28.Aug.07 - Rock N' Roll Experience - IRM Review

Revenant Dead - Imperial Rape March

Rating: 6 stars!

Hailing from Birmingham, England, I'd like to introduce you to one of the more interesting hard rock/metal acts that I've heard lately...they are called Revenant Dead, & musically, they have this frantic energy that is kinda like Cradle of Filth, Bauhaus, System of a Down & the band balances gothy overtones with thrash style metal really well! The bands new cd opens with "Torment" which is a grinding metallic knock out of screaming & clean vocals, mixed with progg-ish guitar riffs, & pounding beats that demand attention & command your ears to listen with awe, because the pace of the song changes often, & I might be crazy, but in this song, I am vaguely reminded of Fred Snyder from the B-52's, just simply in the way West sings & changes his vocals so much..it's like hearing Serj from System of a Down & Fred Snyder teaming up, & I realize that might sound weird as hell, but it's actually a really good thing & super cool! The opening guitar lick on "Vertigo" is superb, & the only other artist that I have ever really seen that gets close to the energy Revenant Dead has is Devin Townsend...there's just this really crazy vibe to each song & it's what makes the band such a force to recon with! "Perfekt Hate" is a thrash metal epic that would make Testament & the forefather's of thrash proud, but the thing that is really unique is the changes in each song..the vocals never stay the same..there's manic screaming, then clean vocals, then there's moments where it's almost like spoken word! The guitar tone on "Blood Tide" might be some of the fattest & thickest tone I've ever heard, & "Tantamount" is beautiful in it's almost brooding like essence & mood. "Decay Dance" closes the cd & it's a great closer because it rocks with power & passion, & to be honest with you, this is definitley one of the better cd's I've heard all year...Revenant Dead are definitley a band you need to check out..their songs are not only amazingly well written, but they are talented as musicians & artists and that's what makes this band truly amazing..they simply ooze brilliance!