M-PIRE OF EVIL – Crucified
- by Matt Coe
- Posted on 08-05-2013
The second album from the trio M-Pire of Evil "Crucified" contains 11 tracks, but for an interesting twist of events 9 of these cuts are from Venom’s back catalog- at the time when bassist/vocalist Tony ‘Demolition Man’ Dolan and guitarist Mantas were in the group from 1989-1992. Cuts such as "Carnivorous", "Black Legions", and "Wolverine" benefit from today’s production values- but one wonders if the band really needed to crawl back into the catalog instead of taking more time to deliver their own fresh material once again?
Considering the debut "Hell to the Holy" didn’t really inspire me to recommend this act, "Crucified" comes a little closer to quality traditional / speed metal, but not enough to raise the stakes in the band’s longevity. It all passes through my ears unappealing, and without the riff fanfare bigger acts deliver.
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