In March 2010, EVILE’s OL DRAKE issued the following statement upon realising his band had been nominated for a Metal Hammer Golden God award:
“If we win, I promise we will do a bungee jump, dressed as cowboys. I’m writing that without checking if anyone else will do it, but that’s how I roll. But I definitely will.”
Four months later, Metal Hammer Golden God award in hand, OL and EVILE are facing up to the consequences of that statement. OL DRAKE, lead guitarist of EVILE and recipient of Metal Hammer Golden Gods “Metal As Fuck” award, will bungee jump for charity dressed as a cowboy. Accompanying him will be ALEXANDER MILAS, editor of Metal Hammer magazine and winner of 2009 “PPA Editor of the Year” award.
OL DRAKE will be jumping in aid of the British Lung Foundation, in memory of late EVILE bassist MIKE ALEXANDER. The British Lung Foundation are the only UK charity that helps people with any lung condition. There are 8 million people in this country with lung disease – whether it’s pneumonia, asthma, COPD, or lung cancer, the charity strives to be there for them and their loved ones. The British Lung Foundation provides information and support for people with pulmonary embolisms and their families via the help line, publications and recent scientific research into the condition. For more information, go to http://www.lunguk.org
ALEXANDER MILAS will be jumping in aid of the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout cancer charity, in memory of DIO. Stand Up and Shout is primarily to provide free cancer screening programs and testing to the public regardless of any individual’s ability to pay for it, and to provide financial assistance to cancer patients who are burdened with the cost of healthcare. For more information, go to http://www.ronniejamesdio.com
To sponsor ALEXANDER MILAS, go to http://www.ronniejamesdio.com and donate, making sure to put JUMP4METAL in the subject or comments line.
OL DRAKE recalls how he nonchalantly suggested a bungee jump dressed as a cowboy:
“I remember when we were nominated for Best UK Band at the Metal Hammer awards. We were up against Judas Priest, so naturally I thought there’s no competition there. I thought, why not make a ridiculous statement that won’t happen, because we can’t, and shouldn’t, beat Judas Priest. I said I would bungee jump dressed as a cowboy if we won an award at the Golden Gods.
“Little did I know we would win the ‘Metal as Fuck’ award. I’m a man of my word, so I’m going to do it along with Metal Guru and MH Editor, Alexander Milas. Instead of it just being some silly joke, I thought it would be great to make this a jump for charity, and that’s why I want to help raise awareness for the British Lung Foundation in memory of our late bassist, Mike Alexander, who passed away from a pulmonary embolism last year.”
ALEXANDER MILAS comments on why he is standing by OL DRAKE and joining in this jump for charity:
“When Ol first told me he wanted to jump off a bridge in a cowboy outfit, I thought: ‘wow, that sounds fucking idiotic – can I come?’ So imagine my dismay when he later replied that he was actually serious. Why the cowboy outfits? I have no idea, but I figure if you’re going into battle with gravity, you might as well do it in style, and generate some cash for a charity in honour of one of the greatest heavy metal singers of all time, Ronnie James Dio. It’s my hope that with this act of sheer metallic tomfoolery, we can help raise some cash for a truly worth causes, the Stand Up And Shout Foundation for my part, and the British Lung Foundation in honour of the late, great Mike Alexander for Ol.”
EVILE and Metal Hammer thank you for your support.
In October 2009 Evile’s bassist, Mike Alexander, passed away whilst on tour in Sweden. He died of a pulmonary embolism, he was 32. Two months after the tragedy, in December 2009, Evile arranged two memorial shows (Leeds & London) to honour the memory of Mike and to raise money for his family. While Mutant and Seregon played the show by request, Matt, Ol and Ben got together with members of the other bands and Nick Barker to play some covers by some of Mike’s favourite bands including Sepultura, Testament, Metallica, Pantera and Slayer. Below are videos of the entire covers set, including messages read out from Mike’s family and Earache Records, at the Mike Alexander Memorial Show in London on December 8th, 2009.
Evile lead guitarist, Ol Drake, had the following to say: “The two nights we did in December meant so much to us all. It was our own way of saying goodbye to our friend, Mike. We attended his funeral with his family and friends, and it was a good ceremony, but we wanted something we know Mike would have loved; two nights of Metal. It was tough to get back on stage again without looking over and seeing him there, as that’s what we’d all seen on stage for the past 10/11 years. I don’t think people realise how long we all played together. We still miss Mike dearly and can’t believe he’s gone. Thank you to everyone involved in helping us make these nights happen, and thanky ou to everyone for coming and paying your respects. I hope you enjoy these videos!”
British thrashers EVILE, who are known in gamer circles as the band with the most complex and hard-to-beat song on popular video game Rock Band, now have another new song available for fans to try to master.
EVILE’s song, “Infected Nation”, which comes from the band’s latest album, is now live and available on the Rock Band Network store. The band’s headbanging anthem “Thrasher” was previously released on Rock Band and became an instant hit with fans and gamers who wanted one of the fastest, most challenging and complex tracks available.
Now, EVILE returns to Rock Band 2 with “Infected Nation”, which proves to be equally as hard – if not harder – to master. “Infected Nation” is available to download now from the Rock Band Network store (not the main Rock Band store) for Xbox 360.
EVILE recently marked another triumphant milestone in the band’s short history, as they were honoured with the “Metal As Fuck” award at the 2010 Metal Hammer Golden Gods. View a photo of the band with their award at http://earacherecords.com/myspace/evile_goldengod.jpg
Catch EVILE live on tour this Summer at the following festivals:
18.06.10 – Clisson, France – Hellfest
31.07.10 – Knebworth, UK – Sonisphere
06.08.10 – Wacken, Germany – Wacken Open Air
07.08.10 – Deinze, Belgium – Alcatraz Metal Festival
14.08.10 – Derby, UK – Bloodstock Open Air
26.08.10 – Bergen, Norway – Hole In The Sky Festival
EVILE WINS 'METAL AS FUCK' AWARD AT METAL HAMMER GOLDEN GODS
British thrashers EVILE have been honoured with the “Metal As Fuck” award at the 2010 Metal Hammer Golden Gods.
EVILE have been making tracks since their 2007 debut album, ENTER THE GRAVE. Since then, the band has been through a lot, including the release of their critically acclaimed second album, INFECTED NATIONS, tours with the likes of MEGADETH, EXODUS, KREATOR and OVERKILL, and the tragic death of the band’s late bassist, MIKE ALEXANDER.
Through all of the ups and downs, EVILE continue to impress with their dedication and sheer passion for what they do. Winning the “Metal As Fuck” Golden God award marks another triumphant milestone in the band’s short history, and they show no sign of slowing down.
EVILE lead guitarist OL DRAKE comments:
“The other night we took a trip down to London to take part in Metal Hammer’s Kawasaki Golden Gods awards show. They’d been kind enough to ask us to play the show, which we were chuffed about. We’d also been nominated for ‘Best UK Band’. We played our set and had a great time.
“Whilst in our dressing room our manager, Julie Weir (Wiseblood Management), and a few Earache guys came in to tell us we’d won an award. We were honoured with the prestigious ‘Metal as Fuck’ award. We couldn’t feel more privileged and honoured to receive such an award, and as far as I remember it’s the only thing we’ve won (other than me winning £50 from Walkers Crisps when I was a child).
“Like Matt said, we’d like to thank everyone for this, everyone at Metal Hammer, Dig and Earache, all our fans. We’d also like to dedicate it to our late bassist, Mike Alexander, because he’s more metal than all of us put together… in a scrap yard, listening to Judas Priest, eating metal.”
Catch EVILE live on tour this Summer at the following festivals:
18.06.10 – Clisson, France – Hellfest
31.07.10 – Knebworth, UK – Sonisphere
06.08.10 – Wacken, Germany – Wacken Open Air
07.08.10 – Deinze, Belgium – Alcatraz Metal Festival
14.08.10 – Derby, UK – Bloodstock Open Air
26.08.10 – Bergen, Norway – Hole In The Sky Festival
The British thrashers Evile signed to a legendary metal label Earache Records just in the mid of October´06. In a way it could be said they deserved to get signed by them even if there has been a lot of talking about Evile as another Exodus rip off band. On the other hand, one needs to ask ‘do you like old school Thrash?’; I mean, the way it was churned out in the ´80s ála Slayer, Death Angel, Heathen and of course Exodus? If that´s something that makes your heart pound, body sweat, and blood run faster, then be all hailed and welcomed Evile! The band surely knows how to thrash – how to thrash the way through every thrasher´s heart by all that sheer strong potential they share inside the band, to become even the next big thing from England that might well take the whole world by a firestorm.
Ol, the lead guitarist of Evile talked to Metal-Rules.com about the band, signing to Earache, as well as of course their forthcoming debut album – not forgetting completely to throw a handful of praising words toward his main influences either who have influenced him as a guitarist. Read on…
