REVOCATION — Chaos of Forms

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4.04 | 14 ratings | 3 reviews

Album · 2011

Filed under Technical Thrash Metal
By REVOCATION

Tracklist

1. Cretin (3:03)
2. Cradle Robber (4:25)
3. Harlot (2:51)
4. Dissolution Ritual (4:37)
5. Conjuring the Cataclysm (4:34)
6. No Funeral (3:55)
7. Fractal Entity (1:43)
8. Chaos of Forms (4:30)
9. The Watchers (4:12)
10. Beloved Horrifier (4:09)
11. Dethroned (4:57)
12. Reprogrammed (4:03)

Total Time 46:59

Line-up/Musicians

- Anthony Buda / Bass, vocals
- Phil Dubois-Coyne / Drums
- David Davidson / Guitars, vocals
- Dan Gargiulo / Guitars, Vocals

About this release

Relapse Records, August 16th, 2011

Thanks to UMUR for the addition

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REVOCATION CHAOS OF FORMS reviews

Specialists/collaborators reviews

UMUR

"Chaos of Forms" is the 3rd full-length studio album by US death/ thrash act Revocation. The album was released through Relapse Records in August 2011. The band have earned themselves quite a good reputation, with their first two albums, of being a greatly energetic and powerful death/thrash metal act with the occasional twist.

...I´d say that tendency continues on "Chaos of Forms", which is not your regular straight ahead death/thrash album, even though it´s rooted in that style. The vocals are predominantly sneering and fiercely aggressive, but this time around the band have also incorporated occasional clean/raw melodic singing to great effect. It provides an anthemic element to the band´s sound. The playing is on a really high level. At times almost to the point of me losing my breath and dropping my jaw in amazement. These guys have such a powerful and energetic delivery that it´s impossible not to be impressed. The songwriting is also of high quality and while the music is rooted in death/thrash and aggression certainly is a key element on the album, we´re treated to quite a few other elements too. First of all the melodic guitar solos are a real treat. Played with great skill and precision. They remind me sligthly of the guitar work of Jeff Waters (Annihilator). The tracks generally also feature a lot of tempo changes and elements from other music styles, while maintaining the aggressive death/thrash basis. I guess you can say that "Chaos of Forms" is a "lighter" and more fun death/thrash album than most.

I enjoyed the first two albums by the band, but "Chaos of Forms" takes Revocation to the next level. Powerful sound production, excellent musicianship and intriguing songwriting, "Chaos of Forms" has it all. A 4 star (80%) rating is fully deserved.

more than 2 years ago
11 comments
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Report #266888

J-Man

Chaos of Forms is the third observation from Boston-based thrash metal act Revocation, and a damn impressive one to say the least. Taking the very best of old school thrash metal, neo-thrash, technical death metal, and melodeath, the band seamlessly mixes their influences to a sound that is unique and instantly recognizable. Before Chaos of Forms is over, you'll even here some funky basslines and organ sections! Old school thrash purists may not like the frequent modern implications on Chaos of Forms, but anyone who enjoys top-notch technical thrash metal with a melodic twist should find plenty to enjoy here. Revocation is a band with plenty of tricks up their sleeves, and this currently stands as one of 2011's most unique and impressive thrash metal releases. Fans of the genre shouldn't miss out!

The music here is a bit difficult to pin down, but I guess the best description is technical thrash/death metal. The melodic leads, progressive tendencies, or even the funky section in "Harlot" keep Chaos of Forms from ever coming across as derivative though, and Revocation always sports a sound that is distinctly their own. Even though the music does have an obvious old school thrash metal influence, the sleek and modern production keep Chaos of Forms from ever sounding like something that could be mistaken as an eighties' album. Revocation are also quite skillful musicians, and the band is a very well-oiled and technically outstanding machine - these guys honestly sound like absolute veterans of the genre! This is one of the most talented acts (from a technical perspective, at least) that I've heard in quite a while.

With Chaos of Forms, it seems that Revocation have found the perfect balance between technicality and melody, innovation and familiarity, and complexity and accessibility. This is a near-flawless thrash metal album that features powerful and and extremely heavy compositions from some of the finest musicians in the biz - what more could any fan possibly ask for? Revocation have really won me over with this album, and I'll be eagerly awaiting any future efforts from their direction. 4 stars are very well-deserved in this case. This is one of the year's best modern thrash albums for sure!

more than 2 years ago
2 comments
Permalink
Report #253180

The Block

Revocation is an American thrash metal act that’s been around since 2006. They play a sort of melodic thrash metal, which sounds really good and suits the band very well. The album is really an all around effort with three out of the four band members contributing on vocals. This thrash metal band displays a bunch of extras to go along with their standard thrash sound that include some funky slap bass lines, melodic guitar passages that aren’t usually found on thrash metal releases, and even an organ section or two.

Usually thrash metal, at least for me, gets kind of boring after awhile, especially on the longer albums, but with this album that doesn’t happen at all. Though some of the songs sound very similar there is enough difference that it makes it highly enjoyable. The guitar solo to open up “Conjuring the Cataclysm”, for example, is absolutely killer, but other parts of the album sound kind of repetitive. The title track is another great track, perhaps my favorite on the album, with a bunch of awesome guitar solos and great drumming as well. Speaking of the drums, which are played excellently by Phil Dubois-Coyne, the drums on this album are very fast and they meld very well with the guitar work which is lightning fast as well. Besides great drumming and fast guitar work, this album also has some great vocals too. As I mentioned before, three of the band members sing so sometimes it’s hard to tell who’s singing, but the different vocal styles really help this album out. I really like the vocal parts where all of the band members sing together, even though it sometimes doesn’t fit the songs. On a couple of tracks, such as No Funeral, the harmony vocals don’t quite fit, but I still like the songs.

This album is in your face right from the start of the album, and it doesn’t pull always until the last chord of “Reprogrammed”. Filled with cruising guitar lines and staccato riffs that really add flavor to the album this album is highly recommended for any metal fan especially those of the thrash variety. Chaos of Forms easily deserves 4 stars.