Conan - Revengeance - review
Conan - Revengeance - review
Tracklist
01. Throne Of Fire02. Thunderhoof
03. Wrath Gauntlet
04. Revengeance
05. Every Man Is An Enemy
06. Earthenguard
A review by
Auntie Sahar February 16, 2016
Nothing is really all that new with Conan this third time around. On Revengeance, listeners are essentially treated to the same brand of thick, heavy-as-a-hurricane riffage, pulsating drums, and the monotone-type vocals of Jon Davis that the band has been employing since day 1. The latter always somehow work more effectively than one might think: while Davis's vocals seemingly know little of the concepts of melody and harmony, the overall weight and simplicity of Conan's music somehow makes such concepts rather unwelcome, and Davis's approach is thus an ideal fit (see "Every Man Is An Enemy" especially).
What is slightly new about Revengeance, however, is the greater variation in tempo that Conan are working with here. Notably on "Throne Of Fire" and the title track, we see the band picking up the pace a bit with a more upbeat, head-bobbing, almost sludgey type of approach. And, I would argue, it's ultimately this formula that works much, much better for them. While the band have a certain hook and catchiness to them no matter what tempo they're playing in, this mood can tend to be lost with their slower tracks, and some of the longer ones, such as "Wrath Gauntlet," can thus give the impression of just dragging on and on. With a bit of a faster speed, however, the band are somehow able to make their music much catchier and more memorable, and it leaves a greater lasting impression, perhaps because more shifts in tempo give listeners a tad more to focus on and absorb. That is, we're not really as stuck in one place with the band as we might've been before.
Three full albums into their career now, Conan have certainly proven that while they don't rank too high on the originality scale, they're a "less is more" type of band who know how to make a lot work with very little. While the band still stick to a mostly slow-to-midtempo doomy core on Revengeance, the album also drops a few hints at a potential evolution of sound for Conan, and while I personally wish that the faster moments I mentioned had been in a bit of a greater abundance here, these guys should at the very least still be applauded for trying something new. Overall, this is still the great Conan sound that people have come to know and enjoy, albeit with a few minor changes that could yield interesting new results for the band if refined more in the future.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 7 |
| Songwriting: | 8 |
| Originality: | 6 |
| Production: | 7 |
Written by Auntie Sahar | February 16, 2016
Comments
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| !J.O.O.E.!
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 Posts: 5989 |
Posts: 5989 Written by [user id=4365] on 16.02.2016 at 20:37 They're pretty damn good, I would say, much better than on album. At Roadburn 2014 during their set it almost felt like I was getting a body high because their bass was so loud the vibration was making my skin tingle 
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| !J.O.O.E.!
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!J.O.O.E.!
Account deleted Written by Auntie Sahar on 16.02.2016 at 20:38 That sounds like my kind of set up. They actually played in my town, and I don't think I even had a good excuse for missing them. Next time.
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Posts: 40071
Deleted the previous comments before Joe's due to them being non-related to the album and band.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996 
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| Posts: 5989 |
Posts: 5989 Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 16.02.2016 at 20:58 Boss Marcel to the rescue 
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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 Posts: 11983 |
Posts: 11983
This album sounds neat from what I've heard so far. Still need some time to dig into it.
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