There are just some bands out there that can’t be stopped. In the wide world of death metal where virtually anything goes so long as it crushes and leaves the listener stunned by what intensity was just laid forth, we are spoiled by numerous bands out there that always manage to return to us in top form to not only further their own glory but to really show us how much more the very concept of death metal has to give to its devotees. Effortlessly, Revocation is one name that always manages to do so as their significance in the modern landscape of the sound gets stronger year after year. It’s been a long four years since we last heard from Revocation after a solid streak of an album at least every two years from 2009 to 2018, and it’s clear from any given minute from their eighth opus of otherworldly death that those four years were very well spent.

Right out of the gate, is there really any doubt out there when it comes to the credibility and tenacity of Revocation? This has been a staple of the technical death metal world since “Empire of the Obscene”, and their grip has only gotten stronger in the fourteen years since. Just the very mention of new material from the name is enough to get the masses churning in excitement, but combined with artwork from the ungodly talent of Paolo Girardi alongside a single featuring both Corpsegrinder and the late, great Trevor Strnad, how could one not get pumped for such an effort? Hands down, every facet of “Netherheaven” has to be seen as not just one of the best creations out of the realm of death metal that 2022 has thrown our way, but there is certainly an argument to be made for this being one of the more striking releases in the band’s wildly acclaimed catalog. There isn’t an instance throughout the very whole of these nine tracks of utter devastation across over 40 minutes of true technical mastery the likes of which all but compel the absolute entirety of the death metal underground to move to the album’s will at a whim, the very power of Revocation all but undeniable. No matter what track we’re talking about or what song you decide to pick apart for whatever reason, it is all but inescapable to come face-to-face with the simple fact that Revocation has achieved true greatness yet again with “Netherheaven”. The board was set, and, as always, Revocation’s strategic display of dominance is nothing short of apocalyptic in its brutality and jaw-dropping in its talent.

Works like this are few and far between in the grand scheme that is the entire world of death metal, but it really does feel like the baseline for the likes of Revocation. Greatness and peak performance are but two things that we all come to expect from Revocation after all these years and voracious albums, and “Netherheaven” is simply the latest offensive in a war upon all that is good in this world that the band can call a wild success for all the hellfire that it delivers and the legions of hellspawn that writhe at their very beckon.

“Netherheaven” releases on September 9th via Metal Blade Records!

LISTEN to singles from “Netherheaven” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Revocation on Facebook here.