REVOCATION – Great Is Our Sin
- Posted on 23-07-2016
Six full-lengths deep into a career, Revocation stack up well as a proven entity in the technical thrash/death community through killer musicianship and execution, plus a solid discography to boot. The major change to take place for "Great Is Our Sin" is a drummer shift, as Phil Dubois-Coyne steps down and we have ex-3 Inches of Blood kit man Ash Pearson manning the throne. Many will wonder though if Revocation can continue to inject fresh ideas and nuances into an established platform – and I believe these 10 songs illustrate some risk-taking measures that could pay long-term dividends to the good.
David Davidson for one adds a lot of clean melodies to the proceedings, especially from a chorus standpoint – bringing opener "Arbiters of the Apocalypse" and "Monolithic Ignorance" to special places rarely heard since the days of Coroner and Voivod. Bassist Brett Bamberger is an integral element to many of the progressive push and pull for certain tracks, check out his open semi-jazz flow during highlight "Crumbling Imperium" as Davidson and fellow guitarist Dan Gargiulo stack a hypnotic riff attack that incorporates some interesting tapping that reminds me of "Flash of the Blade" from Iron Maiden. Overall a lot of these songs feel like they are exploring the depths of dynamics at mid-tempo paces – proving that you don’t have to be insanely speedy or technically brilliant at every turn to develop strong riffing, hooks and addictive musicianship. Forbidden fans will be impressed with the clean to heavy back and forth axe action on the aforementioned "Crumbling Imperium" as well, while "Only the Spineless Survive" grabs your ears right away through haunting chord/tempo combinations that signal a twisted arrangement that cuts to the core of your soul.
Considering previous albums such as "Chaos of Forms" and the self-titled follow up pushed more of the heavier and faster sides of the band, "Great Is Our Sin" is a proper 180 degree turn while still showing flashes of that energetic nature Revocation will always have. It’s not going to disappoint the faithful, and could bring a few newcomers into the fold.