Review Summary: Revocation's magnum opus
Revocation is about as unstoppable of a force as there is in the current metal scene. Just over a year after releasing their last record, Revocation has returned with their fifth full-length and Metal Blade Records debut Deathless- which is without question their finest work to date.
Deathless sees Revocation taking their sound in all sorts of new, chaotic directions. The tech-death/thrash hybrid they've mastered over their first four albums is still the backbone of their sound, they just experiment with melody and straight heaviness more than ever before. While there's certainly no shortage of the mind-numbingly fast technical exercises Revocation has become known for on Deathless, the songs here are structured so that there's time for the listeners to breathe in between the bursts of musical insanity. There is no better example of this balance than on "Madness Opus". The first half of the track is pure, punishing death metal followed by a mellow instrumental jam-session in the middle before ending with a blistering solo that sounds straight out of an '80s thrash song. While I'm big fan of all of Revocation's previous albums, Deathless' enhanced focus on riffs and atmosphere over straight technicality makes them more consistently interesting to listen to.
The catalyst for Revocation's refined sound is Davidson. The band is loaded with talent all around, but its hard to deny that Davidson's virtuoso guitarwork and spastic vocals are the primary reason Revocation has become extreme metal darlings over the past five years. The success of Deathless is once again a testament to Davidson's rare musical talent. The growth he's shown as a vocalist, guitar player, and songwriter on each album is nothing short of remarkable, and Deathless is by far the most complete and complex material he's ever composed.
Revocation's early material was loaded with flashy solos and thrash riffs, but suffered from a serious lack of diversity. Davidson has remedied that issue on their last couple of records, and proved that he can play just about any style of music with ease. Davidson tackles everything from Gothenburg melo-death ("A Debt Owed to the Grave") to prog ("The Blackest Reaches)" to straight-up death metal ("Labyrinth of Eyes") on this record with incredible proficiency. The more diverse sound on Deathless has also had a huge benefit in the solo department. The slightly less technical approach to the music on Deathless allows Davidson to lay down the most layered and balls-out insane solos he's ever written. The solos on "Witch Trials", "Scorched Earth Policy" and "United in Helotry" are especially noteworthy thanks to Davidson's ability to flawlessly blend almost unfathomable speed with dazzling melodies. With his performance on Deathless, Davidson has solidified himself as one of the most well-rounded metal guitar players of all-time.
Deathless is the work of a band that has come into their own and is producing music more organically than ever before. All of their prior success as a band has culminated with this nearly flawless album. As someone who has watched Revocation closely since Existence is Futile came out in 2009, it's truly astonishing to look at the improvement this band has made on each record. They've consistently tweaked their sound to stay fresh without sacrificing any of the power of the death/thrash sound that made them standout in the first place. Deathless is without question the best album I've heard in 2014 and it's going to take a monumental effort for anyone to take that title away.
