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Two years after their debut Enter the Grave, England's Evile comes back with their second album Infected Nations and it is a vastly different record. First off, if you are expecting the same level of energy and intensity that the first album had, you better look elsewhere. This record relies more on the heaviness of the riffs and therefore it is a more calculated effort from the band. In addition, there is an improve musicianship level from the band, evidenced by the longer instrumental sections that the songs contain especially in the cool "Nosophoros".

While the album has many good things, there are many noticeable aspects that come off as severely disappointing. Starting with the pace at which the record is mostly played. I don't know how you feel but more often than not when a Thrash band doesn't go all out speed, it falls flat on their faces. With the exception of the title track, the element of 80's magic that made the debut so special is absent here. It seems that Evile wanted to show maturity no matter what the cost and if the sound suffered because of it, then so be it. The next problem that I have with this is the length of the songs; most of them are a little too long for their own good. Just listen to the closing eleven minute instrumental "Hundred Wrathful Deities" and find out what the definition of time wasting really is.

There is some kick ass stuff here, like the opening title track and "Time No More" but in the end the disc comes of as a disappointment. I was really hoping Evile would improve upon their marvelous debut but after listening to this album repeatedly I've come to the realization that they just couldn't do it. I may sound tough on this review but Infected Nations is actually an enjoyable record that has its moments. Fans that aren't expecting much of this band will like it more than I did.