Four years in the making, the Billboard-charting trio that is Revocation – Dave Davidson (vocals/guitars), Ash Pearson (drums), and Brett Bamberger (bass) – meticulously explore the allegorical and literal aspects of Hell as they dig deeper into the darker, more diabolical side of death metal. In short, where the previous album, The Outer Ones (2018), jettison Revocation into the horrific maw of the cosmos, Netherheaven bores deftly through the nine rings of Hell to directly confront Lucifer and his multitudinous faces.
“We’re definitely in more of a death metal mindset than on earlier albums in our catalog,” asserts Davidson. “We’re focusing on how we can write the best death metal-centric album that we possibly can while still pushing our boundaries. The new songs on ‘Netherheaven’ are evil and sinister but also have a progressive element to them to keep things interesting. It’s got our stamp on it, no question.”
Netherheaven was written during downtime after the album cycle for The Outer Ones was complete. The album’s nine tracks were written solely by Davidson, who spent his time between genuflecting at the altars of Luc Lemay (Gorguts), Chuck Schuldiner (Death), Marty Friedman (Megadeth), and celebrated jazz guitarists Wes Montgomery and Kurt Rosenwinkel.
Between writing killer riffs and absolutely wild solos, the seven-stringer also practiced (technique), studied (theory), and taught guitar. Revocation truly changed gears when Davidson picked up audio engineering (with Apple’s Logic Pro) to use the pandemic-era lockdowns effectively. It made perfect sense for him to helm the engineer and producer’s chair at his newly-built HeatWave Studios for Netherheaven. Revocation then sourced Swedish studio ace Jens Bogren (Opeth, Kreator) to mix and master at Fascination Street Studios.
“We put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into the album,” says Davidson. “We want people to be inspired. It’s brutal. We brought our A-game on ‘Netherheaven‘.”
Netherheaven track-listing
1. Diabolical Majesty
2. Lessons in Occult Theft
3. Nihilistic Violence
4. Strange and Eternal
5. Galleries of Morbid Artistry
6. The 9th Chasm
7. Godforsaken
8. The Intervening Abyss of Untold Aeons
9. Re-Crucified [feat. Trevor Strnad (The Black Dahlia Murder) and George ‘Corpsegrinder’ Fisher (Cannibal Corpse)
For a first preview of the album, a video for the new single “Diabolical Majesty” (directed by David Brodsky).
REVOCATION –
“NETHERHEAVEN EUROPE 2023”
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GOATWHORE
ALLUVIAL
CREEPING DEATH
Oran O’Beirne
www.overdrive.ie 2022
