Review: Rev Theory – “The Revelation”
Rev Theory – “The Revelation”
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For the first time since February 2011, we were given a full length album from the band, Rev Theory.
You may know these guys if you catch yourself watching professional wrestling,“Hangman” was the theme of WWE’s Smackdown for a few years, or TV shows like Blue Mountain State, which featured “Hell Yeah” as its theme song. Both very solid songs in their own right.
When preparing for this album, it was hard to not hype myself up, hoping we would get another album like Justice, the last album Rev Theory released.
Unfortunately, that would not be the case.
As soon as the album began, you can feel the cookie cutter nature of the album. The guitars are loud, the vocals are hard and the drums are very melodic. Not usually a bad thing, right?
To the listener, it seems that Rev Theory followed “the formula” that most hard rock and metal bands follow, in order to churn out new music. Instead of taking risks and trying to make a mark in the genre, they decided to give us “The Revelation”.
This album feels like a Rev Theory album but feels more like a step back than a step forward.
Through the first listen, the album did not feel like it flowed very well. I know for some people that is not important, but for this listener, flow is very important. As I gave the album a few more listens, things seemed to even out but as they taught me in kindergarten, first impressions are the most important impressions.
I know it sounds kind of harsh at this point, so I’ll take a step back. For what it is worth, the album is an OK listen. If you need to get through a lifting session or something, you’ve come to the right place. It provides hard and heavy music.
If you’re looking for an outside-the-box album in a genre drowning in copycats, I’m afraid you’ll need to look elsewhere.
Whether or not the album was a success, there is one thing I am certain of: songs off this album will most likely crush when played live. If there is one thing this band can do, it is bring it live. In my experience, live music makes the heart grow fonder. I have to assume hearing some of this album live would certainly increase my feels for the album as a whole.
As any good music reviewer would do, I gave myself a few days to stew on this album. After a few listens, I was able to pick out a few songs I enjoyed as well as some tracks I was not so fond of. There are definitely some catchy tracks on this record.
I would comfortably give this album three out of five potential stars. It definitely is not the worst album I have heard but it is not the best. If you take the whole thing for what is worth, maybe you’ll find a few songs to pull out and enjoy on their own.
Featured Track
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