Revocation (band)

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Revocation
Also known as Cryptic Warning
Origin Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Genres Technical death metal, technical thrash metal
Years active 2006–present
Labels Relapse, Scion A/V
Associated acts Argonauts, Artificial Brain, Biclops, Day Without Dawn, East Of The Wall, Hot On The Heels, Living Void, Random Acts Of Violence, The Binary Code, The Postman Syndrome
Members David Davidson
Brett Bamberger
Phil Dubois
Dan Gargiulo
Past members Anthony Buda

Revocation is an American technical death metal band from Boston, Massachusetts. The band was founded by guitarist and vocalist David Davidson, bassist and vocalist Anthony Buda and drummer Phil Dubois-Coyne in 2000. The band was originally known as Cryptic Warning, but it changed its name to Revocation in 2006. The band has released four studio albums, Empire of the Obscene, Existence Is Futile, Chaos of Forms, and their most recent self-titled album, Revocation, in 2008, 2009, 2011, and 2013 respectively, and subsequently signed to Relapse Records. They have also released a free EP, Teratogenesis, with Scion A/V in 2012.

History

In 2000, guitarist/vocalist David Davidson, drummer Phil Dubois-Coyne and bassist Anthony Buda, who attended a high school in Boston, Massachusetts, formed Cryptic Warning, influenced by Guns N' Roses and Metallica. The band recorded its first demo in 2002 and gained an underground following in Boston, also performing outside of Massachusetts. A second demo, Internally Reviled, was recorded in 2004. In 2005, Cryptic Warning recorded its debut studio album, Sanity's Aberration, but was not content with the quality of the album's production. Remembering those recordings, Davidson said: "We didn't record the album with a metal guy, so we didn't get the sound we wanted. The heaviest reference in our producer's discography was The Cult. A lot of people still love that record—our old-school fans who used to show up for all of the shows—but to us, we weren't really satisfied with the production of that. We felt it was one of the mistakes we made."[1]

The band decided to change its name to Revocation in 2006; Davidson commented: "I think, looking a little deeper into it, we made a lot of mistakes with Cryptic Warning. We were younger and didn't really know what we were doing, so Revocation was us starting fresh with a clean slate and revoking our past mistakes." With a direction change, Revocation promptly recorded a three-song demo titled Summon the Spawn, and in 2008 they went back into the studio to record their first full length album, Empire of the Obscene. The full length was self-released, and the band financed its own tour, attracting the interest of several record labels. Revocation subsequently signed to Relapse Records.[1]

The band did a number of regional shows before recording their second full-length album, Existence Is Futile, released on September 29, 2009. The album was described by Allmusic as "one of the best pure metal albums of 2009",[2] while Spin magazine named Revocation as one of the ten artists to watch in 2010.[3] In October 2009, the band performed for the Relapse showcase at CMJ Music Marathon.[4] On August 16, 2011, the band released their third full length album, "Chaos Of Forms". Their fourth full length studio release, self-titled Revocation, was released on August 5, 2013.

Style, influences and reception

The music of Revocation has been described by journalists as a fusion of technical death metal and thrash metal.[5][6] The characteristics that define Revocation's sound include a "complex guitar-bass interplay" of dissonant riffs, bass breaks and "shredding" guitar solos united to "galloping" double bass drums, death metal tempos, hard rock breakdowns and grooves.[6] Vocals ranged from death growls to grindcore screams,[1] while "still recognizable as a human voice".[2]

Music critics have pointed out that Davidson's guitar playing style is the prominent aspect of Revocation's sound.[1][7] Davidson developed his playing technique by attending the Berklee College of Music, where he focused on polyrhythm for jazz.[1] This musical education brought him an expertise in both playing and songwriting, while "some of the atonal aspects of jazz gave him a different perspective on composing and soloing."[8]

Recalling his earliest influences, Davidson cites Slash, Dimebag Darrell, and Marty Friedman.[9] Davidson says that as a band, Revocation have a wide range of influences,[10] and among these are groups such as Exhorder, Dark Angel, Megadeth, Pestilence, Atheist, Gorguts, Forbidden, Spastic Ink, Martyr, and Exodus.[8] Davidson has also cited the "raw energy" of the DIY metal shows in the Boston underground scene as an inspiration to get proactive and get the band working.[11]

Regarding the band's rhythm section, critics have different opinions; while About.com stated that Buda and Dubois-Coyne "practice their own brutal brand of stop-on-a-dime precision with merciless intensity",[12] Decibel magazine felt that when Davidson is soloing, "the rest of band often fails to compensate."[7] In contrast Allmusic said: "Perhaps the most astonishing thing about Revocation, though, is that they're a trio."[2]

Discography

Members

Current members
  • David Davidson - lead vocals, guitar (2006-present)
  • Brett Bamberger - bass guitar, vocals (2012-present)
  • Phil Dubois-Coyne - drums, percussion (2006-present)
  • Dan Gargiulo - guitar, vocals (2010-present)
Past members

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Mauck, Chrissy (October 30, 2009). "Revocation Changing the Metal Landscape". Jackson Guitars. Retrieved January 20, 2010. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Freeman, Phil. "Existence Is Futile review". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved January 23, 2010. 
  3. ↑ Staff (December 15, 2009). "10 Artists to Watch in 2010". Spin. Retrieved January 23, 2010. 
  4. ↑ Kelly, Kim (October 13, 2009). "Relapse, BrooklynVegan Give CMJ All Kinds of Metal With 2009 Showcase". Noisecreep (AOL). Retrieved January 22, 2010. 
  5. ↑ Bennett, J. (November 2009). "Existence Is Futile review". Revolver (86): p. 74. ISSN 1527-408X. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Carman, Keith (November 2009). "Existence Is Futile review". Exclaim!. Retrieved 20 April 2010. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Dick, Chris (December 2009). "Existence Is Futile review". Decibel (62): pp. 98–100. ISSN 1557-2137. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Revocation interview". Lords of Metal. November 2009. Retrieved 23 April 2010. 
  9. ↑ Stewart-Panko, Kevin (November 2009). "Tech-y death/thrashers organically worm their way to the 'top'". Decibel (61). ISSN 1557-2137. Retrieved April 20, 2010. 
  10. ↑ Laban, Linda (February 1, 2010). "Revocation Are Into Jazz and Old Romantics". Noisecreep (AOL). Retrieved April 21, 2010. 
  11. ↑ Tesser, Randy. "Sound Of Boston - Local Spotlight: Revocation". Sound of Boston. Retrieved 14 December 2013. 
  12. ↑ Pacheco, George. "Existence Is Futile review". About.com. Retrieved April 28, 2010. 
  13. ↑ Revocation - Teratogenesis (EP)
Revocation
  • David Davidson
  • Bret Bamberger
  • Phil Dubois
  • Dan Gargiulo
  • Anthony Buda
Studio albums
Extended Plays
Record labels

External links

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