REVEL IN FLESH - Deathevokation (F.D.A. Rekotz - LP 2012)
I must admit that I’ve really been waiting to
hear this album. Ever since the first news about Revel In Flesh started to
appear in the metal (internet) abyss, it caught my attention totally and I
wanted to get the LP and that’s because everything around this band looked so
exciting and killer. First I saw the logo, which is probably one of the best
I’ve ever seen in my life, slightly close to Dismember’s, but fantastic anyway.
Also the band moniker is great; obviously it let me think of Entombed’s “Revel
in Flesh” track from cult “Left Hand Path” LP. Then I also saw the cover for
“Deathevokation” – this time the title pays a tribute to the opening track from
the first Dismember’s demo, “Dismembered” from 1988 – and again I was blown
away. This stunning artwork, done by Mr. Castellano, is something I admire.
This is sort of the artwork I love most, not those modern, photoshop made
graphics, which look so artificial, but such drawings like the old stuff from
Dan Seagrave, who I bet was a huge influence for Castellano, when drawing this
picture for “Deathevokation”. So, you can see that everything around Revel In
Flesh was like a “what’s the best in the old styled death metal” and that is
why I also really wanted to hear this LP, hoping that the music will also truly
possess me and torn to pieces mercilessly.
Well, to some point it definitely did, I do
must admit that “Deathevokation” is solid and great LP, but at the same time I may
feel slightly disappointed with it. Why? Well, it’s because I’ve listened to
similar albums in the past year or so many times and thus it takes something
truly exceptional to please me in 666% now. Of corpse I don’t consider myself
someone, who is very demanding. Although I’ve been into this sort of music ever
since I bought AC/DC’s “The Razor’s Edge” tape in 1990 and I know and worship
“Left Hand Path” and “Like an Ever Flowing Stream” since probably 1992, it
still takes not so much to really please me, I don’t care about originality and
it’s enough for me if I feel enthusiasm, passion, energy and power from the
metal. And in that aspect Revel In Flesh definitely succeeded. There’s
everything what one would desire from old styled Swedish death metal LP, but
from the other hand when I said that I feel slightly disappointed by it, it’s
due to the fact that with such a huge number of bands and albums (or EPs,
demos, etc), which came out recently with this sort of music, there happened to
be few bands, which have done their job better than Revel In Flesh. I’m not
gonna mention all of them, as it’s pointless, but I guess it would be enough to
bring such names as Graveyard, Morbus Chron, Invidious, Miasmal, Interment, Demonical…
and that’s just few (also, Cryptborn’s and Entrapment’s recent EPs are worth
mentioning here!). But that doesn’t mean – I must say that again – that Revel
In Flesh are not good at what they do. Definitely they are good and I can
easily put this band and their debut LP right next to the likes of Entrails and
Puteraeon.
If there’s something what I would point out as
the biggest disadvantage of “Deathevokation” then I guess I would need to say
it’s the monotony. After few spins of this LP I more or less got to know it
pretty well, as this music is quite catchy and sticks in the head relatively
easily. It isn’t complex, it’s rather groovy in many parts, also melodic, but
still very aggressive and often also fast as hell, but despite that there’s
this feeling like Revel In Flesh’s music is too predictable, it covers the
similar type of ideas and riffs all the way through and so it lacks a spark or
something else, what would truly put my stereo ablaze. There are many killer
riffs, including some infectious melodic ones, there are also many great
tracks, but at the same time there are also some less interesting ones (like
“Crowned In Darkness”). I’m not gonna call them fillers, but you must realize
that with 45 minutes long material some less effective fragments must have
appeared also.
Anyway, I can spot more positives than
negatives and as overall I like “Deathevokation” a lot. It’s difficult to
resist it and not to bang the head, when the band plays so fast or groovy and
when the energy fills my house with exploding effect. Such tracks as “Black
Paled Energy” and “Culpa et Inferna” are truly awesome and they make me like
this LP a lot, so I definitely do not regret purchasing it. Besides, this vinyl
is just wonderfully released. Obviously the artwork looks spotlessly, but this
LP includes also an inlay card (great Revel In Flesh’s zombies drawings!), a
poster and a sticker. I’ve got the black LP version and I’m happy. I also have
noticed that while the CD version of “Deathevokation” has Benediction’s
“Subconscious Terror” cover (spelled as “Error”), vinyl has Master’s “Pay to
Die” (from “Master” LP) cover (here titled “P.T.D.”), which is “a salute to the
long bearded metal monolith from Chicago” hehe. I’m sure Speckmann will be
pleased. Enough said! If you dig all those old school Swedish sounding death
metal bands, then you must add Revel In Flesh to your shopping list.
Standout tracks: “Black Paled Energy”, “Culpa
et Inferna”, “Shadowbreeder - Until Hell Freezes Over”, “Iron Coffin”
Final rate: 80/100
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