A new great review from a German metal magazine. My Revelations reviewed the new album and rated it with 12 out of 15 points!
The review can be found at the My revelations website:
https://www.myrevelations.de/2022/03/03/reviver-a-thousand-lives/
English translation:
With REVIVER, long-term memory twitched immediately and shortly thereafter, “Metal Crusade III” was fished off the shelf. In the first decade of the new millennium, Horst Odermatt’s magazine “Heavy oder was” regularly presented these sampler CDs as a DIY kit. There were always great gems to be discovered, some unfortunately didn’t make it into the wider public, for others it was a stepping stone. In 2001 the song “Cycles” was on the sampler and in 2005 the band released their debut with Remedy, but after that it was quickly over because they couldn’t agree on the musical development of REVIVER.
For a long time the individual members went their own way and then found each other again in 2017 in the original line-up. After a few years of reconciliation, “A Thousand Lives” sees the light of day and I can say in advance that the Dutch have really nailed it. I would simply describe the style as refreshing Heavy Metal, which places value on melody, but also has a fairly high degree of heaviness. Variety is very important and so there are gripping stompers, paired with fast numbers and a skilful haven of peace. Singer Patrick van Maurik has something coarse and nasty in his voice, which he sometimes skillfully brings to bear, but can also hit the notes in the high frequency range if necessary. Another plus point is the guitar work of the Tom Heemskerk/Fred Mantel duo, which give the songs a powerful boost at times and skilfully put them in the shop window. But the soulful introduction to the ballad “You Belong To Me” is also great cinema, as Y&T, for example, do so masterfully.
In conclusion, I have to say that “A Thousand Lives” picked me up immediately and after listening to it for the first time I immediately followed it up with the second listen, as I am surprised and at the same time convinced by the quality of the band. The hit “Our Voice” followed a few more times. Well done you Dutch!
Rating: 12/15
Author: Matthias Decklar
