REVENANT (NJ) — Prophecies of a Dying World (review)

REVENANT (NJ) — Prophecies of a Dying World album cover Album · 1991 · Thrash Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
UMUR
"Prophecies of a Dying World" is the debut full-length studio album by US, New Jersey based death/thrash metal act Revenant. The album was released through Nuclear Blast Records in 1991. "Prophecies of a Dying World" is for now the sole album release by the band. They released three demos and one EP before being signed to Nuclear Blast Records for the release of "Prophecies of a Dying World" but apparently they weren´t successful enough, because in the following years it was back to recording demos. How a band this skilled didn´t manage to succeed is beyond me, but sometimes the music business is raw and cold. Revenant disbanded in the mid-nineties.

The music on the album is very well played technical death/thrash metal. The vocals are semi-growling, raw and aggressive, the riffs/guitar solos are sharp and intriguing and the rythm section play varied and powerful. The songwriting is inspired and adventurous and to top it all off, the sound production is powerful and detailed. It´s actually hard to come up with any issues regarding "Prophecies of a Dying World". The post apocalyptic atmosphere that surrounds the album is just another positive in my book. Influences as different as Realm, Dark Angel, Invocator, Coroner, Morbid Angel and early Psychotic Waltz (their most thrashy moments) are heard on the album. Most tracks feature rather complex structures and most exceed the 6 minutes mark, but the tracks are not so complex that power or memorability is sacrificed. There are several headbanger friendly sections on the album and some furiously fast paced thrashy parts too (take a listen to some of the sections in "Spawn" and "Distant Eyes" for proof of that), that prevent the album from falling into the "too technically focused" trap. It´s deliberating how honest the music feels.

Upon conclusion "Prophecies of a Dying World" is a really great album. I´ll even go as far as to call it a forgotten gem for fans of technical death/thrash metal. Unfortunately it´s presently very hard to get a hold of as it has yet to see a re-release. The original 1991 version exists in both vinyl, cassette tape and CD versions, but probably only in a rather limited number of copies. A 4 - 4.5 star (85%) rating is fully deserved.
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