Album review: Revocation – New Gods, New Masters

It is just plain wrong that Revocation's name is not uttered in every conversation regarding the best bands in contemporary death metal. Having dropped eight crushing albums they now return with their ninth, and continue to prove why they basically rule and are essential listening for anyone with a taste for extreme sounds intelligently structured and delivered with pure brute force.

Kicking off with the title-track, things are epic from the get-go, sounding almost impossibly huge, something that they maintain across the album's nine tracks. When Revocation go for the jugular they are plain unstoppable, but this is contrasted against gorgeous melodic guitar leads that lean in a progressive or jazzy direction without anyone's head disappearing up their arse, a trick they repeat often.

Cattle Decapitation's Travis Ryan vomits his acid-soaked shriek across Confines Of Infinity, and his inhuman screech is a great counterpoint to the roar of vocalist/guitarist Dave Davidson, while Job For A Cowboy's Jonny Davy turns Cronenberged into a laryngeal fist fight, duking it out with Dave in fine style. The best guest contribution, however, comes from the hands of jazz guitarist Gilad Hekselman, who lends his talents to contorted instrumental The All Seeing and in doing so brings a new flavour to the record, his lithe leads are to die for, perfectly pitched against those of Dave.

The seven and a half minutes of Buried Epoch wrap things up, and it is a suitable way to go out, ending with the biggest song here, and the sections focusing on textured guitars play perfectly against its more brutish moments, of which there are many, making sure the listener does not think they are relinquishing an iota of heaviness.

It's worth saying again: if you are talking death metal, talk Revocation. They have earned it.

Verdict: 4/5

For fans of: The Black Dahlia Murder, 200 Stab Wounds, Cannibal Corpse

New Gods, New Masters is released on September 26 via Metal Blade