So, I’m going to try to start a weekly column on albums I think anyone should listen to. From metalcore to technical death metal, these are albums I truly think stand out above the rest. Albums that I listen to on a regular basis because they’re original, executed well or even both. They may not be front-to-back perfect and they may not be for everyone, and perhaps many of you will find that you disagree. Nevertheless, these are albums I think people should at least give a listen.

Anyway, the first album I shall review will be Existence is Futile by a relatively unheard of band named Revocation. When I think of 3-piece bands, I think of shit. Honestly, I’ve found that 3-piece bands lack depth and suffer from a severe case of hollowness and tepidity. The music itself is always just boring. Revocation thinks otherwise and I have to agree with them 100%.

At first glance, the album looks silly. The artwork has a lot of generic metal stuff like an almost illegible logo, some weird demon/mutant/human spin-off and a bunch of devastation in the non-focal areas. Even the title of the album is a little ridiculous, but don’t let this fool you. The music inside is mind-blowingly good.

When you first play Existence is Futile, you’ll be greeted by the instrumental intro titled “Enter the Hall”. The song builds up into a very nice sweeping passage reminiscent of Protest the Hero before it breaks out into a crazy thrash riff, ending with more Protest the Hero-esque sweeping. The next few songs are very thrash heavy, which isn’t exactly my cup of tea. But the music itself is nothing like Slayer or other true thrash bands. It’s more like death metal with heavy thrash influence. Even the vocals are thrashy, with David Davidson (awesome name, eh?) yelling like a maniac into the microphone. Some may find them obnoxious and easily the weak point of the album, but they do grow on you and eventually I learned to accept them. They’re not bad per se, but I’m into growls and shit. Either way, his performance is good and he shuts up at the right times. His lyrics are all right, too. Nothing really thought provoking. Just some typical political jargon that I don’t find intriguing, but it is better than ranting about relationships. In any case, the first half is chalk full of driving thrash riffs, inane yelling and heroin-addicting solos, but damn is it good. However, once you get to “Across Forests and Fjords”, the album skyrockets.

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