DIE HARD Revocation harked back to classic thrash while remaining modern. |
With a line-up that placed hometown thrashers Revocation second on a bill in front of a touring package August 18 at Great Scott, PanzerBastard's Andrew Bastard bluntly summed up why most were present at the Allston rock club: "I'm leaving after the first two bands."Celebrating the release of their third full-length, Chaos of Forms (Relapse), Revocation put on a streamlined set that made clear why they've garnered universal acclaim for a sound that's both throwback to classic thrash and refreshingly modern — and why blog Metalsucks recognized Dave Davidson as the best guitarist in modern metal. New track "Cradle Robber" got a huge reception, showing a band now capable of penning anthems that match its technical prowess. The highlight for the hometown crowd came when Davidson sent a shout out to the fans who've been with them since the beginning and then played "Age of Iniquity," a classic cut from their first album. It's a track that — neo-thrash bandwagoners be damned — gave retro thrash a raison d'etre and a glimpse of where Revocation were headed.
The rest of the sold-out show raged just as hard. Ramming Speed kicked things off with an explosive set that had all the hesher kids with the beat-up kicks packing the front and stage diving. Looking a bit out of place considering the evening's thrash overdose, Austin street punks Krum Bums had the unenviable task of following Revocation, but vocalist Dave Tejas kept the intensity up through sheer force of will. Featuring former members of White Wizzard, Holy Grail supplied classic NWOBHM in the vein of Screaming for Vengeance-era Priest and lost Teutonic masters Stranger — a nice counterpoint to the irradiated black thrash of final act, Toxic Holocaust.
Touring to support last month's excellent Conjure and Command (Relapse), the Portland, Oregon, band capped off the night with some blistering new tracks and by reaching back to their '03 sound (by way of Kreator and Bathory in '86) with "War Is Hell" off debut Evil Never Dies (Relapse). It had the diehards packed up front chanting along, and even Andrew Bastard changed his mind and stuck around.
Related:
Photos: Motherboar at Great Scott, Interview: Skeletonwitch’s Scott Hedrick, Soundgarden | Telephantasm, More 
- Photos: Motherboar at Great Scott
Motherboar perform at Great Scott on January 22, 2011.
- Interview: Skeletonwitch’s Scott Hedrick
You know you've made it to rock’s Big Time when interviewers catch you as you're boarding a jet, instead of loading the tour van. And although Athens, OH's Skeletonwitch didn’t happen to be boarding their own Iron Maiden-like 747 when we reached them, they’ve got too much going on these days to make it all happen on four wheels.
- Soundgarden | Telephantasm
Aside from an unfortunate crop of John Graham art making the cover look like one of those three-wolf-moon T-shirts, Telephantasm is a solid retrospective for a Seattle metal band who got wrapped up in flannel.
- Apocryphonic: This Light Offers No Warmth, July 9 at Geno’s
Local avant-metal band Apocryphonic merge the grammar of Mogwai and the sonic vocabulary of Conifer into 35 minutes of dexterous post-rock on their impressive debut record.
- Photos: Ringo Deathstarr, Young Adults and The Vandelles at Great Scott
Ringo Deathstarr, Young Adults and The Vandelles perform live at Great Scott on July 2, 2011.
- Ash Borer | Ash Borer
NorCal black-metal trio Ash Borer's debut full-length is as diminutive as their namesake (limited to a 150-cassette run) but no less destructive or striking as they hurtle through three tracks in 40 minutes.
- Cool noise
Could this be the summer that the Internet finally gets music right?
- Dear ‘girlfriend metal’: Fuck you and the Facebook page you rode in on
I had no idea that the term "girlfriend metal" was used anywhere outside my immediate circle of snarky, elitist Brooklyn-based friends.
- Why there won't ever be another 'Big Four' - and why that's a good thing
In April, thrash metal's self-billed "Big Four" — Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax — played a one-off American show in the middle of the desert in Indio, California.
- Photos: KMFDM + Army of the Universe + Human Factors Lab at Club Royale
KMFDM, Army of the Universe, and Human Factors Lab perform live at Club Royale on August 17, 2011.
- Rainbow coalition
It is 1985. I am six years old, sitting in a sticky red leather booth in a wood-paneled room on the Sunset Strip, eating pizza.
- Less
Topics:
Live Reviews
, Music, great Scott, live reviews, More
, Music, great Scott, live reviews, metal, Revocation, Revocation, Boston shows, metal11, Less
