Featured review by:
UG Team, on january 13, 2006
1 of 4 people found this review helpful
Sound: It seems like all good names for rock bands are already taken and the bands are having a hard time picking something original for themselves. Sorry, that's out of subject...
Revelation Theory, New York based band, formed four years ago from singer Rich Luzzi, guitarist Julien Jorgensen, bassist Matty 5 and drummer Dave Agoglia. Their passion to music grew from listening to hard-rock, early grunge and nu-metal during college days. After releasing 6-tracks EP and intensive touring the band got signed to Element Records for their debut full-length album "Truth Is Currency." The album was out September 2005 and Revelation Theory invited Grammy winning producer Paul Ebersold (Saliva, 3 Doors Down) to work on it.
Their genre can be described as a mix of hard and heavy rock with elements of metal (no wonder after you know their influences). Revelation Theory balances between rhythmic hardcore and melody, switching loud to quite in one second with a lot of pace changing. The music is guitar-driver with hard-crashing cymbals and distortion in almost every song except ballads. The best instrument part is bass, there are some great bass lines in some songs (like "Loathe" starts with bass playing alone), it leaves you wishing for a better playing technique though. There's a touch of industrial style to make the effect on those who like "modern" music -? like some electronic and keyboard effects. The songs are well-written, but too standardized -? you notice the lack of variety after a couple of first tracks. All material is smooth and hooky, airwavable for rock radios.
The album closes with a large romantic ballad "Over The Line" -- quiet and partly acoustic. Ballads on "Truth Is Currency" are pretty good, that should be the strongest side of the band. // 7
Lyrics and Singing: I can understand, these guys probably had some not very successful love affairs, they're probably very disappointed with selfish people in their neighborhood, and the environment is getting worse and worse... It happens to everybody though. Why do then some moan about it and some don't?
The vocals are very mediocre -? nothing outrageous, nothing too good or too bad. Strong angry gritty voice, obviously disappointed in life in general, some restrained screamo and growling in choruses. In some culmination moments you can hear the lead singer straining his voice to hit high notes so hard that it probably hurt afterwards. There are some nice back vocal lines in ballads though. // 7
Impression: I guess that's good production that made the whole material listenable, hiding weak spots and showing off stronger ones. There's nothing that falls apart as well as nothing outstanding. The album would most probably take place in your CD collection among twenty other of a kind and in a month you would have no clue what's the difference between those faceless CDs.
Why is there so many bands that are just trying to be like Sevendust, like Nickelback, like Creed (depending on what they were listening to when they were 15), having not more ambitions, than "one day be as big as those guys?" And then they're giving interviews, saying that they can't identify their style, it's just something nobody else's playing??? I'm sorry, guys, but it's boring. Yes, it's "solid"; yes, it sounds smooth, but there are a hundred other hard and heavy rock bands that have familiar sound and say "f--k" in each song to show how pissed they are at life. Boooooring...
Last but not least -- the CD sleeve is disgusting -? that's probably the lack of money on independent record that couldn't provide anything original, except of an ugly guy with 20 bucks and a band photo inside. And when is that fashion on meaningful looks among rock stars is gonna end? // 6
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