MPIRE OF EVIL (formerly PRIMEVIL) - featuring former VENOM members Tony "Demolition Man" Dolan (bass, vocals), Jeff "Mantas" Dunn (guitar) and Antony "Antton" Lant (drums - brother of original Venom frontman Conrad "Cronos" Lant) - will release their full-length debut, Hell To The Holy, on March 26th via Scarlet Records. Ave Noctum recently caught up with the band to discuss the album; an excerpt from the interview is available below:

Q: As well as being responsible for the introduction of speed, black and thrash metal to the heavy metal community as musicians, were you conscious that Mpire Of Evil should not go down that same path? I say this because Hell To The Holy has a bit of everything in it.

Dolan: "I think everyone was expecting another Venom album, but there is a Venom out there and it is not us, we are M-Pire. Should we have tried to do that we’d have restricted ourselves and we didn’t want to be tied down again. We wanted the freedom to do whatever. Yes, the album is varied with all sorts and that’s the way we liked it, everything on there is what we wanted to play and in that way. I hope people like it; it’s metal simple, for the fans to enjoy and get into, live too and not just on audio. If there is a path we are going down then it’s our own path and it will twist and turn at our own pleasure, but it would be cool if we bring different people together and they all find something there they like and can relate to."

Click here for the complete interview.

The band recently released the track ‘Hellspawn’ off the new album for streaming. Check it out below:

Hell To The Holy tracklisting:

'Hellspawn'

'Metal Messiah'

'Waking Up Dead'

'Hell To The Holy'

'Snake Pit'

'All Hail'

'Devil'

'Shockwave'

'The 8th Gate'

'M-pire' (Prelude)

According to a press release, "the CD boasts ten brand-new tracks displaying the band's infectious and groovy heavy metal assault, conveying Mantas' thunderous riffs, a huge rhythm section and Dolan's abrasive vocals into a monstrous musical holocaust which will appeal to both old-school and modern metal fans."

The album was produced by Mantas himself and featuring cover artwork by Gyula Havancsák (ANNIHILATOR, DESTRUCTION, GRAVE DIGGER). Despite having played on the album, drummer Antony "Antton" Lant has since left the band for personal reasons but a replacement will be announced soon.

Mpire Of Evil will be opening for ONSLAUGHT on their upcoming BraveWords.com-sponsored North American tour. The schedule is as follows:

March

19 - Seattle, WA - Studio 7
20 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theatre
21 - Oakland, CA - The Pound
22 - Los Angeles, CA - Ecoplex
23 - San Diego, CA - Jumping Turtle
24 - Tempe, AZ - 910 Live
25 - El Paso, TX - House Of Rock
26 - San Antonio, TX - The Korova
27 - Laredo, TX - Old No.2
28 - Dallas, TX - The Ranch (Arlington)
29 - St. Louis, MO - Fubar
30 - Chicago, IL - Reggies
31 - Dayton, OH - House of Rock

April

1 - Detroit, MI - Blondies
2 - Cleveland, OH - Peabody's
3 - Toronto, ON - Wrek Room
4 - Montreal, QC - The Katacombs
5 - Quebec City, QC - L'Agitée
6 - Rochester, NY - Montage Music Hall
7 - Brooklyn, NY - Saint Vitus Bar
8 - Washington, DC - U St. Music Hall

A promo video for the tour can be found below: