Revocation
Empire Of The Obscene

THE REVIEW

All metalheads will agree that thrash is good and right. All metalheads will agree that death is good and right. Finally, all metalheads will agree that technique is also good and right. So, if I take thrash, meld it with death, and mix it all with a sprinkle of technique, something good and right cubed will come out. Math cannot be wrong, but let's try to clarify this statement.

"Empire Of The Obscene," released in 2008, is the debut work of the American band Revocation, and it is precisely what I consider a brilliant mix of thrash and death.

Despite being only at their first work, Revocation display a disarming level of technical skill and musical maturity.

The first thing I appreciated was David Davidson's guitar, powerful and hammering in the rhythmic parts and extremely fast and clean in the solo parts (it's worth noting that he is the only guitarist in the band, which has just 3 members), where a decidedly baroque flair prevails, at times reminiscent of Malmsteen or Tolkki. The vocal parts are entrusted to Davidson himself and bassist Anthony Buda, who both display admirable vocal skills; their alternating scream-growl creates a brilliantly chosen vocal blend that adapts effectively to the violence of their songs. There’s also nothing to say about drummer Phil Dubois-Coyne, a true jackhammer.

We talked about technical skill. Well, Revocation's is disarming. The riffs are extremely complex and varied, the melodies range from baroque to oriental, the tempo changes are a feast for the ears, as well as the sudden shifts from complete calm to unstoppable fury.

Let's now take a brief look at the tracks.

"Unattained" opens the album with a style that, in some respects, recalls Slayer. "Tail From The Crypt" immediately makes it clear that there’s no joking here: violence and technique will dominate. The intro of "Exhumed Identity" seems made on purpose for headbanging, something always appreciated by this metalhead here! The anguished sweetness of the guitar in "Fields Of Predation" is contrasted by a fearsome demonic growl. "Alliance Of The Tyranny" is a fine instrumental track, where a very soft guitar is surrounded by a double bass and a bass that are not soft at all. "Suffer These Wounds" turns out to be a wide-ranging compendium of all possible and conceivable tempos, enough to set a metronome on fire... Turning point with "Summon The Spawn," where, rather than catching fire, our poor metronome collapses on itself! The epic and the fury increase exponentially from song to song, and in "None Shall Be Spared (All Shall Be Speared)," we almost reach the peak: it's the ideal moment to insert "Stillness," two minutes of enveloping tranquility that you just don't expect. We are in the final stages. "Age Of Iniquity" brings us back to a dimension where the wind carries anger and from the earth grow the fruits of hatred. And now we have reached the last song, the title track, and no better conclusion could be hoped for, the three guys from Boston do not hold back and give everything they have for five minutes of insane brutality.

A truly amazing album, in my opinion one of the greatest revelations of recent years, we shall see what they will do in the future, but if the morning shows the day, I think it will be a dazzling future!