rEVOLVEr is the perfect marriage of singer Peter Dolving's manic lyrical brilliance coupled with an unusual/off-kilter delivery and his hardcore punk-ish-but-not-somehow sounds, and the Björler twins' thrash-death tastic riffing and soloing; both were balanced here-- after this record, Dolving jumped the shark (he's the hardcore punk who was too off-med/weird to front a band in 1988); but time had not yet finally caught up with him here.
Dolving was, essentially, the Agnostic Front/ Cro-Mags' unmedicated frontman with, essentially, At The Gates. Nice production, too: ultra-clear, like Arch Enemy's on Khaos Legions: must be a Swedish thing.
Dolving doesn't do as well --nearly as well-- while being slower, or softer, or singing over acoustic pieces; his pompous overstatement --not unlike Danzig's, one suddenly forefront-- overshadows his fury. It's rare on this album, however, and quickly forgotten. It does become a problem on later releases, but that's beyond the scope of this review.
"All against all," and the bonus tracks "Fire Alive," and "Smut King" reflect the very-distant but still-present Pantera image; the spirit of Vulgar Display of Power, but without the somehow-complete prostration thereto:
"Abysmal," at about 3:45, fades out, with regret, like Trouble's "All is Forgiven," and just as hauntingly....
"99": the best of the reverse-gallop thrash tunes, and/or an even tighter Sepultura-- tight solos, though however rare, and ones suggesting restraint-- sounds like, almost, a Sepultura/ Vio-lence covers album: the best of the fury of youth, coupled with the best songwriters that they love.
--Horn
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