Revocation – “The Outer Ones” [Album Review]

The Outer Ones has been my most highly anticipated release of 2018; I could not wait to get my hands on it and dig into what the guys in Revocation had gotten up to this time. To be fair, as much as I was anticipating this record, I had serious doubts that they would top 2016’s, Great Is Our Sin, which, to me, was the highlight of their career and a disc that has been in my regular rotation since its release.

With a healthy dose of excitement, I sat down to give this bad boy a spin. “Of Unworldly Origin” blasts forth with a ferocity capable of melting your speakers and taking your breath away, and, just like that, Revocation is off to the races. As The Outer Ones chugs along with dark blackened/death metal riffs, otherworldly guttural growls, fretboard wizardry, and tempo changes executed with surgical precision, you will be left dumbfounded and slack-jawed.

Close your gaping maw and give the album’s title track a listen.

Many of the albums I review are front loaded with the best tracks at the beginning but they begin to fade to filler and fluff about halfway through; The Outer One is not that kind of record. It sinks its teeth into you, refuses to let go, and drags you along for the ride, where you will encounter some of the best tracks later on in the disc, such as “Vanitas,” the instrumental “Ex Nihilo” and “Luciferous”.

Bottom line, The Outer Ones is a massive slab of metal that far exceeded my expectations, and is a worthy follow-up to the fantastic Great Is Our Sin.

The Outer Ones Track Listing:

01. Of Unworldly Origin
02. That Which Consumes All Things
03. Blood Atonement
04. Fathomless Catacombs
05. The Outer Ones
06. Vanitas
07. Ex Nihilo
08. Luciferous
09. A Starless Darkness

Run Time: 48:25
Release Date: September 28, 2018
Record Label: Metal Blade Records