Album Review: Revocation - The Outer Ones

Revered by the already converted, Revocation appear to have been on the cusp of a major breakthrough within the wider metal realm for a few years now.

Now several LPs in, this could be the release that justifiably elevates the Americans. Tearing through sub-genres and ideas like Godzilla through Tokyo, this dissonant, HP Lovecraft-inspired affair fuses the sensibilities of vintage extreme metal with the newer breed of brutality, while subsequently exploring their progressive tendencies.

Upping the ante in terms of extremity – this may well be their heaviest, most textured album yet, as opener Of Unworldly Origin attests and cuts like the title track reaffirm – but also nudging songwriting boundaries and injecting the band's trademark shred can be a delicate tightrope to walk. However, it's a trick the death metallers pull off with aplomb. Perhaps the most potent example is seven-minute closer A Starless Darkness, which effortlessly bridges the atmospherics of veteran acts like Morbid Angel and Gorguts and bursts of classic thrash with forward-thinking inclinations and dizzying musicianship, all without outstaying its welcome. Meanwhile, moments like instrumental Ex Nihilo welcomingly add some melody into the equation.

In a world of homogenised metalcore and identikit tech-death, Revocation prove a revelation.