Emil Bulls: Kill Your Demons

As you'd expect from a band with double digit album releases behind them Emil Bulls have already evolved through various sounds and line-up changes. However, having that amount of experience under their belts also leaves them as accomplished studio men with a confidence that only time can bring. With the band's profile outside of their German homeland close to nonexistent, the strength of their latest release, Kill Your Demons, suggests that some 23 years after they formed, wider recognition could still come Emil Bulls' way.

In terms of attack Kill Your Demons is 'modern' in the sense that it incorporates the current rock scene (Alter Bridge/Shinedown etc) and sprinkles a little metal-core on top, while also utilising a Nu-metal sheen to bring it all together. The mighty riff fuelled attack of the album's title track makes a big impression and one that suggests that Emil Bulls could be operating in an Disturbed like way. The combining of meaty riffs, threatening vocals and tight melodies distributed with full believability. "The Ninth Wave" confirms the potential, barked vocals and stinging guitars building a mighty smash of metal. It's a hell of a high standard and one that Emil Bull do well to achieve, but as is so often the case, things slip ever so slightly after the impressively strong opening duo. "Black Flags (Over Planet Earth)" is too keen to repeat the process for a third time, clean vocals punctuating the barks, riffs charging forward and pulling back. In isolation this is still good stuff and yet with what's come before there really needs to be an eye on varying the offer. And yet when Kill Your Demons does try to do something a little different "Once And For All" slips into teen angst and tweeness, while "In Any Case Maybe" just seems to be scene chasing. Shinedown could do this stuff in their sleep, but here it feels forced and unnatural. "Euphoria" does provide a more commercial shout along that seduces without too much compromise, whereas "Levels And Scales" sits quite convincingly in mid-paced restraint – even if the mid-song rap/spoken section has a tacked on feel.

To be fair to AFM Records they've made this two disc digi-pack release feel and look classy, but with disc two a straight run through of the album without vocals, it's a once only listen. While adding two bonus cuts to the twelve song track listing actually leads to things feeling bloated and unnecessarily long. Like many I'd guess, Kill Your Demons is my first encounter with Emil Bulls and while they've been around too long to talk of potential and time being on their side, that doesn't mean that there isn't enough on this album to suggest that this German outfit won't be worth keeping tabs on. That said, with so many bands currently occupying the space Kill Your Demons is looking to slot into, they'll need to find a little more consistency to really begin to make a mark outside of their homeland.

Track Listing
1. Kill Your Demons
2. The Ninth Wave
3. Black Flags (Over Planet Earth)
4. Miss Magnetic
5. Once and for All
6. The Anatomy of Fear
7. Mt. Madness
8. Euphoria
9. In Any Case Maybe
10. Gone Dark
11. Levels and Scales
12. Winterblood (The Sequel)
13. Dressed in Flames
14. Arise Dear Spring

Added: March 17th 2018
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Emil Bulls online
Hits: 1400
Language: english

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