Revel In Flesh - Emissary Of All Plagues
With such solid foundations from their three former albums, Germany’s rotten death metal merchants Revel In Flesh have developed some expansion in their sound, leaning towards the melodic, a touch more musical in approach that began on their last outing "Death Kult Legions". This is further developed here on "Emissary Of All Plagues", but fear not, this is still a full on classic death metal experience, the band have simply developed more depth to their sound and it’s more prominent on this release with more melodic riff work rather than pure aggression overall.
‘Casket Ride’ is still a cool track, this appeared on their split with Wombbath last year and the remarkable musicianship continues on a stand out tune ‘Torture Throne’. This has a mix of the old and the new Revel In Flesh sound. ‘The Dead Lives On’ goes on for a while, but interesting is the drum sound that’s thunderous whether slow or fast, again another top notch production and mix from their usual partner. The feel and stance of the recording is as ever, very powerful. There’s a great balance with this band. Where they capture the classic Swedeath sound perfectly, they also encompass a doomier element like Dutch masters Asphyx and a slight rawness or rather ambience of some Dissection material, resulting in a roaring release. I’ve found their cover of UFO’s ‘Doctor Doctor’ very entertaining, not only Haubersson’s vocal interpretation, but the nasty filthy guitar sound, whilst retaining the melody of the main guitar riff and the Hellraiser sound bite at the start. When accompanying their own material on this album, it’s a perfect fit for where the band are now creatively.
"Emissary Of All Plagues" is the bands best effort to date, there’s a sound for everyone on this release and I love the power, the aggression and the mix of melody. It’s nice to see bands like this progress and not continue on the tribute path to past masters, this is where Revel In Flesh earn their rotten bloody stripes. Their music breathes creativity and puts them very high on the roster of top death metal bands to date making us all servants to their deathkult!
‘Casket Ride’ is still a cool track, this appeared on their split with Wombbath last year and the remarkable musicianship continues on a stand out tune ‘Torture Throne’. This has a mix of the old and the new Revel In Flesh sound. ‘The Dead Lives On’ goes on for a while, but interesting is the drum sound that’s thunderous whether slow or fast, again another top notch production and mix from their usual partner. The feel and stance of the recording is as ever, very powerful. There’s a great balance with this band. Where they capture the classic Swedeath sound perfectly, they also encompass a doomier element like Dutch masters Asphyx and a slight rawness or rather ambience of some Dissection material, resulting in a roaring release. I’ve found their cover of UFO’s ‘Doctor Doctor’ very entertaining, not only Haubersson’s vocal interpretation, but the nasty filthy guitar sound, whilst retaining the melody of the main guitar riff and the Hellraiser sound bite at the start. When accompanying their own material on this album, it’s a perfect fit for where the band are now creatively.
"Emissary Of All Plagues" is the bands best effort to date, there’s a sound for everyone on this release and I love the power, the aggression and the mix of melody. It’s nice to see bands like this progress and not continue on the tribute path to past masters, this is where Revel In Flesh earn their rotten bloody stripes. Their music breathes creativity and puts them very high on the roster of top death metal bands to date making us all servants to their deathkult!
- Emissary Of All Plagues
- Casket Ride
- Fortress Of Gloom
- Servants Of The Deathkult
- Torture Throne
- The Dead Lives On
- Lord Of Flesh
- Sepulchral Passage
- Dead To This World
- Doctor, Doctor (cover UFO)
