UMUR
"Resuscitation of the Revanchists" is the fourth full-length studio album by US, Virginia based death metal act Arghoslent. The album was released through Weltenfeind in September 2023. It´s the successor to "Hornets of the Pogrom" from March 2008, so it´s been 15 years since the last album release from Arghoslent. Other than a 2009 split release with Martial Barrage and the 2020 "Unconquered Soldier" compilation album little has been heard from Arghoslent in all those years. There have been a couple of lineup changes since the last album (although they actually already happened in 2009 before the recording of the 2009 split) as lead vocalist The Genocider has been replaced by Ulfhedinn (who is also the drummer in Grand Belial's Key), and drummer Matt Sylvester has been replaced by Aktion T4.
Arghoslent will probably forever remain one of the most controversial and infamous death metal artists out there as a consequence of lyrics dealing with topics like white supremacy/racism, endorsement of the transatlantic slave trade, and other merry subjects, but as always (when I review Arghoslent´s releases) I´ll let the reader decide what to think of that and concentrate on reviewing the actual music.
Stylistically Arghoslent still play an old school melodic death metal style, which features a lot of elements from traditional heavy metal in addition to the basis death metal elements. They have a pretty distinct sound and style and they are not easily tagged or compared to other death metal acts. It´s not that they are jaw-dropping original or anything like that, but they still manage to combine the elements of their sound to end up with something which is relatively unique.
While "Resuscitation of the Revanchists" is a good quality release overall, it does feel though as if Arghoslent have lost some of the momentum and unrelenting energy since their 2008/2009 heyday releases. The bite, the rawness, and highly energetic playing style are now a bit less powerful and less sharp. So this is a welcome comeback, but it´s not the triumphant comeback one could have hoped for. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.