By: Chris Bull
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 29/1/2016
Label: Napalm Records
The song 'Every Man Is An Enemy' has one of the most metal sounding titles I've ever heard and the violent intentions inherent in the brooding, bruising riffs put the bands money where its snarling mouth is. 'Earthenguard', the final track of the 6 on offer, is a song so heavy it has its own gravitational pull. Its 12 minutes of neanderthalic doom which also swims and swirls thanks to the phased guitars. It's an odyssey, a massive trek through mountainous chops and pounding beats that are designed to systematically cave your head in. Have Conan outdone themselves? Quite possibly.
“Revengeance” CD//DD//LP track listing:
1). Throne of Fire
2). Thunderhoof
3). Wrath Gauntlet
4). Revengeance
5). Every Man Is An Enemy
6). Earthenguard
The Review:
When you think of Conan, you think of barbaric riffs at a lumbering tempo, guitar strings dripping with tar and drums that pound and smash. If you will, they are a huge hulking beast emerging from the swamps and clambering over the mountains, each footstep shaking the earth to its core. Well on 4th album 'Revengeance', the beast has emerged again, this time, it's been awoken from its sleep, and it's seriously pissed off about it.
'Throne Of Fire' charges like rabid wolves aiming straight at the jugular. The fairly rapid pace ignites a fire under a cauldron in which the rest of the album sits, boiling slowly and furiously. 'Thunderhoof' is classic Conan; the thick, fuzzy riffs combine with the drums and bass to forcefully bludgeon everything within a 20 mile radius while Jon Davis' banshee wail weaves tales of warhorses battling triumphantly. Conan have most definitely upped their game in terms of diversity and song writing; nobody wants to 'Krull' being written again and again, no matter how much we enjoy that song, and on 'Wrath Gauntlet', although the supersonic über doom we've come to know and love from Conan is most definitely there, it's delivered with more malice and vehemence than they have displayed in the past.
The dynamics of each track vary courtesy of producer/bassist/vocalist Chris Fielding adding a little flair where it's necessary. The title track 'Revengeance' blasts into action sided by the furious tub thumping of new drummer Rich Lewis. "We are all nothing. You are all nothing" bellows Jon Davis during the verse, and he's absolutely right. The track slows down to a punishing tempo, allowing the gloriously heavy tones of the guitars to ring in your ears. The song 'Every Man Is An Enemy' has one of the most metal sounding titles I've ever heard and the violent intentions inherent in the brooding, bruising riffs put the bands money where its snarling mouth is.
'Earthenguard', the final track of the 6 on offer, is a song so heavy it has its own gravitational pull. Its 12 minutes of neanderthalic doom which also swims and swirls thanks to the phased guitars. It's an odyssey, a massive trek through mountainous chops and pounding beats that are designed to systematically cave your head in. There's even an entrancing guitar solo which draws you in with its gritty charm as the thudding rhythm repeats itself. Fantastic stuff.
Have Conan outdone themselves? Quite possibly. Again, the crafting of the songs has become more focused and precise and thanks to the creative burst that a new drummer can bring, they have added the weapon of speed to their already impressive arsenal. Go and buy this record!
“Revengeance” is available here
“Revengeance” is available here
