As mentioned before with The Interbeing, it is always a welcoming sight to see younger bands making albums that can match those by heavy weights, even at times out wrestling them. Whilst this is not their début album, Revocation are still a relatively young force, but boy do they pack a hefty punch.
Whilst it was very well received by critics, Revocation's 2009 effort Existence Is Futile did not grab music publication headlines and may have slipped under the radar for some. Chaos Of Forms again has not jumped from the front covers but there has definitely been a greater buzz about it, and with very good reason; it is a devastating record.
Striking a near perfect balance between the melodic and the heavy and thrashy, Chaos Of Forms is a terrific example of how melodic death metal should sound in a time where there are far too many bands doing the same thing over and over and making the genre stale. This album shows Revocation as a strikingly talented bunch; the guitar work of David Davidson and new addition and second guitarist, Dan Gargiulo is mesmerising and should see them soon compared with the great melodic death metal shredders such as Children Of Bodom's Alex Lahlio. This is one of the most impressive and fresh sounding displays of melodic death metal I have heard in a long time; Revocation need to be on your radar from now on.
Listen to: Cretin, Cradle Robber, No Funeral
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3zB6di2yR4
No.16- Opeth- Heritage
Sporting one of the years most eye catching, complicated, and rather fitting album covers of the year, Opeth's latest opus Heritage was certainly a polarizing record; some giving it full appraisal, others deriding their change in sound. Stripping away all their death metal nuances for a full on prog rock sound was arguably a brave, but natural, step for the band. Or if you prefer; Heritage is absolutely bonkers...but in a good way.Opeth have always had a large progressive element to their sound and have always cited the likes of Jethro Tull and Camel as major influences with the likes of Morbid Angel so it shouldn't have surprised many people. But even without the dark and heavy death metal elements and a full discarding of Mikael's hellish growls, this is still undeniably an Opeth album, and a fine one if that.
The intricacies in the guitar work are obviously Opeth, building on from the acoustic passages that the band have been playing with for years before; and despite the lack of growls, Mikael's eerie wailing is a comforting sound and his clean vocals here are some of the strongest he has put to tape. As a prog rock album it is unsurprisingly complicated and there are elements that don't always reveal themselves immediately, and parts that are unexpected. At times it sounds like it is almost trying to transport you to a land of fantasy. Heritage is, as expected from Opeth, a quite challenging but rewarding listen, one which allows you to simply get lost in. Take the plunge into exploration, you won't be disappointed.
Listen To: The Devil's Orchard, I Feel The Dark, Nepenthe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxvN_GxgpF8
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