Spitting Fire

If you like pure naked speed, Revenge might be your band. Really few others at this advanced stage of my little middle-aged metal escapade still give me that weak-at-the-knees levitating feeling. Furthermore Spitting Fire yielded three of my favorite 2017 songs. Spitting Fire is the album that prompted me to acquire the Revenge back catalogue. I liked a number of tracks in those previous efforts and Esteban's voice was in better shape; he reached higher notes. Yet, Spitting Fire really represents the pinnacle of the band's creativity and song writing.

Prime examples of this new and improved Revenge are "Heavy Metal Friends," the opener and "Wild til Death." On this song, a memorable intro. builds tension into a faster, catchy, verse and refrain. Then on to a well crafted guitar solo showcasing Night Crawler's prowess.

Harmony. Development. Complexity. Those are not exactly words that one would associate with Revenge's back to basics old school sound. But yes you have it here on songs like "Thirst for Avenge," one of the slightly more relaxed numbers. (Of course relaxed for Revenge is quite relative. Speed haters will still need to look elsewhere.) Here you have a track benefiting from a stellar production and different guitar pedal effects.

Tracks that mainly display unadulterated head rush speed include the whiplash inducing "Sadistic Cruelty" and "Rise of -the Braves," Even here there is a moody section in the middle.
A blood-curdling scream from Esteban ushers in a slow building two guitar-solo accentuated by double kicks. By the close, NIght Crawler's hot lead guitar sure does spit some serious fire!

"Thy Axes Scream," another track in the ultra-speedy camp, is a bit riffier with a meaner vocal delivery. An involved guitar solo crowns the song.

The album's title track, another unadultrated speedster, is on the chaotic end of things with an aura of good plain fun. Chunky, slower moving power chords in the middle provide some counterforce to the song's relentless breakneck pace. The guitar solo just tumbles out like an acrobat taking on a down escalator. A haunting lyric with good vocal inflection make this track shine.

My least favorite number is the rerecorded rather cookie-cutter title track from Revenge's 2003 demo, Infernal Angels. More tone color and vocal are both inserted in the Spitting Fire version, but its position of last on the album sure make it one to easily skip for me.

Beyond liberating speed, I can't even explain Spitting Fire's appeal. Let's just say its solidness is arresting in our musical world where mediocrity is the norm. Give a listsn and you'll be likely to agree.

The affinity for true metal is not a one night stand, but a deep relationship over years and decades. The best case is a lifelong love affair (seems that I am in a romantic mood today, sorry for that). Maybe Revenge from Colombia share my opinion. Honestly speaking, I think so because their latest album shows their unbroken mentality anew. "Spitting Fire" celebrates the metallic characteristics once more and everybody who says that this approach is boring or stupid should be punished with eternal diarrhea. This is not to say that I worship each and every detail of the here reviewed album. The artwork looks like an accident in the ink fountain and a chorus like "Heavy Metal / Heavy Metal / Friends of Heavy Metal" fails to deliver new creative aspects, to say the least. But these things do not play an important role, because vigorous guitars, heavy drums and expressive, sometimes high-pitched vocals of the South American answer to Rob Halford are the shaping forces of Revenge's music.

Once again, the band members did not see the necessity to change an iota of its style. The mix of dense, speedy guitar leads, melodic ingredients, screaming solos and catchy choruses still works and makes the guys to a reliable partner for their supporters. Okay, I don't know why they recorded a new version of "Infernal Angels" which was primordially released on their debut. The mid-paced song with the nearly soft beginning does not belong to the highlights. Nevertheless, it also does not do any harm (and it pushes the album over the 30 minutes mark...). But the true essence of Revenge shows up in tracks such as "Wild Till Death". The song has this currish, straight and combative component that reflects the attitude of the Colombians perfectly. And I may not forget to mention its liveliness. The album spreads a vibrant aura and uncovers the fact that these guys are probably fans of their own music. The old school is shining bright in new splendour - what else can we (old geezers) demand? A compact killer like "Thy Axes Scream" makes my day, because it does not suffer from a lack of pressure, power and dynamism.

In alignment with its predecessors, "Spitting Fire" creates a very homogeneous overall picture. This situation mirrors the enthusiasm, integrity and authenticity of the four-piece that has never wasted a thought about starting any form of non-metallic experiments. Any type of external influences does not have a chance to become an inspiration for the guys and therefore it is only logical that the crispy production also shines with a very generic appearance. It underlines the robustness of the music in a very good way. Given this situation, there can be no doubt that "Spitting Fire", the seventh full-length of the group, meets the requirements. It is not the most aggressive album of the band and it gives a f**k about innovation, but its resilient substance shimmers through each and every tone. I am also not the most aggressive guy and I am not interested in innovation, too, but my substance has survived for more than 49 years. In view of these parallels, you will understand that I really like this output. Yet on a more serious note, there are not many bands at the interface of speed and power metal that do a better job than Revenge. Seems that they love their earthy music, true metal.