The Summer Slaughter Tour stopped at West Hollywood’s House of Blues over the weekend, and Revocation helped the event live up to its billing as the “most brutal tour of the summer.”
The Massachusetts-based quartet amped up the energy when they came out on stage around 5:30.
Summer Slaughter features a lineup that is headed by prog metal acts like Dillinger Escape Plan and Animals as Leaders, but Revocation’s brand of thrash and technical death metal was a solid changeup. And the band had a passionate fan base in the venue, too, as several Revocation T-shirts and patches were spotted throughout the day.
With a new self-titled album slated to drop in August, Revocation added two fresh tracks to their five-song set, much to the delight of the moshers in the middle of the pit. The band began with “The Hive,” which built ominously for about 30 seconds before guitarists Dave Davidson and Dan Gargulio unleashed all hell on their fretboards.
Another new one – “Invidious” – came in the middle of their performance. The song starts with what sounds like a banjo track that gives way to Davidson’s throaty growl and a searing riff.
The two shredders adeptly changed tempo on a dime throughout the set along with drummer Phil Dubois and bassist Brett Bamberger, which is a testament to how tight the group is.
Revocation ended with “No Funeral,” which comes off their solid 2011 album Chaos of Forms. At the outset of the song, Davidson called for a circle pit to form, and the audience gladly obliged.
“No Funeral” is a great example of how brutal Revocation can be and a solid finale to their show. Each member of the band seemed to be competing with each other as to who could play their instruments faster and more aggressively.
It’s uncertain who won the “No Funeral” battle that night, but judging by their Summer Slaughter performance, the prospect of an upcoming Revocation album is definitely a victory.
For more information, visit Revocation’s official Facebook page.
