Carrion
Evil Is There!

A Saucerful Of Thrash - Episode II: "Jede Schabe ist der schinste seiner Mutter!"*

It is a common belief that Switzerland played a decidedly secondary role in the brief thrash metal saga of the 80s, and it is certainly not my intention to engage in historical revisionism aimed at reassessing an undoubtedly minor musical basin. Yet I believe it is appropriate to give the Swiss Confederation its due credit, if only for being home to two bands that, on their own, in some ways decreed the birth and demise of the entire genre: Celtic Frost and Coroner.

On the one hand, it is undeniable that Tom G. Warrior’s band is to be counted among the formations that, in the early 80s, most contributed to the definition of the canons of extreme music. On the other hand, Vetterli and company had the honor/burden of denouncing the advanced state of decay in which the genre was floundering, overthrowing its stylistic canons with their "avantgarde thrash," and in fact sealing its death for compositional aphasia.

Having clarified this, it is undeniable that Switzerland was not a fertile ground for talents. The annals of thrashology indeed speak of a scene that was really modest, consisting of a small handful of bands that never rose above the national circuit, partly due to their really negligible musical offering. Among the very rare exceptions, the Carrion from Bern certainly deserve an honorable mention: a quartet belonging to the first guard of the movement (it seems they formed back in 1983), meteor-like disappearing in a very short time "without a ripple, without making a splash" ("...the clock struck its chimes, the Renault turned into a pumpkin...**), but not before earning the much-coveted award "Ugliest Band in the History of Medal".

"Evil Is There" (released in the ever-lamented 1986 on Sri Lanka Records), the only discographic testimony we have from the quartet, presents itself from the very first listen as an album easily attributable to the coordinates of the genre in its European sense, focused on a rough, fast, aggressive rhythmic work ("Antichrist", "Avenger"), but at the same time, it doesn’t shy away from a certain taste for melody, for the less uncompromising solution, for the catchy chorus ("Games Of Evil"). An album that readily bares its teeth, still rooted in the groove of the Teutonic school, but which does not disdain turns towards the less extreme shores of traditional heavy/speed and NWOBHM ("Restless").

Unfortunately, to counterbalance a composition work that is all in all decent, we find at least two flaws, which alone compromise the final evaluation of the album. Firstly, the production: dry, spartan, almost drained of any kind of reverb. Truly like a tavern. Basically, it's as if each instrument had been recorded in a different room of my house: guitars in the kitchen (which is the heart of the house), the bass in the basement (which, indeed, is the lowest room), and the drums in the bathroom (meaning they're crappy, period). Secondly: the vocal performance. Certainly not being able to rely on technically exquisite vocal abilities, poor V. O. Pulver (here also in the role of lead guitarist) offers a performance constantly over the top, which, while it denotes commitment and dedication to the cause on one hand, on the other hand, is more often than not excessive, especially when he unleashes strangled screams and hints of growls that would best be done without (truly hilarious, then, the strong Prussian accent: "Avenger" becomes something like "Uuueeeeennggiaaa", "Everywhere" digi-evolves into "eviueaaahhhuu", "Torero" sublimates into "Tooooooreruuuaaaaahh"). I will then gloss over the "UH!" scattered randomly across the various tracks: better to think that during the recordings someone had a cough and accidentally ended up on the album...

An honorable mention, finally, for the poetry of the lyrics, particularly the title track, of which I think it appropriate to report a short excerpt:
"...evil!
...evil!
...evil!
...evil!
...evil!evilevilevilevilevilevilevilevilevilevilevilevilevilevilevilevilevilevil... EEEVVVIIIILLLLLLLl!!!!!"

...GE-NI-US!

In conclusion, "Evil Is There!" can certainly be defined as a decent album, a perfect example of raw, ignorant, passionate, and instinctive speed/thrash medal. There’s no point in getting lost on evaluations regarding the lack of depth or dispensability of the offering: it is an album for completists, succumbed to the passing of time, marked by the band’s inexperience, yet immensely effective in providing the listener with a very pleasant alternative to the more well-known productions of the genre. In short, certainly not a "Chateau Latour of thrash". Rather a good “table medal” album: perhaps a bit naive and, so to speak, “run-down,” but with a strong and sincere taste, suitable for any occasion.

Dedicated to the Rasta pizzaiolo. I miss you a bit, you sucker

* more or less literally: "Every cockroach is beautiful to its own mother". A sincere thanks to K.
** I couldn’t wait to work this quote into some review!!