Revocation – New Gods, New Masters

Revocation – New Gods, New Masters

Twenty years in, and Revocation are still raising hell like it’s day one. New Gods, New Masters, their ninth album and fifth via Metal Blade, Dave Davidson and crew unleash a record that is as brain meltingly technical as it is thematically terrifying. Produced by Davidson himself and given the sonic sheen of Jens Bogren (Spiritbox, The Haunted), this is Revocation at their most ambitious, unflinching, and fucking ruthless.

From the sci fi body horror of “Cronenberged” (featuring a deranged vocal cameo from Jonny Davy of Job for a Cowboy) to the dystopian despair of “Sarcophagi of the Soul” and the AI nightmare of “Confines of Infinity” (with Travis Ryan of Cattle Decap spitting venom), the album feels like a soundtrack to humanity’s own technological downfall. Davidson’s fascination with AI’s potential to both revolutionize and annihilate us bleeds into every lyric, and the music mirrors that unease with surgical precision.

The surprises don’t stop at the guests. Jazz virtuoso Gilad Hekselman turns “The All Seeing” into a mind bending fusion experiment — his outro solo adding unexpected elegance to the chaos. It’s the kind of bold curveball most death metal bands wouldn’t even attempt, let alone pull off this flawlessly.

Musically, New Gods, New Masters is a clinic in controlled destruction. Riffs that slice like scalpels, rhythms that pummel like jackhammers, and solos that remind you Davidson is one of the genre’s sharpest players. But what elevates this album is its purpose. It’s not just extreme metal for extremity’s sake, it’s a dark reflection of where we’re headed if we keep worshipping technology like new deities.

Revocation aren’t just surviving two decades in, they’re still fucking evolving. And with New Gods, New Masters, they’ve delivered one of their most vital and venomous statements yet.