Revocation creates extreme music for extreme times. On 'New Gods, New Masters', their fifth record for Metal Blade, the quartet--spearheaded by founder/vocalist/guitarist Dave Davidson--delivers nine potent and portentous songs of brutal lyrical and musical significance.
Produced by Davidson mixed and mastered by Jens Bogren (The Haunted, Spiritbox), tracks including “Cronenberged” (feat. Jonny Davy of Job for a Cowboy), “Sarcophagi of the Soul,” “Confines of Infinity” (feat. Travis Ryan of Cattle Decapitation) and "Dystopian Vermin” thematically explore AI and its impact on humanity.
“I’ve been very fascinated with the development of Artificial Intelligence, and I’m deeply concerned where this could lead humanity,” says Davidson, “whether it’s the slow march towards a technological dystopia or the all-out annihilation of our species.”
To wit, “Cronenberged” is about a science experiment gone wrong. Davidson is a massive Sci-Fi horror fan who loves the body horror genre that David Cronenberg helped create; the song is an homage to that. And, Davidson adds, “Shout out to Rick and Morty for inspiring the song title.”
The Boston-bred Davidson credits newest members Harry Lannon (rhythm guitar and backing vocals since 2023) and bassist Alex Weber with a renewed energy and intensity onstage. “It’s been a pleasure ripping with those guys alongside Ash (Pearson), who always crushes it behind the kit.” In terms of his playing, writing, and singing, “I’m always refining my craft and trying to get better,” he says.
Davidson was excited to welcome a guitar guest—as well as impressive vocal features—on 'New Gods, New Masters'. Revocation had late Black Dahlia Murder singer Trevor Strnad and Corpsegrinder of Cannibal Corpse guesting on 'Netherheaven', and Davidson recruited more talented peers for 'New Gods'. “I’m honoured to have such amazing guests on 'New Gods'. On vocals we have Jonny Davy and Luc Lemay, two vocalists that I really admire who have their own unique sound,” says Davidson. “I remember texting with Jonny about guesting on “Cronenberged” asking him if we wanted to be the personification of a mutated abomination that escapes a testing facility. He was stoked to go as unhinged as possible and his vocals on that track sound truly inhuman.”
A longtime fan of Gorguts’ Lemay, describing the Canadian singer’s vocals as “brutal but also tortured sounding at times. There’s a lot of emotion in his voice and that came through perfectly on the album closer ‘Buried Epoch.’” Slightly more unexpected is the contribution of jazz player Gilad Hekselman, who played with Pat Metheny at The Kennedy Center and won Rising Star in Downbeat Magazine, among numerous other accolades. He plays on “The All Seeing.” “Gilad is a buddy of mine and happens to be one of the best jazz guitarists in the world. His playing is awe-inspiring, and I’m truly honored to have him as the guest soloist on the outro of ‘The All Seeing.’”
Titling the album 'New Gods, New Masters' reflects his belief about humans’ need to worship various gods. “It seems as if that desire is encoded in our DNA. As science and our understanding of nature and the universe as a whole, increases, the religions of the old gods start to become obsolete,” believes Davidson. “However, I believe we’ve replaced our old gods with new ones, worshipping technology and creating a cult-like idolatry of innovators.”
Revocation, unafraid to upend musical and lyrical tropes with forward-thinking and sounding approach, with songs that excoriate society’s addiction to phones (‘Sarcophagi of the Soul”) and animal experiments that illuminate/replicate societal issues (“Dystopian Vermin”), Davidson’s science-backed observations all the more terrifying for their reality.
If technological advances create worse problems alongside “solutions,” Revocation forge ahead, four guys plugged in, fighting existential threats with metal, “waiting to see what the next trial of the human experiment brings.”
Music grounds and uplifts the band members—and fans. “I’m proud that I’ve been able to evolve as a musician and songwriter with every release. I never want to stagnate, and I think we’ve achieved real growth with every album,” says Davidson. “I’m also extremely proud that I’ve been able to keep this band going after all these years; it’s crazy to think of how far we’ve since the beginning.”
Limited twilight blue marbled vinyl pressing.
*Please note - image is a mock up only, actual colours may vary on finished product*
Tracklisting
Side A:
- New Gods, New Masters
- Sarcophagi of the Soul
- Confines of Infinity (feat. Travis Ryan of Cattle Decapitation)
- Dystopian Vermin
- Despiritualized
Side B:
- The All Seeing (feat. Gilad Hekselman)
- Data Corpse
- Cronenberged (feat. Jonny Davy)
- Buried Epoch (feat. Luc Lemay)
