Revocation, Chaos of Forms
I missed out on Revocation’s highly acclaimed sophomore effort Existence if Futile. Thankfully, their latest full length effort flows along similar lines. Built on a core of frenetic thrash, this relatively young, yet unbelievably talented, four piece delivers twelve solid tracks that tease the senses at all levels. Progressive poly-rhythms, technical guitar wizardry, death metal riffs, growling vocals, jazz and rock all come together in a seamless package that is mind altering at times, yet infectiously groove-fueled at others.
Opening up Chaos of Forms with the triple impact attack of “Cretin,” “Craddle Robber” and “Harlot,” Revocation let you know immediately that they aren’t fucking around as thrashing metal, death growls and addictive choruses explode from the speakers with hurricane force destruction. They are three of the more powerful and bludgeoning tracks on the album.
As blisteringly awesome as the opening trio of songs are, it’s not until the band let’s loose and gets a bit playful that the album really shines. That all starts about half-way through “Harlot” with some seriously sick shredding that transitions into the solid groove of “Dissolution Resolution” and soaring harmonies of “Conjuring the Cataclysm” — a song that features increased progressive stylings and melodies to great effect. Only five tracks into the album and I’m already amazed that they throw so many styles together that really shouldn’t work as well as they do on Chaos of Forms. Holy hell!
Full of depth and power, the album’s use of a second guitarist really hits home on “No Funeral” as solos are traded beautifully between the two shredders while the rhythm section pummels and leaps from tempo to tempo effortlessly, all the while maintaining an unrelenting and continuous momentum. The title track is the epitome of Revocation’s sound as it encapsulates all of their influences (with heavy leanings on Atheist) and styles into one of the best songs on the album. It’s quickly followed by “The Watchers,” a track that shows the band stepping out of their comfort zone a bit with the incorporation of an organ solo and horn section — a combination that fits so beautifully into the band’s sound.
The rest of the album follows the path that the first half of the album set down perfectly. Each track is distinctive yet flows between one another so well that the album flies by smoothly to it’s ultimate conclusion with album closer “Reprogrammed.” Chaos of Forms isn’t a simple rehashing of the band’s previous work. It’s got a fresh sound and is so damned infectious with it’s overlapping styles and groove that I’m having trouble getting it out of the stereo. Revocation have released an album in Chaos… that should be near the top of every year-end best of list.