the Grave had shifted 30,000 copies by September 2009.
Writing mostly favourable reviews of the album, many journalists referenced 1980s thrash groups, particularly Exodus, Slayer and Testament
Testament (band)
Testament is an American metal band from Berkeley, California, formed in 1983. They are often credited as one of the most popular bands of the 1980s thrash metal scene...
. Awarding the album eight out of ten stars, Dom Lawson of Classic Rock
Classic Rock (magazine)
Classic Rock is a British magazine dedicated to the radio format of classic rock, published by Future Publishing, who are also responsible for its "sister" publication Metal Hammer. Although firmly focusing on key bands from the 1960s through early 1990s, it also includes articles and reviews of...
described Enter the Grave as "a monstrous, life-affirming metal album that craftily welds misty-eyed nostalgia for the glory days of Exodus, Testament and Arise-era Sepultura
Sepultura
Sepultura is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte, formed in 1984. The band was a major force in the death metal, thrash metal and ultimately groove metal realms during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with their later experiments melding nu metal, hardcore punk and industrial.Sepultura...
to contemporary sonic values". Rock Sound
Rock Sound
Rock Sound is a British magazine which champions rock music. The magazine aims at being more "underground" and less commercial, whilst also giving coverage to more well known acts.-History:...
writer Ronnie Kerswell observed that "title track "Enter the Grave" nods towards Slayer's classic "Angel of Death
Angel of Death (song)
"Angel of Death" is the opening track on the American thrash metal band Slayer's 1986 album Reign in Blood. The lyrics and music were written by Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman and are based on Nazi ″physician″ Josef Mengele, who conducted human experiments at the Auschwitz concentration camp during...
"", and summarized by calling the full-length "old school as fuck", while awarding Enter the Grave eight out of ten stars. Dave Ling of Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer is a monthly heavy metal music magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and in several other countries by different publishers. Metal Hammer articles feature both mainstream bands and more unusual acts from the whole spectrum of heavy metal music...
gave the album eight out of ten stars as well, feeling that "with the galloping likes of "Bathe In Blood", "Thrasher" and "First Blood", Evile have fulfilled their side of the deal". Chris Kee of Zero Tolerance Magazine
Zero Tolerance Magazine
Zero Tolerance Magazine is an extreme music magazine published by Obdurate Ltd. in the United Kingdom. Published bi-monthly, it can be found on newsstands in the UK, Europe and North America - and is available on newsstands in Australia and specialist retailers in New Zealand and Taiwan...
noted that "the influences are easy to spot – Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
, Exodus, Testament, Forbidden, Laaz Rockit
Lääz Rockit
Lääz Rockit are a Power/Thrash band formed in San Francisco, California in 1982. Although one of the lesser-known groups of the Bay Area thrash metal scene, each album in their history has received high critical marks...
, Slayer", but still called Enter the Grave "a triumph, a resounding war cry from the spearhead of the new UK thrash assault", awarding four and a half out of five stars.
Ian Webster of Terrorizer wrote that "First Blood" is ultra-Exodus and goes head to head with the Slayer attack of "Schizophrenia" and "Armoured Assault"", and hailed the album as "the best UK thrash debut since Sabbat
Sabbat (band)
Sabbat are a thrash metal band from Nottingham, England, currently consisting of Martin Walkyier , Andy Sneap , Simon Jones , Gizz Butt and Simon Negus . Over the years Sabbat have released three studio albums, four demos, two split singles/compilation albums, two singles and a live VHS...
's History of a Time to Come
History of a Time to Come
History of a Time to Come is the debut full-length album by the British thrash metal band Sabbat.-Background:In May 1986, Sabbat recorded a 4 track demonstration tape entitled “Fragments of a Faith Forgotten”, recorded at a cost of £10 in a converted farmhouse near Ripley, Derbyshire.During the...
", awarding nine out of ten stars. Giving Enter the Grave four out of five stars, Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
s James Hoare commented that the album was "honed on a steady diet of early Slayer, Sacred Reich
Sacred Reich
Sacred Reich is a Phoenix, Arizona-based thrash metal band that formed in 1985. Singer/songwriter Phil Rind's interest was in socially conscious and political speed metal. After several records on Metal Blade Records, they signed to Hollywood Records for a short stint, but later returned to Metal...
and Nuclear Assault
Nuclear Assault
Nuclear Assault is an American thrash metal/crossover thrash band formed in 1984.-History:After the release of Anthrax's debut album Fistful of Metal, bass player Danny Lilker, a founding member of the group, was fired by the band...
", summarizing the full-length as "an absolute hair-swirling, air-punching beast". Terrorizer dubbed Enter the Grave the nineteenth best album of 2007, whereas Classic Rock rated the full-length the thirty-eighth best album of 2007.
Tracklisting
Personnel
- Matt DrakeMatt DrakeMatthew "Matt" Drake is the rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist in the English thrash metal group Evile.-Evile:In 2000, Drake and Ben Carter got together to form a covers band...
– lead vocals, rhythm guitar - Ol DrakeOl DrakeOl Drake is the lead guitarist of English thrash metal group, Evile.-Biography:...
– lead guitar, cover concept - Mike Alexander – bass guitar
- Ben Carter – drums
- Flemming RasmussenFlemming RasmussenFlemming Rasmussen is a Danish engineer, producer, mixer and owner and founder of Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark.-Biography:...
– Producer, engineer, mixer, masterer and additional backing vocals on "Enter the Grave" - Anders H Mortensen – Assistant engineer
- Vitaly S Alexius – Cover illustration
- Tom Warner – Layout
- Lucy Swift – Photos