Review by Greg on July 15, 2024.

Five full years after their first EP, Envenomed finally managed to reach the debut stage with 2014's Evil Unseen. Considering that this is the record that led the band to be signed (albeit shortly) by Punishment 18 Records, with no prior knowledge you would expect an aggressive thrash record, but it really isn't that different from said EP, which showcased a brand of melodic thrash with way more emphasis on the first term than on the second.

A good part of this is on the shoulders of the frontman Mav, whose voice manages to be simultaneously the most distinctive trait about the band, and its limit – the former since, well, he's a great vocalist per se, perhaps too close to your typical metalcore singer, but I usually dig his performances on every Envenomed release, and here it's no different. The latter is, sadly, because I don't think he manages to put his voice to full use most of the time, meaning that you're always left wanting for that refrain capable of getting stuck in your head for several days, while it never arrives and you're left with something like 'Spoils of Victory' where you don't even understand where the verse ends and the chorus begins at first listen, or 'Burn the Sun' that revolves around literally one single note for the most part... let's say I'm fine with having a less aggressive approach on your music, but I'm also expecting some more thought-out melodic line in its place, especially when you seriously have a dead ringer for Bullet for My Valentine's vocalist at the mic (although now with a sprinkle of Joey Belladonna on the higher notes – turns out that casual Anthrax mention I made earlier wasn't so casual after all).

Evil Unseen's biggest shortcoming is perhaps the fact that its (many) songs aren't exactly interchangeable, but they're still pretty hard to distinguish from one another. I singled out the two above because I'd noted their names while listening, otherwise you can bet I wouldn't have been able to remember which ones they were. There are a few exceptions in the de facto opener 'Will of Man', which isn't half bad and delivers yet another great solo in the band's career, and 'Falling' or 'Mechanical Enemy' containing a couple of the more successful refrains. I also think 'Disobey the Beast' works decently for what it tries to be, despite being a potential outlier with its tough midtempo formula and guest growled vocals. But apart from those, stuff like 'Within Me', 'The Shadowland', or the pointless instrumental 'Spirit Machine' do little more than string out the album length, to the point that attention loss is almost guaranteed.

A couple of generally faster cuts at the very end arrive maybe a bit too late to salvage the whole thing (although 'Global Deception' surely ends up on a high note), and as a result Evil Unseen is the kind of album that contains good stuff, when you come to think about it, but you really need to be in the right mindset to scavenge for it. I can definitely see myself enjoying Envenomed's recipe, but not as things stand here yet.

Rating: 6.6 out of 10

Review by Felix on January 1, 2023.

Yes, I have seen the very high average for this album. Nevertheless, “Orgasmatron”, this seems pretty clear to me, is definitely no spectacular album and, honestly speaking, with the exception of the irresistible drive of “Ace of Spades” (the song), Motörhead has never been a spectacular band. But firstly, it’s the 28th of December and therefore I feel the duty to upload another Motörhead review nobody has been waiting for. And secondly, life itself also does not hold a lot of spectacular moments. Therefore, Lemmy’s gang was always authentic and down-to-earth and this is probably of higher importance than any kind of spectacular song experiences.

“Orgasmatron” delivers some leisurely rocking tracks. Frankly, the only songs I really liked back in the speed-thrashing eighties were “Claw” and “Riding with the Driver”. Here the four-piece (!) does not hesitate, the tunes go straight ahead and both choruses have a raw yet catchy touch. It took me some time that almost every song scores with a solid degree of catchiness. But do not get me wrong, catchiness was not the most important feature for me back in the golden decade of (thrash) metal. Drunken by the violence and precision of acoustic riots like “Bonded by Blood” or “Hell Awaits”, a song like the powerless “Built for Speed” was nothing but music for old men (unbelievable, but I was just 18 years old) and “Deaf Forever” marked a decent but lame opener. Motörhead had been the epitome of antisocial brutality just a few years ago, now they were a toothless tiger, overran by the thrash hordes from the Bay Area, Germany and so on.

Today I still think that there is no basis to call “Orgasmatron” an underrated classic. Some of its pieces lack energy and dynamic. But I have better understood the special charm of Lemmy (R.I.P.) and his comrades. If I disregard the idea of competition for the hardest record in the world, Motörhead’s work from 1986 holds a collection of solid-to-good tracks. “Mean Machine”, for example, gives you a proper does of aggression and velocity, “Ain’t My Crime” makes you sit up and take notice thanks to a good flow and the title track (Lemmy: this is a song about the three things I hate most - religion, politics, war) delivers the entire portfolio of wickedness. Our icon’s usually monotonous voice expresses an enormous portion of cynicism and contempt with the consequence that the sinisterly stomping hymn to evil has become a little classic.

Finally, the production lacks pressure. It puts the focus on Lemmy’s voice (strange decision, haha), while the instrumental section sounds almost blurred. I miss sharp guitars and thundering drums. Maybe it is easier to like the production and the entire album if one has discovered it some years after its release, because the work sounded antiquated right from the beginning. In 1986, Motörhead looked like a fossil from the metallic Stone Age. At least, Lemmy had not lost his inner compass and therefore “Orgasmatron” is no outstanding, but an honest work.

Rating: 7 out of 10