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/36)
Revocation
Amager Bio, Copenhagen - 2014
Text: Tobias Nilsson Photo: Lunah Lauridsen
After having dragged out such a banal task as finding a parking spot for the Blackmobile, Metalmoments preferred form of transportation, out for too long, we noticed upon entering Amager Bio that Aeon from Sweden, the evenings first support band, was already well underway with their show.
So, after securing something cold and wet for our throats, we instead awaited the beginning of Revocation’s show…
“Get those fucking fists in the air!”
- David Davidson (vocals/guitar)
With a blast of heavy, chuggy, death metal Revocation let their Boston roots show their worth here in Copenhagen. With such a heavy opening, this had to be good, right?
Well…
The first couple of songs were just that – heavy, chuggy – but they didn’t really have anything else to offer, and although it worked great to mosh to, as we could see in the crowd that had shown up at this point, it felt like it lacked personality and something interesting to offer except for a soundtrack for a night of neck-breaking. Don’t get me wrong, Revocation worked well if that’s what you were after, but I feel enough bands have mastered that in the past, and I was hoping for something surprising.
In Deathless, the title-track off the latest record, the band began showing of shorter breaks of melody and also surprised me with a clean-sung chorus. In the next song, Invidious, Revocation showed their roots by having a Creeping Death reminding riff shortly popping up somewhere around the middle. It wasn’t until Dismantle The Dictator that Revocation managed to put a smile on my face, with that very surprising funky interlude! This was the highlight of the gig for me, but they kept on having smaller oddities appear in their tracks. Still, I'd say 85-90% of it was traditional face-melting riffing.
As mentioned, there was a hardcore group of people who were more than happy to mosh wildly to the uncompromising music, and since not too many had arrived just yet, the rest of the crowd had an easy time creating room for the violent few. A very effective circle pit was also instigated by Davidson at one point.
Up on the stage, things looked radically different though. Davidson and guitarist Dan Gargiulo headbanged quite a bit but other than that they might as well have been nailed to the floor. Drummer Phil Dubois-Coyne hammered away at his kit, but other than that he didn’t pull any attention towards himself, and the only one worth looking at was the latest addition to the band, bassist Brett Bramberger – he wasn’t a master performer, but compared to his band mates he was a veritable power-house! There was quite a bit of posing going on from his side throughout the show, something the other guys wouldn’t hurt learning a trick or two about.
Revocation did send a few surprises my way, and they did make me smile that one time, but overall I can’t really say that they had a lasting effect on me. Fairs fair, this isn’t really my type of thing either, and if you asked those five or six sweaty guys who were owning the dance-floor, I’m sure they would give you a very different review of this show. Then again, you came here, and this is the corner where I get to tell you what’s what.
Setlist (incomplete):
Deathless
Invidious
Dismantle The Dictator
Fracked
Madness Opus
So, after securing something cold and wet for our throats, we instead awaited the beginning of Revocation’s show…
“Get those fucking fists in the air!”
- David Davidson (vocals/guitar)
With a blast of heavy, chuggy, death metal Revocation let their Boston roots show their worth here in Copenhagen. With such a heavy opening, this had to be good, right?
Well…
The first couple of songs were just that – heavy, chuggy – but they didn’t really have anything else to offer, and although it worked great to mosh to, as we could see in the crowd that had shown up at this point, it felt like it lacked personality and something interesting to offer except for a soundtrack for a night of neck-breaking. Don’t get me wrong, Revocation worked well if that’s what you were after, but I feel enough bands have mastered that in the past, and I was hoping for something surprising.
In Deathless, the title-track off the latest record, the band began showing of shorter breaks of melody and also surprised me with a clean-sung chorus. In the next song, Invidious, Revocation showed their roots by having a Creeping Death reminding riff shortly popping up somewhere around the middle. It wasn’t until Dismantle The Dictator that Revocation managed to put a smile on my face, with that very surprising funky interlude! This was the highlight of the gig for me, but they kept on having smaller oddities appear in their tracks. Still, I'd say 85-90% of it was traditional face-melting riffing.
As mentioned, there was a hardcore group of people who were more than happy to mosh wildly to the uncompromising music, and since not too many had arrived just yet, the rest of the crowd had an easy time creating room for the violent few. A very effective circle pit was also instigated by Davidson at one point.
Up on the stage, things looked radically different though. Davidson and guitarist Dan Gargiulo headbanged quite a bit but other than that they might as well have been nailed to the floor. Drummer Phil Dubois-Coyne hammered away at his kit, but other than that he didn’t pull any attention towards himself, and the only one worth looking at was the latest addition to the band, bassist Brett Bramberger – he wasn’t a master performer, but compared to his band mates he was a veritable power-house! There was quite a bit of posing going on from his side throughout the show, something the other guys wouldn’t hurt learning a trick or two about.
Revocation did send a few surprises my way, and they did make me smile that one time, but overall I can’t really say that they had a lasting effect on me. Fairs fair, this isn’t really my type of thing either, and if you asked those five or six sweaty guys who were owning the dance-floor, I’m sure they would give you a very different review of this show. Then again, you came here, and this is the corner where I get to tell you what’s what.
Setlist (incomplete):
Deathless
Invidious
Dismantle The Dictator
Fracked
Madness Opus