Revengine: The Absence

Not another band from Finland I hear you cry, but wait unlike 99% of Finnish rock/metal music that finds its way to us, Revengine are neither Power Metal, nor Melodic Rock. In fact The Absence, which is this band's full length debut effort, falls straight into hard rock territory, with hints of Paw, or even The Age Of Electric.

Running at just over thirty-five minutes, The Absence may not be the longest album ever released, however in terms of musical ability there's no denying that this twin guitar four-piece have the prowess to create bulky, hard hitting riffs that fairly belt out of your speakers. That said though, every time I have played this album I have indeed been impressed by the bristling guitars, thunderous drums and angsty vocals, however when The Absence has run its course, none of the songs seem to stick in the memory. The likes of the slow crawling "Live With Yourself", the intricately woven start stop of "Revolver", or the grinding title track are all songs where the guitars growl with menace, and the bass thrums with intent. However as with the other four songs (and an "Intro") the similar pace and attack sometimes makes it rather tough to differentiate between them.

I really have had a difficult time reviewing this album, or indeed plumping on what rating to give it, as there's actually little to dislike here and there's absolutely no doubt that Revengine show promise and indeed an amount of promise that most new bands fail to attain. However the truth is that neither can I say that The Absence insists that I come back for subsequent listens. Hopefully album number two will iron out those little nagging niggles and if it does, it may well the stunning release that The Absence isn't quite.

Track Listing
1. Intro
2. Area
3. The Absence
4. Live With Yourself
5. Characterized
6. Envy
7. Believe
8. Revolver

Added: October 1st 2011
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Revengine Official Site
Hits: 2554
Language: english

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