Interview with Revocation

Revocation’s sixth album Great Is Our Sin is soon to be unleashed on the world and will be sure to reinforce the band’s already top-notch reputation for quality metal. As such, it seems an appropriate time to delve a little bit more into the world of Revocation. So, put on Great Is Our Sin, turn the volume up and listen to what David Davidson has to say…

Introduce us to Revocation!

Hello! Dave here, we’ve been a band since 2006 and we’re released 5 albums and 1 E.P. in our 10 year history through a couple of different labels. Currently we’re signed to Metal Blade Records and we’re about to release our 6th full length record “Great is Our Sin” on July 22nd.

What are your influences?

We’re influenced by a lot of different death and thrash metal bands primarily, but we also draw inspiration from black metal and prog bands. Some specific groups that have influenced us over the years include Martyr, Gorguts, Cannibal Corpse, Dark Angel, Megadeth and Exhorder just to name a few. Personally speaking I also listen to a lot of jazz and classical music so that definitely has an effect on my writing style as well.

Name five things you’ve listened to recently that you’d recommend

Wormed – “Kringhsu”
VI – “De Praestigiis Angelorum”
Aktor – “Paranoia”
Gorguts – “Pleiades’ Dust”
Vektor – “Terminal Redux”

Tell us about Great Is Our Sin – what are some of the themes?

The record is about the sins of man throughout history. I took a look back to the middle ages and all the way up to the present day to gather inspiration around this overarching concept. Topics range from public executions in the 16th century to the corruption and greed that is poisoning our political system in the modern age.

How do you think it compares to the rest of your work?

I think our sound is more evolved now, we’ve really dialled in the different elements that make us who we are. We try to improve as songwriters with every release and I think this new record is our most cohesive offering to date.

As this is your sixth album, how do you continue to challenge yourself and keep things fresh?

I’m constantly working on new music and listening to new bands so I think it’s just a natural process for me. I try not repeat myself so I try to be wary of putting out very similar sounding songs. That being said we try to maintain a certain vibe to our music so that we have our own recognisable voice. My main goal as a songwriter is to have each song have it’s own personality but to also fit under the umbrella of our sound and work with the aesthetic of that particular record that it’s a part of.

How did you choose the cover artwork?

We all knew we wanted to work with Tom Strom again for the newest release because he did such an amazing job on “Deathless” When he delivered the finished product we were all really blown away, he always brings his “A” game to every project that he’s a part of so it was a pleasure working with him again.

Do you think album artwork is important to the average listener these days?

Definitely, it can help to tell the story of the album and often it’s the very first impression that fans get. I associate particular artists with certain bands and for me that adds a lot to the overall statement an album is trying to make. Take Cannibal Corpse and Vincent Locke for example, he’s their go-to artist for all their album covers and his imagery has created a vivid iconography for their sound.

What’s the process you use for writing songs?

Everything starts with the riff for me. Once I build up enough of a stockpile of riffs that I dig I’ll start to see what sections go together and from there the skeletons of songs will start to form. After this initial phase of organisation happens I’ll start to really dive into the structure of each song and see what I need to add or remove in order to aid the flow of the composition. At this point the structures of each song will be 80-90% completed and around this time is when I’ll bring the tunes to the other guys so that we can jam on them and work out any other little tweaks that need to be made. They’ll give me their input on different sections that I might be on the fence about or bring up new ideas that might add to the music. After the song structure is finalised I’ll start working on solos and lyrics to bring everything together and complete the songwriting process.