History Music / RevengeBand

Formed in 2000, '''Revenge''' is an [[CanadaEh Edmonton]]-based [[BlackMetal bestial black / war metal]] project founded by James Read as a continuation of the style heard in his previous band Conqueror. The act is associated with the infamous Ross Bay Cult school of bestial black metal bands, which was spearheaded by [[http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Blasphemy/1141 Blasphemy]].

-->-- '''James Read''' describing his songwriting process [[http://www.fmp666.com/moonlight/revenge.html]]

* MinimalisticCoverArt: Compared to other black metal bands (and even fellow bestial black metal bands) Revenge's album covers are quite simple, and intentionally so. Ironically, the ultra-limited "diehard" vinyl reissues of Revenge albums can be ''[[TextlessAlbumCover even more]]'' minimalist in design. [[https://img.discogs.com/vIfDPykmtQwuylObE9yw2k238Es=/fit-in/600x613/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-1684790-1413232599-2422.jpeg.jpg]]

Over more than 15 years of activity, Revenge have released five full-length studio albums (plus a couple extended plays and splits) and have played shows worldwide on concert tours alongside bands such as Music/{{Behemoth}}, Music/{{Deicide}}, Music/{{Amon Amarth}}, Inquisition, Watain, and Music/{{Mayhem}}. The band's studio lineup is drummer / vocalist James Read on drums and Chris Ross AKA [[StageNames Vermin]] on bass and rhythm guitar. For live shows James Read fills only kit duties while Vermin does guitars and primary vocals, with Tim Grieco AKA [[SnakesAreSinister Haasiophis]] joining them on bass and additional vocals. Former members include Pete Helmkamp of Angelcorpse and Order From Chaos (who played bass and did occasional vocals for Revenge's first three studio albums) and [[ThePeteBest early session members]] Attacker and Dehumanizer.

* a guitar tone reminiscent of an [[CoolGuns/MachineGuns MG-42]]

Over more than 15 years of activity, Revenge have released five full-length studio albums (plus a couple extended plays and splits) and have played shows worldwide on concert tours alongside bands such as Music/{{Behemoth}}, Music/{{Deicide}}, Music/{{Amon Amarth}}, Inquisition, Watain, and Music/{{Mayhem}}. The band's studio lineup is drummer / vocalist James Read on drums and Chris Ross AKA [[StageNames Vermin]] on bass and rhythm guitar. For live shows James Read fills only kit duties while Vermin does guitars and primary vocals, with Tim Grieco AKA [[SnakesAreSinister Haasiophis]] joining them on bass and additional vocals. Former members include [[AwesomeMcCoolName Pete Helmkamp]] of Angelcorpse and Order From Chaos (who played bass and did occasional vocals for Revenge's first three studio albums) and [[ThePeteBest early session members]] Attacker and Dehumanizer.

* BaldOfAwesome: Vermin and ex-bassist Pete Helmkamp both exhibit this trope. Perhaps intentional considering that Revenge are friends with (and were inspired by) Blasphemy, the original "black metal skinheads".

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: Always hard 11.

* SensoryAbuse: To say that this band is a difficult listen is like saying that Antarctica is cold. Even those accustomed to the heaviest black metal would probably be intimidated.

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: [[AlwaysChaoticEvil Always hard 11]].
* MurderBallad: Several, although ''genocide'' ballad would probably be a more accurate term.
* MusicSoothesTheSavageBeast: Inverted; if anything Revenge would serve to invoke said beast.

* [[MetalScream demon-possessed parrot squawking]] for high vocals

* 2015: ''Behold.Total.Rejection'' (Season of Mist Records)

* {{Sampling}}: The live intro played before some Revenge shows is a monologue from ''{{Taxi Driver}}'' over an air raid siren.

* ColbertBump: In one of the few non-shirtless photos of Stefan Burnett, more commonly known as MC Ride from Music/{{Death Grips}}, he can be seen repping Revenge's ''Infiltration.Downfall.Death'' album. [[http://forums.lastbullet.net/mydownloads/previews/preview_286_1449178397_36fc7c8e1a847805576c4da105cc82a7.jpg]]

* EpicRiff: "Blood of My Blood", "Filth Solution (Intolerance)", "Us and Them (High Power)", "Humanity Noosed", "Hate Nomad", "Death Heritage (Built Upon Sorrow)", "Genocide Conquest", "Shock Attrition (Control in Decline)", "Cleansing Siege (Take Them Down)", "Atrocity March"

* MusicToInvadePolandTo: More like music to besiege the gates of Heaven to.
* [[NightmareFuel Nightmare Fuel]]: Uninitiated listeners might find Revenge's music to be completely terrifying, and rightly so. The breakdown in the middle of "Wolf Slave Protocol (Choose Your Side)" and the beginning guitar solo in "Death Heritage (Built Upon Sorrow)" are particular examples where the true musical horror of Revenge shines through. In an interview from when he was in Conqueror, James Read warned fans of melodic music to not waste their money on his band's album.

* SignatureSong: "Blood of My Blood" off ''Triumph.Genocide.Antichrist''

[[folder:BEHOLD.REVENGE.TROPES]]
* [[AGoodNameForARockBand A Good Name For a War Metal Band]]: This also applies to J. Read's previous band Conqueror.
* [[AllDrummersAreAnimals All Drummers Are Animals]]: James Read, no fucking contest. What he lacks in technicality he makes up for ten times over in sheer relentlessness. Yet because of this alone, his style behind the kit is more crushing and impressive than most modern extreme metal drummers. In an interview early in the band's career, James talked about how he and the recording engineer for ''Attack.Blood.Revenge'' had a disagreement about how the drums were to be produced... James wanted his snare to sound like a skull being crushed.
* [[BaldOfAwesome Bald of Bestial]]: Vermin and ex-bassist Pete Helmkamp both exhibit this trope. Perhaps intentional considering that Revenge are friends with (and were inspired by) Blasphemy, the original "black metal skinheads".
* [[ColbertBump Colbert Bump]]: In one of the few non-shirtless photos of Stefan Burnett, more commonly known as MC Ride from Music/{{Death Grips}}, he can be seen repping Revenge's ''Infiltration.Downfall.Death'' album. [[http://forums.lastbullet.net/mydownloads/previews/preview_286_1449178397_36fc7c8e1a847805576c4da105cc82a7.jpg]]
* [[CoverVersion Cover Version]]: Revenge have covered two Music/{{Bathory}} songs ("War" and an especially rowdy version of "Equimanthorn"), plus "Lamb" by the cult United States black metal band Von.
* [[EpicRiff Epic Riff]] "Blood of My Blood", "Filth Solution (Intolerance)", "Us and Them (High Power)", "Humanity Noosed", "Hate Nomad", "Death Heritage (Built Upon Sorrow)", "Genocide Conquest", "Shock Attrition (Control in Decline)", "Cleansing Siege (Take Them Down)", "Atrocity March"
* [[FakeOutFadeOut Fake-Out Fade-Out]]: an especially brutal example of this trope can be heard at around 3 minutes and 45 seconds into the song "Mobilization Rites" off their latest record ''Behold.Total.Rejection''.
* [[IdiosyncraticAlbumTheming Idiosyncratic Album Theming]]: If you want an idea of just how consistent Revenge is as a band, perhaps the biggest deviation ''Behold.Total.Rejection'' takes from previous albums is that it has ten tracks and not eight (making it their longest record yet).
* [[IdiosyncraticCoverArt Idiosyncratic Cover Art]]: Not unlike their album titles (and music itself), Revenge's album art is very formulaic. Every piece is a simple black-and-white cover with the band's logo on top, a unique and brutal symbol created for the release in the center (bordered with a shape outline of barbed wire), and the album title along the bottom printed in the [[https://www.myfonts.com/fonts/linotype/fette-fraktur/ Fette Fraktur]] typeface.
* [[IndecipherableLyrics Indecipherable Lyrics]]: J. Read delivers virtually all Revenge lyrics in either a psychotic shrieking battlecry or a guttural pitch-shifted howl. However, when Pete Helmkamp was in the band, his verses could sometimes be made out; they were barked in a raspy, phlegmy snarl.
* [[LoopedLyrics Looped Lyrics]]: The last 40 or so seconds of "Genocide Conquest", the final track on their debut album (2003's ''Triumph.Genocide.Antichrist'') is the word "revenge" ominously repeated in a heartbeat-like, pitch-shifted growl.

* [[MinimalisticCoverArt Minimalistic Cover Art]]: Compared to other black metal bands (and even fellow bestial black metal bands) Revenge's album covers are quite simple, and intentionally so. Ironically, the ultra-limited "diehard" vinyl reissues of Revenge albums can be ''[[TextlessAlbumCover even more]]'' minimalist in design. [[https://img.discogs.com/vIfDPykmtQwuylObE9yw2k238Es=/fit-in/600x613/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-1684790-1413232599-2422.jpeg.jpg]]
* [[MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness Mohs Scale of Rock and Metal Hardness]]: [[AlwaysChaoticEvil Always hard 11]].
* [[MurderBallad Murder Ballad]]: Several, although ''genocide'' ballad would probably be a more accurate term.
* [[MusicSoothesTheSavageBeast Music Soothes the Savage Beast]]: Inverted; if anything Revenge would serve to invoke said beast.
* [[MusicToInvadePolandTo Music to Invade Poland To]]: More like music to besiege the gates of Heaven to.

* [[RockMeAsmodeus Rock Me, Asmodeus!]]: surprisingly averted. For a band of self-described "Antichrist supremacists", Revenge make no mention of Satan, although the Luciferan archetype can be picked up on in their lyrics and overall aesthetic.
* [[ObligatoryBondageSong Obligatory Bondage Song]]: "Blood Noose (Hog Tied Like Swine)", although the context undoubtedly is more violent than erotic...
* [[PowerTrio Power Trio]]: Revenge's live lineup, emphasis on "power".

* [[SelfEmpowermentAnthem Self Empowerment Anthem]]: While most wouldn't exactly consider lyrics like ''"Waiting for the handout is like waiting to die"'' positive, to the band's audience they might prove to be empowering.
* [[SignatureSong Signature Song]]: "Blood of My Blood" off ''Triumph.Genocide.Antichrist''
* [[SinisterShades Sinister Shades]]: Like a few other war metal bands, Revenge opt against the corpse paint traditionally associated with black metal in favor of these, as seen in some promo photographs. [[http://www.ztmag.com/blog/news/files/2011/03/revenge.jpg]]
* [[SnakesAreSinister Snakes are Sinister]]: Live bassist-vocalist Tim Greico goes by the stage name Haasiophis, which is an extinct genus of snakes with hind limbs.
* [[SuicideAttack Suicide Attack]]: It's implied that the subjects of the lyrics to "Mass Death Mass" are about to perpetrate this.
* [[ThreeChordsAndTheTruth Three Chords and the Truth]]: Revenge sacrifice technical proficiency and complex songwriting for outright savagery in their musicianship. To call it a trade-off would be an understatement.
* [[VocalTagTeam Vocal Tag Team]]: Heard in Revenge live shows but also on-record when Helmkamp was in the band, and even between J. Read's two vocal styles.
[[/folder]]

* [[SnakesAreSinister Snakes are Sinister]]: Live bassist-vocalist Tim Greico goes by the stage name Haasiophis, which is an extinct genus of snakes with hind limbs.

* [[SnakesAreSinister Snakes are Sinister]]: Live bassist-vocalist Tim Greico goes by the stage name Haasiophis, which is an extinct genus of water snakes with hind limbs.

* downtuned, malevolent, razor-sharp guitar riffs
* blisteringly fast and sloppy guitar solos

* abrupt tempo changes from groovy, uptempo mosh breaks to chaotic blast sections to evil, doomy breakdowns

* intimidating lows in the form of [[HarshVocals pitch-shifted gutturals]] similar to those heard in {{grindcore}}

* [[AllDrummersAreAnimals All Drummers Are Animals]]: James Read, no fucking contest. What he lacks in technicality he makes up for ten times over in sheer relentlessness. Yet because of this alone, his style behind the kit is more crushing and impressive than most modern extreme metal drummers.

* [[IdiosyncraticCoverArt Idiosyncratic Cover Art]]: Not unlike their album titles (and music itself), Revenge's album art is very formulaic. Every piece is a simple black-and-white cover with the band's logo on top, a unique and brutal symbol created for the release in the center (typically bordered with barbed wire), and the album title along the bottom printed in the [[https://www.myfonts.com/fonts/linotype/fette-fraktur/ Fette Fraktur]] typeface.
* [[IndecipherableLyrics Indecipherable Lyrics]]: J. Read delivers virtually all Revenge lyrics in either a psychotic shrieking battlecry or a guttural pitch-shifted howl. However, when Pete Helmkamp was in the band his verses could be made out, and were shouted in a raspy, phlegmy snarl.
* [[LoopedLyrics Looped Lyrics]]: The last 40 or so seconds of "Genocide Conquest", the final track on their debut album (2003's ''Triumph.Genocide.Antichrist'') is the word "revenge" ominously repeated in a menacing, heartbeat-like, pitch-shifted growl.

* [[MurderBallad Murder Ballad]]: Several.

* [[MusicToInvadePolandTo Music to Invade Poland To]]: Umm, y'think?! They call it war metal for a reason...

* [[SelfEmpowermentAnthem Self Empowerment Anthem]]: While most wouldn't exactly consider lyrics like ''"To give them bread is like feeding the pack of wolves that is hunting you / To share what is yours is like donating your blood to the dead"'' positive, to the band's audience they might prove to be empowering.
* [[SignatureSong Signature Song]]: "Blood of My Blood"

* [[SuicideAttack Suicide Attack]]: the lyrics to "Mass Death Mass" allude to this.

* artillery barrages of blast beat and double bass drumming
* crude, massive, steamroller-esque basslines

* 2002: ''Superion.Command.Destroy'' EP (War Hammer Recods)

The band's lyrics (or the short, random snippets of them that appear in the album booklets) are usually [[SarcasmMode sentimental ballads about cuddling with puppies and sunny days spent in grassy meadows]]. In all seriousness, Revenge's lyrics more-or-less mirror the brutality and chaos heard in their music proper. They are [[MisanthropeSupreme misanthropic as fuck]], and usually come off as virulent [[AuthorTract manifestos]] delving into topics like individualism, [[ReligionRantSong anti-Christian sentiment]], treason, elitism, genocide, domination, militant sloganeering, [[TheSocialDarwinist social Darwinism]] and declarations of, well, {{revenge}}. Judging from song titles such as "Wolf Slave Protocol (Choose Your Side)", "Genocide Conquest", "[[FinalSolution Filth Solution]] (Intolerance)", "Traitor Crucifixion", "Nihilist Militant (Total Rejection)", "[[StormingtheCastle Cleansing Siege]] (Take Them Down)", "Scorned Detractor (Trust No One)", "[[WithUsOrAgainstUs Us and Them]] (High Power)"... yeah, Revenge likely won't be doing any collaborations with the Music/{{Backstreet Boys}} any time soon.

* [[MinimalisticCoverArt Minimalistic Cover Art]]: Compared to other black metal bands (and even fellow bestial black metal bands) Revenge's album covers are quite simple, and intentionally so. Ironically, the ultra-limited "diehard " vinyl reissues of Revenge albums can be ''[[TextlessAlbumCover even more]]'' minimalist in design. [[https://img.discogs.com/vIfDPykmtQwuylObE9yw2k238Es=/fit-in/600x613/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-1684790-1413232599-2422.jpeg.jpg]]

* [[ObligatoryBondageSong Obligatory Bondage Song]]: "Blood Noose (Hog Tied Like Swine)", although the context most likely is more violent than erotic...

* malevolent, razor-sharp guitar riffs

* artillery barrages of blast beat drumming
* steamroller basslines

* [[MetalScream demon-possessed parrot squacks]] for high vocals

The band's lyrics (or the short, random snippets of them that appear in the album booklets) are usually [[SarcasmMode sentimental ballads about cuddling with puppies and sunny days spent in grassy meadows]]. In all seriousness, Revenge's lyrics more-or-less mirror the brutality and chaos heard in their music proper. They are [[MisanthropeSupreme misanthropic as fuck]], and usually come off as virulent [[AuthorTract manifestos]] delving into topics like individualism, [[ReligionRantSong anti-Christian sentiment]], militant sloganeering, [[TheSocialDarwinist social Darwinism]] and declarations of, well, {{revenge}}. Judging from song titles such as "Wolf Slave Protocol (Choose Your Side)", "Genocide Conquest", "[[FinalSolution Filth Solution]] (Intolerance)", "Traitor Crucifixion", "Nihilist Militant (Total Rejection)", "Cleansing Siege (Take Them Down)", "Scorned Detractor (Trust No One)", "[[WithUsOrAgainstUs Us and Them]] (High Power)"... yeah, Revenge likely won't be doing any collaborations with the Music/{{Backstreet Boys}} any time soon.

Revenge is considered by some to be the most [[ThreeChordsAndTheTruth consistent]] (and consistently ''savage'') band in all of metal. There is very little noticeable progression in their music from album to album. Similarly, all of their album titles follow the ''Three.Brutal.Words'' separated by periods format (for example, ''Scum.Collapse.Eradication''). Each of their album covers bears a [[SigilSpam unique insignia]] similar to one which a military unit would have; usually combining one or more assets such as barbed wire, skulls, bones, nails, daggers, [[PostApocalypticGasmask gas masks]], or nooses.

* [[CoverVersion Cover Version]]: Revenge have covered two Music/{{Bathory}} songs ("War" and an especially rowdy version of "Equimanthorn"), plus "Lamb" by the cult American black metal band Von.

* [[LoopedLyrics Looped Lyrics]]: The last 40 or so seconds of "Genocide Conquest", the final track on their debut album (2003's ''Triumph.Genocide.Antichrist'') is the word "revenge" ominously repeated in a menacing, heartbeat-like death growl.

* [[SinisterShades Sinister Shades]]: Like a few other war metal bands, Revenge opt against the corpse paint traditionally associated with black metal in favor for these, as seen in some promo photographs. [[http://www.ztmag.com/blog/news/files/2011/03/revenge.jpg]]

Formed in 2000, '''Revenge''' is an [[CanadaEh Edmonton]]-based [[BlackMetal bestial black / war metal]] project founded by James Read as a continuation of the style heard in his previous band Conqueror. The act is associated with the infamous Ross Bay Cult bestial black metal scene, of which [[http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Blasphemy/1141 Blasphemy]] are most famously part.

* [[LoopedLyrics Looped Lyrics]]: The last 40 or so seconds of "Genocide Conquest", the final track on their debut album (2003's ''Triumph.Genocide.Antichrist'') is the word "revenge" ominously repeated in an heartbeat-like death growl.

* [[ThreeChordsAndTheTruth Three Chords and the Truth]]: Revenge sacrifice technical proficiency and complex songwriting for outright savagery in their playing. To call it a trade-off would be an understatement.

* [[ObligatoryBondageSong Obligatory Bondage Song]]: "Blood Noose (Hog Tied Like Swine", although the context most likely is more violent than erotic...

* [[IdiosyncraticAlbumTheming Idiosyncratic Album Theming]]: If you want an idea of just how consistent Revenge's music is, perhaps the biggest deviation ''Behold.Total.Rejection'' takes from previous albums is that it has ten tracks and not eight (making it their longest record yet).
* [[IdiosyncraticCoverArt Idiosyncratic Cover Art]]: Not unlike their album titles (and music itself), Revenge's album art is very formulaic. Every instance is just a simple black-and-white cover with the band's logo on top, a unique and brutal symbol created for the release in the center (typically bordered with barbed wire), and the album title along the bottom printed in the [[https://www.myfonts.com/fonts/linotype/fette-fraktur/ Fette Fraktur]] typeface.

* [[LoopedLyrics Looped Lyrics]]: The last 40 or so seconds of "Genocide Conquest", the final track on their first album (2003's ''Triumph.Genocide.Antichrist'') is the word "revenge" ominously repeated in an heartbeat-like death growl.

* [[MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness Mohs Scale of Rock and Metal Hardness]]: ''Always'' hard 11.

* [[VocalTagTeam Vocal Tag Team]]: Heard in Revenge live shows but also on-record, (when Helmkamp was a member) even between J. Read's two vocal styles.

Revenge is considered by some to be the most [[ThreeChordsAndTheTruth consistent]] (and consistently ''savage'') band in all of metal. There is very little noticeable progression in their music from album to album. Similarly, all of their album titles follow the ''Three.Brutal.Words'' separated by periods format (for example, ''Scum.Collapse.Eradication''). Each of their album covers bears a [[SigilSpam unique insignia]] similar to one which a military unit would have; usually combining one or more elements such as barbed wire, skulls, bones, nails, daggers, or nooses.

* [[SinisterShades Sinister Shades]]: like a few other war bands, Revenge opt against the corpse paint traditionally associated with black metal in favor for these, as seen in some promo photographs. [[http://www.ztmag.com/blog/news/files/2011/03/revenge.jpg]]

* [[VocalTagTeam Vocal Tag Team]]: Heard in Revenge live shows but also on-record, when Helmkamp was a member and even between J. Read's two vocal styles.

* [[ObligatoryBondageSong Obligatory Bondage Song]]: "Blood Noose (Hog-Tied Like Swine", although the context most likely is more violent than erotic...

* {{Sampling}}: The live intro played before some Revenge shows is a monologue from ''{{TaxiDriver}}'' an air raid siren.