Thrash metal and I have a complicated relationship. While I recognize the greatness of its many famous bands that laid the foundation upon which more extreme genres grew, I do not find myself digging deep into thrash metal band catalogs. Technical death metal, however, is my pet genre and the one I keep going deeper into with each passing year. Fusing these genres is an interesting proposition to me. Revocation is the band that does that for me.

I waxed poetic about their previous record Netherheaven, calling it “the thinking man’s technical death/thrash metal”. That record was the highlight of its year, and I find myself going back to it often to remind myself how much I liked it. You can find the review for that record HERE.

When a bid for these tech-thrashers’ newest record, New Gods, New Masters, came to the table, you can be sure that I was at the head of the line.

At the time of writing this review, three singles have been released for this record, and they are probably among the strongest of the record, for their own reasons. “Sarcophagi of the Soul” (reminding me a lot of At The Gates’ “Slaughter of the Soul”, RIP Tomas Lindberg) is a fast-paced banger, with plenty of stop-start techy riffs and thrashy drum arrangements. This track reminded me of their older records and could be found on 2009’s Existence is Futile. The next single was “Confines of Infinity”, a chuggy chunk of a track. The positively elephantine verse riff plodding forward creates an odd sense of dread. Revocation plays with tempo, ramping from lumbering beast to frenetic feeding. So far, the change of pace feels fresh enough, especially when juxtaposed with the faster sections. The ear-drumming crack of the snare heralds the beginning of “Cronenberged”. This track feels more familiar to modern Revocation, with groove aplenty. The solos on this track, like most Revocation leads, feel crafted rather than thrown together.

Going back to the start of New Gods, New Masters, beyond the singles, is where I began to worry – thankfully only a bit, for the record. Opening track “Buried Epoch” is a nigh-eight-minute juggernaut. To open a record with the longest track on the record is a ballsy move, but Revocation pulls it off with aplomb. The track is more mid-paced, with jerks up in tempo to change it up. The throatier vocal arrangements were a nice touch and added variety to the standard Revo-Voc-MO. “Data Corpse” was the track that first caught my attention on my first casual listen of the record. High energy pummeling, and catchy riffs and solos, with just enough tech to dazzle but not feel pretentious.

Halfway through consuming New Gods, New Masters, I could not help but feel that I was not enjoying this record as much as I did Netherheaven. Even after several playthroughs of this record, I found it difficult to articulate why I was left with a feeling of mild disappointment with this record. Tracks like “Despiritualized” have enough proggy and techy elements that ought to keep me interested, and the Cannibal Corpse-esque “Dystopian Vermin” was a straightforward death metal feast. Still, these tracks failed to capture my sense of wonder as much as the occult blackened and dissonant soundscapes and imagery that were conjured with Netherheaven.

The problem only exacerbated with the title track, “New Gods, New Masters,” falling flat for me. While I enjoyed the more frantic arrangements of the record, I found myself wandering off with the slower, more progressive sections, more so because there were long instrumental passages (albeit technically proficient), but they were losing me periodically. Album closer “The All Seeing” was an art project of an instrumental track, with progressive metal and jazz thrown in for good measure. Instrumental tracks are extremely hit-or-miss for me, more on the miss side when they are merely vehicles for wankery. The progressive guitar solos will surely wow many of the musicians among the fans, but I found myself more drawn to the core riffs of the track. The section with the natural harmonics did cause me to grin like a schoolgirl, so maybe I am being overly harsh.

I understand that I may be unduly harsh on New Gods, New Masters. What I will never deny is that Revocation has always enlisted genius musicians. New to the roster on this record is second guitarist Harry Lannon (of Cognitive fame). He fills the void left by the lack of a second guitarist on Netherheaven. Also new to the roster, but certainly not new to the extreme metal scene, is bassist Alex Weber (Malginancy, Svengahli, ex-Obscura, ex-Jeff Loomis, and basically every tech death band). I appreciated the heightened role of bass on all Revocation records, and Weber makes his presence felt on this record. His bass is more prominent in the mix with its high-gain rattle, and he is not shy to insert runs and fills to fill the songwriting gaps. Drummer Ash Pearson continues to hold his own behind the kit. He feels muted this time around, with the drum arrangements lacking in the sheer ferocity of Netherheaven as well as the muddled sounds in the mix.

Of course, Revocation IS Dave Davidson and Davidson IS Revocation. The mastermind behind their extended career and extensive catalog, Dave continues to be a master of incorporating academic knowledge into songwriting prowess. To write and perform the riffs and solos that he does, live, while doing vocals, is a feat that very few modern metal bands even attempt, let alone succeed. Mention must be made of the stellar vocal features on New Gods, New Masters. Cattle Decapitation’s Travis Ryan is unmistakable with his tortured growls on “Confines of Infinity”, while Job for a Cowboy’s Johnny Davy screeches his way onto “Cronenberged”. The instrumental outro “The All Seeing” features the expert performance of Israeli Jazz virtuoso Gilad Hekselman. Unknown to me before this, his jazzy lines are immediately recognizable as a new addition to the songwriting machine. Their features were highlights of their tracks, and I wish Revocation continues to expand their guest roster.

While I enjoyed the higher levels of rattle-y bass in the mix of New Gods, New Masters, I felt like the overall mix lacked the modern, intentionally gritty textures of Netherheaven, or the full-blown dissonant murkiness of The Great Old Ones or Deathless. This time around, the mix felt weak and dull, taking away much of the enjoyment of the techier sections.

New Gods, New Masters is a solid Revocation record and a worthy addition to their grand catalog. While undoubtedly exploring new avenues and mixing up elements of previous records, I found myself seemingly disappointed with this effort, especially following the superlative Netherheaven. Falling short of perfection is still pretty damn great though!