Rev 16:8 ‎"Grand Tidal Rave" CD

Revelation 16:8 is "The fourth angel poured his bowl on the sun, which then was allowed to burn people with fire".

REV 16:8 is a new extreme Black Metal supergroup from Stockholm, Sweden, made up of members from acts like: DARK FUNERAL, INFERNAL, SETHERIAL, IXXI, FINNTROLL, and NEFASTUS. “Grand Tidal Rave” is their stunning debut album with 11 evil and dark opus, what could be described as a perfect mix of fast and aggressive songwriting with evil aura and high quality hellish vocals. The album has been mixed and mastered at Necromorbus Studio (Watain, Funeral Mist, Nominon, Leviathan, Malign, Armagedda...)

Rev 16:8 belong to the group of bands that have split up much too soon. This applies even considering the fact that their second album was noticeably weaker than the staggering debut. "Grand Tidal Rave" shows a very passionate band. They master the whole range of their genre in an impressive manner. To specify this statement, their genre is black metal without omnipresent keyboards, opera singing or endless "suicidal" rhythms. Their passion lies in playing an intensive and pure kind of black metal. The name of their record label fits very well with their music, because Rev 16:8 really create a temple of darkness. So let me talk about its individual components.
A full and rich sound lays the fundament. There´s absolutely nothing to find fault in view of the forceful guitars and the sophisticated drumming. The raw and dark voice may be described as typical for the genre. Exaggerating a bit, one might say that the vocals just achieve an average quality. But honestly spoken, I like black metal standards and therefore I appreciate this vocal performance. It matches with the music in a convincing way. Overall, the dense sound provides the album with a significant advantage.
The songwriting and the stylistic variety are the pillars of the temple. Although Rev 16:8 do not exceed the black metal limits, they offer a great diversified repertoire. One reason for this is surely that the energizing breaks are very well placed. Swedish bands often have a knack for the more or less perfect combination of brutal high speed parts and malignant melodies. Especially the latter contributes to the hellish atmosphere. One might argue that the combination described above is not so unusual. I am the first to admit that. But the infectious nature of the band´s performance makes the difference. On top of this is the fact that you will not find a letdown on this full-length, even if you take utmost care. The album therefore offers a fantastic flow and emanates an oppressive feeling, to which one cannot remain indifferent. The aura of this output reminds me of the atmosphere that Necrophobic create in their best moments. And as we all know, Necrophobic are truly experts of their business.
The building is ornamented by the highlights of the album, too many to mention individually by name. I will therefore focus on three examples. "Crowning the Nameless Heir" starts with a thick mighty riff that impressively emphasizes the first line of the text "the light will never find me". It builds up tension before the song explodes due to a hyper fast section. The title track is certainly no less exciting while being crowned by its slowly killing chorus. The mid-tempo part that turns into the fade-out is also admirable. The final tune, "Locust Fields Forever", offers mysterious cautious riffs before the band picks up speed for the last time.
At the end of the day, a wonderful temple has been built up. Rev 16:8 deserves praise for being the capable architects. Too bad that they never built again such a monument

Sample: