UMUR "The Outer Ones" is the 7th full-length studio album by US, Massachusetts based death/thrash metal act Revocation. The album was released through Metal Blade Records in September 2018. It´s the successor to "Great Is Our Sin" from 2016 and features the same four-piece lineup as the predecessor.

Revocation are an interesting act. Their core sound is aggressive death/thrash metal, but listening to their albums it´s obvious the band aren´t satisfied being put into a genre box, because they have so many additional tricks up their sleeves from other genres, and they make sure to incorporate all those ideas/tricks in their core death/thrash metal style, which in return makes them one of the most unique sounding acts on the scene. Sometimes I´m thinking this is what it would sound like if you combined Demolition Hammer with early Annihilator, because of the caustic death/thrash aggression of the former and the melodic and sophisticated riffs, harmonies, and solos of the latter. If you ask me that´s a very potent mix and while it doesn´t always work to perfection, Revocation have always produced music way above what is average for the genre, and when they hit all the right buttons, they´ve produced some of the best death/thrash metal out there.

"The Outer Ones" is no different than the albums before it in terms of style and overall quality and we´re again treated to high quality death/thrash metal, featuring aggressive raw (and occasionally growling) vocals, intricate thrash metal riffs, blistering solos, and a powerful rhythm section driving the music forward in a relentless energetic fashion. Everything is well performed by the skilled players, but the guitar solos as always take the prize and leave me breathless. Those aren´t your average guitar solos, and Revocation should receive all the praise in the world for their lead guitar work, which is quite frankly amazing...

The album features a powerful and detailed sounding production, which suits the material perfectly, and upon conclusion "The Outer Ones" is another high quality release from Revocation. Their desire to experiment and bring in other types of influences are for the most part a blessing and what makes them stand out from the crowd, but sometimes (just sometimes) a less eclectic and direct approach could have made some of the tracks more effective, and that´s the reason why I can´t give more than a 4 star (80%) rating, which is of course still a very high rating, but Revocation clearly have the potential to deliver material of an even higher quality, so I´ll reserve the higher ratings for the day when they have perfected their sound.

Nightfly There are probably not too many bands that have reached their eighth full length album without at least one of them being a dud. Such a band that has is USA tech death/thrashers Revocation. Inevitably some are better than others but each and every one of them is still a quality release. Their music whilst always complex as already mentioned incorporates both thrash and death metal with earlier releases leaning more to the thrash spectrum and later more towards death, particularly on their last album The Outer Ones though the lines between the two are often minimal and blurred. Like The Outer Ones, Netherheaven has more of a death leaning.

Netherheaven effortlessly maintains the high standards the band has set themselves. As always the music is busy, complex and for the most part fast perfectly demonstrated on opener Diabolical Majesty. It’s a killer that fans of the band will immediately enjoy and instantly recognisable as Revocation’s signature style. Lessons In Occult Theft is equally good as it twists and turns with constant rhythmic shifts and a collection of killer riffs overlaid by David Davidson’s harsh vocal delivery. This time around he is the sole guitarist but you wouldn’t notice the difference but how this will work live I’m not sure as this music really needs a dual guitar line-up. A second guest guitarist would be the way to go. The guitar solos are well written and executed, injecting some melody alongside the brutal riffing which as always is inventive and compelling with added dissonance for good measure. It’s not all Bludgeon though with Galleries Of Morbid Artistry adding some welcome light and shade for example. Once again the rhythm section of Brett Bamberger and Ash Pearson put in a masterly performance and in sync with Davidson’s complexities. Being a drummer myself I always look forward to hearing Pearson’s playing and he doesn’t disappoint here.

Because there’s a lot happening on Revocation albums they always take quite a few plays to reveal themselves fully. Great Is Our Sin remains a high point and benchmark for me but Netherheaven is another solid addition to the bands output though not quite reaching the heights of that masterpiece. Nevertheless it’s another essential album in their catalogue, one I’m more than happy with and will certainly be high on my albums of the year list in a few months’ time.

Nightfly Let’s face it, Revocation don’t make bad albums. So it is with album number seven, once again they impress with another dose of highly technical death tinged thrash.

They come in from the start with blast beats blazing on “Of Unwordly Origin” but in typical Revocation fashion they never sit on the same riff/drum part for long before changing to something else, usually equally complex and jaw dropping. Each song is full of time/tempo changes and musical twists and turns with each band member excelling at their individual instrument, never content to keep it simple. All this wouldn’t count for much if they didn’t have the songs to back it up but fortunately as always they deliver with compelling riff after riff and blistering yet melodic guitar solos. There always seems to be an instrumental on their albums and here we get “Fathomless Catacombs”, five and half minutes of stunning musical virtuosity. To be honest such is the complexity throughout that any song on here could work as an instrumental. With each song delivering the goods on all levels picking favourites is futile but if pushed I might just go for “Vanitas” where if at all possible, they manage just to just squeeze out a bit more ferocity.

While there’s no great leaps or growth since 2016’s “Great Is Our Sin” with music this good it’s irrelevant. In fact it would be hard to see where Revocation could take their music anywhere else without having a complete genre change as they’ve already at the top of their game and have been for at least four albums now. If you enjoy them then “The Outer Ones” is essential listening for you.

UMUR "Great Is Our Sin" is the 6th full-length studio album by US, Massachusetts based thrash metal act Revocation. The album was released through Metal Blade Records in July 2016. It´s the successor to "Deathless" from 2014. There´s been one lineup change since the predecessor as drummer Phil Dubois-Coyne has been replaced by Ash Pearson. Marty Friedman guests on the instrumental "The Exaltation" with a guitar lead.

Stylistically this is pretty much Revocation as we know them. Technically well played death/thrash with strong melodic sensibilities. So there is very little new here if you´re already familiar with the band´s trademark style. Maybe a few more "clean" vocals (they aren´t really clean, but more a semi-raw type of singing) to compliment the predominantly raw and aggressive vocals on the album, but that´s about it. So the band haven´t developed their style much since the last couple of releases, but what you get instead of stylistic development are well written compositions, high level musicianship, and a powerful sounding production. Revocation are one of those acts who can rip you apart when they set their mind to it or make your jaw drop with crazy fast-paced rhythms, riffs, and guitar solos when they feel like doing that. In other words they are an act who can pretty much do what they want to because they got the skills to do it.

The material on the 11 track, 47:53 minutes long album are generally strong, and it doesn´t take many spins before you´re able to remember most tracks. I still think they could work a little more on the hooks though. There are plenty of melodic moments throughout the album and and also some memorable vocal parts, but it´s probably in the latter department that Revocation could improve a bit. As usual Revocation have included an instrumental in "The Exaltation", which showcases their great playing skills, but also their diversity. "Great Is Our Sin" closes with a cover of "Altar of Sacrifice" by Slayer, and it´s obvious that Revocation feel completely at home playing this track, which I think they do a lot of justice.

"Great Is Our Sin" features a powerful, detailed, and professional sounding production, which suits the material well. To my ears the band have had better productions on some of their preceding releases, but this one is of high quality too. So upon conclusion there´s not much to complain about here, other than a lack of development of sound, but Revocation pull it off with their incredible playing skills and powerful delivery, and when I´m done complaining about the lack of hooks, and other minor issues about the compositions, the material is still top notch death/thrash and a 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

Nightfly Even going back to their debut album, Empire Of The Obscene, in 2008, Revocation impressed with skilled musicianship and an impressive collection of complex thrash metal. Since then they’ve gone from strength to strength up to album number six, Great is Our Sin, arguably their best yet.

Nothing much has changed since 2014’s Deathless, it’s another thrash/death metal album with highly complex and technical arrangements and some of the finest musicianship you’ll come across in the genre. Always inventive and never sitting in one place for long enough to become stale, the eleven songs, including a faithful cover of Slayer’s Altars Of Sacrifice, twist and turn through numerous changes with an awesome collection of hard hitting riffs. Instrumental, The Exaltation is a proof in point that even without the vocals the instrumental work of these players is simply jaw dropping. The drumming of Ash Pearson is incredibly inventive with precision and speed with some impressive fills alongside compelling rhythmic work. Likewise the guitar work of David Davidson and Dan Gargiulo is equally so with an impressive barrage of riffs, heavy as hell, throwing in some Voivod style discordant riffs but heavier. On top of that there’s some fantastic solos injected with a strong sense of melody. Brett Bamberger’s bass is the rock solid bottom end, less obvious but equally impressive and essential for the tightness of this band.

Picking favourites is not easy but Copernican Heresy might just be it with its dissonant guitar arpeggios played at lightning speed whilst the complex off beat drum patterns and blast beats mirror them. Awesome stuff! To be honest though the album is full of equally impressive moments. The icing on the cake here is the injection of death metal heaviness into the razor sharp thrash riffs giving them a harder edge.

Great Is Our Sin is the best album I’ve heard in the thrash genre this year, even topping Vektor’s excellent Terminal Redux. It seems there’s no stopping these guys. Essential listening for thrash and death fans alike.