So, you like Death Metal, do you? Are you sure or do you like the idea of appearing to be a death metal aficionado? It’s an honest question. Okay, if you’re about this life then you might just appreciate Artificial Brain (Profound Lore) the latest album from a lovely New York crew operating under the same moniker.
David Davidson of Revocation is one of our favorite people in all of metal. We have followed his entire career, and you will be hard pressed to find a person this talented that is also humble and cool. We caught up with Dave at Saint Vitus Bar in Brooklyn, New York to chat with him about the brand new album The Outer Ones, releasing from Metal Blade Records on September 28th. We talked about the decidedly brutal death metal sound of the new album, working with producer Chris “Zeuss” Harris, H.P. Lovecraft and Tom Strom‘s insane artwork, Dave’s guitar practice regimen, Charlie Parker and John Coltrane, and more. Interview by Keefy with videography by Omar Cordy of OJC Photography.Continue reading
Infrared Horizon (Profound Lore) is a fine title for Artificial Brain’s sophomore offering. It’s cool in that sci-fi/horror kind of sensibility, but judging by the music other titles come to mind. I was thinking more along the lines of Machines of Hate, or Massive Ordinance Air Blast. The Long Island boys went in hard on LP number two. Hard like a cybernetic organism that just became sentient and is convinced that mankind is teetering towards obsolescence.Continue reading
Formed in 2000, Boston act Revocation have come along way since starting life under the rather uninspiring name of Cryptic Warning. Sounding like a particularly vicious blend of Sepultura and Pantera, the band were already exhibiting great technical skill, but changing both their direction and name in 2006 took things to the next level. Two years later they unleashed their début album, the self-released Empire of the Obscene, and the transformation was astonishing.
Effortlessly combining Technical Death Metal and Thrash, the band released four more albums, each one just as blistering as the last, but moving forwards each time, adding more melodic, Jazz, and traditional metal aspects along the way without losing any of their signature attack.
Now, there comes a time when after a number of well-received releases, a band will eventually feel a backlash. Well, if Revocation are to be on the end of such a thing, then it certainly won’t be with this album as Great is Our Sin (Metal Blade) is every bit as good as their previous five albums. Picking a highlight is a ridiculously difficult task as virtually everything hits the mark perfectly, but listen out for the Steve Vai-esque guitar solo on ‘Monolithic Ignorance’, Brett Bamberger‘s bass line at the beginning of ‘Crumbling Imperium’, and the drums on, well… everything. Anyone concerned about 3 Inches of Blood drummer Ash Pearson not being up to the task of stepping into the formidable shoes of Phil Dubois-Coyne can stop worrying right now.
The guitar work here is sensational; Dan Gargiulo and vocalist/founder member David Davidson utilising many different styles to get their point across without ever feeling forced or awkward. Oh, and just when you think it can’t get any better, here comes Marty Friedman with a guest spot on the quite brilliant ‘The Exaltation’.
Being overly critical, it could be said that Zeuss‘s production maybe isn’t quite as crisp as it could be, and although well played, the cover of ‘Altar of Sacrifice’ by Slayer is exactly what it is – a bonus track. Overall though, Great Is Our Sin is yet another triumph by Revocation. A thundering wall of sound replete with Jazz breaks, virtuoso solos, inhuman vocals, and an abundance of influences. Everyone from Iron Maiden and Testament to Gojira, Cynic and Gorguts and in between. And more.
8.5/10
GARY ALCOCK
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Metal, in general, is as vital today as it has in the 80s. Sure, the impact of one record today is not as considerable, but nonetheless vital. Every year we see artists coming with music that makes our hair stand up on the back of our neck, and the impact of such grandiose pieces of art that don’t affect only the metal scene but other scenes as well. Lately it has been the black metal genre getting “all” the recognition, winning fans like Marissa Nadler, Chelsea Wolfe or even the legendary Thurston Moore (a member of the super-group Twilight for their final album). Metal as a whole is vital. Period. But there’s always the underdog thing when comes to metal. In this case death metal is the big underdog. Just like a bud of mine said a few years ago: “These are some of the most brilliant times for death metal. Unfortunately we will need 20 years to take proper notice”. Sonne Adam’s Transformation, Teitanblood’s Seven Chalices, Ævangelist’s De Masticatione Mortuorum in Tumulis, Portal’s Swarth, Mitochondrion’s Parasignosis, and many more. Brilliant records that were released just in the last five years. Impressive? Told ya.
Let’s add another name to our little list: Artificial Brain’s debut album, Labyrinth Constellation (Profound Lore). That’s right, the band formed by Revocation’s guitarist Dan Gargiulo and ex-Biolich vocalist Will Smith has released a monster of an album. Technical death metal with sci-fi themes, a description that doesn’t cover, not even for a moment, all the greatness of this album and the music contained in it. Well, technical death metal – let’s just say technical musical in general – tends to be a dangerous game where wankers are the kings and boredom is the only color of a shitty painting. Not this time. The most impressive thing is to hear and feel how well-thought this album is. How every detail is folded into a single unit making the album coherent and, at the same time, diversified. With an old-school approach the quintet from New York “reworks” death metal, offering dissonance through uncanny atmospheres, tremendous moments of abrasiveness and an album that breath with all the dynamics presented. The melody and weird atmosphere created by the guitar while the madness of death metal is on full mode is probably the biggest highlight of this album. Songs like ‘Absorbing Black Ignition’, where that contrast is for the first time evident, and ‘Worm Harvester’, where the band shifts gears without losing any sense of purpose or brilliance, are some of the moments that standout in an album that will make the year of any extreme metal fan. Brilliant, utterly amazing, breath-taking and challenging from the first to the last second.
9.5/10
Tiago Moreira