Revenant - Prophecies of a Dying World (1991)^{Release ID: 18580}

New Jersey death metallers Revenant & I first crossed paths when I discovered their video clip for "The Unearthly (A Quest)" on a 1992 Nuclear Blast video compilation called "Death Is Just The Beginning" & was immediately blown away. That experience would lead me to chase down Revenant's 1991 debut album "Prophecies of a Dying World" through the tape trading scene, a record that I'd be well impressed by & which has received repeated return visits over the years. I have to say that it's always surprised me that Revenant didn't go onto bigger & better things based on this first-up effort because it shows a hell of a lot of promise. Not to mention the links to John McEntee (Incantation/Mortician) who was their guitarist from 1987-89 which one would have thought might drawn them a little attention too.

Perhaps I was always going to relate to a band like Revenant because they seem to have grown up with the same records that I did (i.e. "Reign in Blood", "Altars of Madness", etc.) & go about their craft in a way that I have the utmost respect for. I'd describe their sound as being thrashy death metal that sits somewhere between the death/thrash of Ripping Corpse & Massacra & the death metal of 1980's Morbid Angel. The production job on "Prophecies of a Dying World" isn't perfect but I feel that the slightly messy feel gives Revenant a little more authenticity & street credibility at the same time in that the record simply "feels" like an underground gem even before you discover that it is one from a quality perspective. Revenant are wonderful exponents of the "riff" too with the song structures being quite complex with a lot of changes but they always leave enough space to give them a touch more accessibility. The vocals work in a similar way with Henry Veggian's delivery being possibly the most intelligible death growl you'll ever find. The lyrics are very mature & sophisticated too so they're well worth hearing while the very capable dual guitar solos go ballistic in a similar fashion to the great Slayer combination of Kerry King & Jeff Hanneman.

There's not a weak track to be found on "Prophecies of a Dying World" with the quality levels ranging from decent to mind-blowing on "The Unearthly (A Quest)" which is still a definite favourite of mine. There's perhaps not enough genuine classics included to be commanding the elite scores but one gets the feeling that Revenant may well have created a few more had they been given the chance. Unfortunately, fate would see them splitting up in 1995 with this being their only release of any note. As it stands though, I'd strongly encourage all members of The Horde to check this sole testament to an underappreciated band out as it's unlikely to disappoint.