Revocation is our Artist of the Week! By far and away one of the best modern thrash bands, this Boston four-piece is a force to be reckoned with. Pouring out skill and personality, this band is only getting started on their path to world domination \m/
We conducted an interview with the lead guitarist / vocalist David Davidson. Read up below and learn from the master.
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DD = David Davidson
MT = Mason Trisolino
MT – What’s it like playing in a speedo?
DD – It’s very liberating, I feel so aero dynamic on stage.
MT – How can I grow a beard?
DD – Live in a van and drink PBR for a month straight, it’ll grow soon enough.
MT – What is your approach to songwriting? Is it a group effort, is one of the members a primary songwriter?
DD – Generally, one person takes charge of the song, either myself or Dan, and we arrange most of it on our own. Once the basic structure feels like it’s nearing completion it get’s brought into the practice space and then we jam on it for awhile. As we rehearse it everyone gives their input from there and we make little tweaks and adjustments to it. Me and Dan haven’t co-written a song yet but it’s something that we’ve talked about and will hopefully do in the future.
MT – Tell me about Hot on the Heels, Will that ever be a thing again?
DD – HOTH was an 80’s metal/rock project that featured myself and Phil as well as James from Random Acts of Violence on bass and Devon from Sexcrement on vocals. We put out a 3 song demo and played a handful of gigs. It was fun while it lasted but everyone’s so busy that we never really did much more with it. We haven’t jammed in forever and I think everyone forgets the songs so not sure if there will be a reunion anytime soon. It would be fun to do a show again as a one off if we have the time.
MT – What’s your approach to writing solos? Do you focus on improvisation or our your solos more theory based?
DD – I improvise over the solo sections and record my takes until I hear something that jumps out at me. I do have an understanding of theory since I studied a great deal of it in high school and college but when I write I try my best to not think about it and just try and make music. Sometimes I have to think about it though if the solo section changes keys or if it comes from a more exotic type of scale.
MT – What parts of the world bring out the best crowds to Revocation shows? If we’re talking US, what regions or states even?
DD – Japan had really awesome crowds and totally rabid fans so they’re in my top 5 for sure. As far as the states go obviously Boston since we are from there so the shows are always really good for us. New York shows are always killer for us as well, there’s just a great scene for metal there in general. Montreal and Toronto are great too. Hopefully in the future we can play South America, I hear the shows there are pretty nuts.
MT – Why was the Teratogenesis EP made as an individual EP rather than being included in the song-writing sessions new self-titled album?
DD – When Scion approached us they only wanted an EP’s worth of material. Scion was funding the whole thing and they’ve released a bunch of EP’s so far so we felt it would be a win win for us and our fans since we could release it for free.
MT – What kind of music do you listen to on the road and at home? All metal all the time? Or a mix of genres and styles?
DD – Currently I’m listening to some tracks off the new Gigan record and it sounds killer. I do listen to a great deal of metal but I also listen to a lot of jazz and classical as well. I think it’s good to mix it up, sometimes you just need a break from blast beats.
MT – Many people think self-titling a record says something significant about the record or time period the band made it in. Does your newest records Self-titled status come from any intended meaning, or did you just run out of badass album titles?
DD – We chose to self title it because we all feel this is our strongest material to date and we also feel that as a unit we are functioning better than ever.
MT – Are you guys beer drinkers? Or are you hard liquor guys?
DD – Both. I enjoy good beer and the occasional gin and tonic from time to time.
MT – What contemporary bands, that you think are similar in some way to Revocation, are killing it right now?
DD – I really dig Vektor a lot. I think they are bringing something fresh to the thrash metal genre and they seem to be gaining a good following.
MT – Any songs stick out as favorites for you on the new record?
DD – I dig them all for different reasons but top 3 would probably be Archfiend, Invidious and Fracked.
MT – What are your plans for the rest of 2013 and into 2014?
DD – We’re doing back to back tours in Europe and then the US up until mid November. After that we’ll probably just lay low and write some more music for the rest of 2013. Not sure what 2014 will hold yet, too early to tell.
MT – I just saw you perform on the Summer Slaughter Tour, what was that experience like?
DD – It was an amazing experience. Even though the days were long and we had to do night drives every other night we had a blast. It was like heavy metal summer camp, you’re with your buddies all day drinking and grilling in the parking lot and then you get to play a killer show in front of hundreds of fans. We’d love to do it again, hopefully in a bus next time though.
MT – How difficult was it squeezing every essential song and everything you guys wanted to play into the tiny time slot you guys had?
DD – Very difficult, we have 4 full lengths and an EP out now so when you only have a 25 minute set you have to make some sacrifices.
MT – Anything you want to say to the fans?
DD – Thanks for the support! Come out to a show and say what’s up!
