Artist: REVOKER
Album: REVENGE FOR THE RUTHLESS (CD)

Year: 2012
Media type: CD

On their Roadrunner Records debut, set for release in May, Welsh quartet REVOKER excel at fusing menacing thrash riffs with infectious choruses. The band recorded the album at the U.K.‘s Nott-In-Pill and Junkyard studios with Skindred’s Benji Webbe at the production helm and Andy Sneap mastering.

Hints of Metallica and Machine Head pulse at the heart of Revoker’s debut, but there’s a distinct, fresh attitude leading the charge. Revoker - Jamie Mathias [Vocals, Guitar], Chris Green [Lead Guitar], Shane Phillips [Bass], Jack Pritchard [Drums] - collectively grew up in South Wales, and Mathias and Green have been playing together since they were 13 years old. Once the duo needed a rhythm section, schoolmates Pritchard and Phillips eventually found their way into the band’s ranks, solidifying the lineup in 2006.

“We were all in the same school, and you could always find Jamie in the headmaster’s office. If I wanted to know what time practice was, I didn’t call him; I went to the headmaster‘s office and asked,” laughs Phillips.

About their sound, Green puts it best, “It’s the new old school. All of our influences are classic metal and hard rock bands, but we channel them into our own sound. Each song tells a story and has a beginning, middle, and end. That keeps things interesting.”

Revoker’s first single “Stay Down” – unveiled by Radio 1 and now the 2011 official theme tune for the British Association of Mixed Martial Arts (BAMMA) - proudly brandishes that free and rebellious spirit. With its driving refrain and bombastic guitars, the song is a veritable fist-pumping brawler. “It’s basically about a weekend where we live,” declares Green. “We’re the odd ones out in South Wales. We’ve got long hair, love heavy rock music and don’t play rugby. We’re always fighting back.” The band look set to appear at the SyFy-televised BAMMA 6 event at Wembley Arena on May 21.

One of the band’s most corrosive/cathartic tracks, “Psychoville“ converges bruising melodies and unpredictable vocals. Based on a riff from Mathias and lyrics from Pritchard, the song illuminates Revoker’s creative strength as a team - every song is a collaborative effort. “’Psychoville’ is about having two voices in your head,” reveals Mathias. “It’s that exaggerated day-to-day paranoia that everybody faces. We’re always worrying about certain things and arguing internally. With us, it’s slightly more eccentric, especially in Jack’s case!”

Their homeland of South Wales will always be part of Revoker’s musical identity. Green exclaims, “A lot of our music is quite aggressive because there's nothing to do around here. There's a boatload of boredom and frustration, and that comes out in the music.” Matthias echoes that sentiment. "A lot of bands where we live do the same thing. They're in the same clique. We don't follow any trends, and that's something we're proud of. We just make music we get a kick out of."

In many ways, the band’s name sums up that ethos. “It’s a term used in playing cards,” says Green. “When you’re supposed to be following suit, you choose not to. You essentially decide against what the standard is. We don’t follow our suit; we do our own thing.”

TRACKLIST:

1. Time To Die 
2. Stay Down 
3. Psychoville 
4. All Rise 
5. Hate Inside 
6. Thief 
7. Cold Embrace 
8. The Great Pretender 
9. Nature Of The Beast 
10. Don'T Want It 
11. Not Be Moved 
12. Born To Be An Outlaw