topofsm With "Existence is Futile", Revocation gives off a giant slab of the classic thrash sound with more modern production. Take that and mix a portion of Tech-Death into that, along with a few slight dashes of Pantera-groove, and you get this album.

The production is great, as said. For a thrash band it is a pretty strong point. The guitar is clear and melodic, and the bass can be clearly heard, and that's good, since there are some smooth groovy things going on in the background. Overall very well mixed.

The musicianship of the group is downright flawless on this record. The intro, "Enter the Hall" kicks off with a slow, breakdown tempo groove, building into a complete thrashfest, ending with tech-death arpeggios and a segue into the next track "Pestilence Reigns". Among all the great musicianship skills, I think one of the most notable things on here is that the major key is very prominent for a thrash band, something uncommon for such an intense genre.

Highlights include the intro, which as stated sets the bar high for the band at the beginning. The song it leads into, "Pestilence Reigns" continues this trend, eventually ending up with some fun instrumental tradeoff. The other instrumental, "Across Forests and Fjords" is fantastic as well, allowing the group to show off their strong composing and technical skills. "Dismantle the Dictator" starts off with unusual times and oddly placed angular melodies and finishes with an excellent solo.

Overall, this is a unique album with it's unusual blend of tech-death and thrash, and it works well. Granted, it's not the best neo-thrash album out there, but it speaks for itself and is well constructed. Recommended for neo-thrash fans mostly, but a good add to any metalhead's collection.

UMUR Existence Is Futile is the second full-length studio album by American thrash metal act Revocation. The album was released in September 2009 by Relapse Records.

The music on the album is high energy death/ thrash. Revocation mix the sound of an old school death/ thrash act like Demolition Hammer with the sound of neo-thrash metal acts like The Haunted and Dew-Scented and add a spoonful of melodeath too on this album. The vocals are especially aggressive and greatly enjoyable in my book. While you´re sure to get your face ripped-off by the razor sharp and fast riffing and the caustic vocal delivery, there are actually plenty of melodic and memorable hooks in the music that ensure a good balance in the music. There are lots of guitar solos in the songs which is also great for the variation of the album. The band is a power trio and a great feature is that during solos there is no rythm guitar playing which means that the music should be easy to play in a live environment. Not that "easy" means that this is easy to play music. There´s absolutely nothing wrong with the technical skill of the three musicians. Precise and skillful playing is the order of the day.

The production is professional and powerful. perfect for the music on this album.

Existence Is Futile is a great album by Revocation and definitely a step up from the already good debut album Empire of the Obscene (2008). There are still some issues with the songwriting and some experiments that I don´t think work too well ( funky guitar and bass???) but I think it´s only a matter of time before Revocation release an album that will be excellent and consistent through and through. For now Existence Is Futile is highly recommended to fans of aggressive and powerful death/ thrash with a good sense for variation and at times melody. A 3.5 star rating is deserved.