The Prophecy - Revelations
No Face Records
Doom Metal
7 songs (1:07:31)
Release year: 2006
The Prophecy, No Face Records
Reviewed by Ross
Album of the year
When I fulfilled my promise to Conquest Of Steel and reviewed their album Hammer And Fist, their label asked if I wanted to review their Doom Metal band The Prophecy. Of course I said yes, thinking I would probably pass it on to one of the other reviewers who were more in sync with Doom Metal. Normally I’m squirming in my seat wishing someone to come and kill me NOW, or at least rip my ears off after about 15 seconds. Revelations dully arrived and I plonked it in my CD player, finger hovering over the skip button, and listened: Never, and I mean fuckin’ NEVER EVER, has any piece of music had such a profound effect on me. To me, anything going less than a bajillion miles an hour is a ballad, and if there’s no growls then it’s Wuss Music. Kick-off track Odyssey intro’s with, what sounds like, a simple guitar riff that has this quirky string slide that makes you go “Ooh, Cool!”; well it did to me anyway. Then this Death Metal vocal oozed out my speakers, making my tail all fuzz up, then clean vocals harmonized by a violin that took the fuzz up my spine to the back of my neck; and goosebumps, fuck, something weird was going on here! One song in and I knew I’d had an epiphany, all my pre-conceived notions, understandings and thoughts of Doom Metal had been shot down in flames, blown out of the water and turned on their head, all at the same time. Before I continued with this album, I had to find out just who these people were that could fuck me up, in a good way, with one song. I knew one thing for certain though, this one was mine; no way was this getting passed on to another reviewer, no matter how under-qualified I was to review it.

The album cover gave me the names Matt, Greg, John, Gavin and Katie; well that helped! First port of call was their Website; okay now we’re getting somewhere. The band member’s individual bio’s didn’t work but at least I had how and when the band came about and who done what in the band: Matt Lawson, vocalist, who can switch from clean, melancholic and moody to a crushingly menacing growl effortlessly and seamlessly; Greg O’Shea, guitarist, who’s riffs and hooks are dark and morose one minute, heavy and brutal the next, instilling a bundle of mixed emotions in your psyche and who plays solos that blend into each song so fluently that they just carry you along on this rollercoaster ride of sorrow, frustration, self pity and anger. Revelations hits you with so many sensations it physically drains you leaving you emotionally wrung-out. John Bennett is without a doubt a drum God! His meticulous tempo and timing changes are surgical in their precision; his double kicks are sparse throughout the album but again delivered with surgical precision. John lent his talents to cover drums in My Dying Bride’s album A Line Of Deathless Kings which was reviewed by Alex in November 2006. Gavin Parkinson gives the music the low, doom laden effect with sometimes harmonic, sometimes complimentary accompaniment. Lastly there is Katie Colbrook who may not be listed as a full-time member of the band, certainly plays an outstanding role in this record on keyboards and violin. In particular the keyboard part in the track Willow’s Hope may sound like a straightforward piano fill but is an integral part of the song that has a mellow, hypnotising effect that gently pulls you down into sorrowful, all encompassing state of desolation and despair. If not for the sudden onslaught of brutal Death vocals to jar you into full consciousness, you could find yourself reaching for the pill bottle, razor blades or thinking about heading for the nearest rail bridge. Since the departure of their other guitarist, Greg has taken on all guitar parts. This works on an album where he can multi-layer guitar parts till the cows come home, but, delivering live on stage doesn’t look good. Persuading Katie to become a full time member of the band and with careful set-list management will cover many of the parts that require a second guitarist. The set-list management would be a must to allow Katie to cover her violin parts that are a sorrowful icing on a black iced cake of which Odyssey and Cascades are hefty portions. The Prophecy have been playing without a second guitarist since 2005 and have no doubt adapted their live shows to allow for this. However, having listened to Revelations in its full multi-guitared majesty, I don’t know if I would like to catch then live just in case I came away feeling something was missing from their performance. Perhaps someone who has caught one of their recent shows can let us know if they felt their live act didn’t quite measure up. This is the only niggling itch that I can’t scratch about The Prophecy though in no way casts any shadow over Revelations.

When I read Alex’s review of My Dying Bride’s A Line Of Deathless Kings I understood why, after years of disdain of all things Doom, Revelations has had such a profound effect on me. There are times in your life when you get knocked down; and when you’re down there life delivers a few more blows to keep you there. You get friends and relations telling you to keep a positive attitude, things are going to get better. Let me tell you; you can only pick yourself up, dust yourself down and carry on the fight so many times. Eventually you’re gonna say “Fuck it, I’m not getting up again!” You just want everybody to piss-off and leave you alone to wallow in self-pity. I’m not going to regale y’all with my sorry ass life story, suffice to say I’d reached that point in my life. Revelations made wallowing in that blue funked self pity bearable with a mind cleansing quality that has you realising that it’s okay to be down, to feel hurt and emotional pain; as Alex said “Only having experienced some things in life, I understand now that it should not always be about fun.” I very seldom take major events that happen to me personally too seriously. I now realise that some things have to be taken seriously, especially when it is a major event that’s happening to one of the most important people in your life.

I doubt I will ever become a full on fan of Doom Metal but Revelations has given me a glimpse of why fans of the genre appreciate the music. I’ll bet every Doom fan can remember the album, perhaps even the specific track, which hooked them, and what state of mind they were in at the time. Revelations is the album that done it for me; more precisely, The Prophecy gave to me an emotional crutch which I grabbed with both hands. For this reason I am presenting Revelations with MY Album Of The Year award. There will be many who read this that will think everything in their garden is rosy and looks that way for the foreseeable future; yes that may be now but roses can wither and die without warning! Be thankful that when you come to the lowest point in your life that there are bands such as The Prophecy that can create music that makes being down there survivable.

Learn more about The Prophecy at their Website; have a listen to some of their music, including a track from their forthcoming album Into The Light, and catch a few live vids at their My Space Page. If you’ve never had a notion to try Doom Metal, I sincerely ask you to give them a listen to; they may not float your boat now but keep them in mind.
Killing Songs :
Every doom-laden note in every sorrowful song!
Ross quoted 95 / 100
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