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Carnival Of Chaos

    
       
       
       
     
             
Reviver are a heavy metal band from the Netherlands formed in 1997 featuring a line-up consisting of founding members, guitarists Fred Mantel and Tom Heemskerk - the bands line-up completed by bass player Stefan Brederode (ex Montany), and (new members) drummer Leon Noe, and vocalist Michael Zandbergen. The band have enjoyed a twenty six year career (with a ten year hiatus between 2006 and 2017), releasing two E.P.'s - 'Gates Of Time' (2001) and 'Osiris Eyes' (2003), and three full length albums - 'Reviver' (2005), 'A Thousand Lives' (2022), and 'Carnival Of Chaos' (2024).    
             
The new album is a "journey to the distant past, themed around the mysterious Knights Templar" played out across twelve songs and fifty minutes of pure heavy metal with a fairly weighty and very sharp power metal edge - the one minute instrumental 'Dark Wind Of Destiny' building an eerie crescendo of anticipation as the band explode furiously into life with the rampant 'What's In Thy Command'. The thunderous overtones are all conquering, Reviver shuddering the ground with immense force as 'What's In Thy Command' marches on with all the swagger of heavy/power metal - the combination of power and traditional metal a fucking glorious one! The band may come under the banner of "heavy metal", but as 'Carnival Of Chaos' marches on the aura of "power metal" remains in force, 'Along The Crusade' pounding the ground hard with an incredible anthemic edge!    
             
An opening double that redefines the bands sound, Reviver continue their refreshed aural attack with the title song 'Carnival Of Chaos', the opening twenty seconds containing an eeriness so terrifying your spine is gonna shiver with severe tingling chills! And the pace of 'Carnival Of Chaos' (the song) is faster than the two previous songs put together, the band storming on to encourage every mosh pit in the world to wake the fuck up and start frantically head banging! The recent upsurge in pace and power is maintained as 'Nemesis Of Sion' accelerates hard outta the blocks, the sound of urgent, foot to the floor "foot on the monitor" heavy metal rising high in the air alongside every listener's clenched fists! I defy anyone to not be punching the air right now, the classic sound of melodic heavy metal taking centre stage as 'Lost In The Shadows' strolls into sight, Reviver stirring a little balladry into the mix here too! Only a little mind, for as 'Lost In The Shadows' progresses, an almighty anthemic thunder-stomp shudders the ground, nearby buildings crumbling into ruins under the sheer weight pouring outta this one!    
             
And as quick as pace disappeared - it reappears with a vengeance, 'John The Baptist' displaying an electrifying turn of speed, the band breaking every speed limit known to man to send every head banger around the world into fucking overdrive! The level of head bang ability right now has shot through the roof, 'John The Baptist' maintaining the bands recent heavy/power metal leanings, Reviver proudly straddling the border between the genres of power, and classic heavy metal! And as 'Carnival Of Chaos' (the album) progresses, balladry returns to the fore in the shape of the mellow 'Long Way From Home', a sea of lighters held aloft appearing all over the world as every listener everywhere holds them high. But yet again the band somehow manage to heavy things up to ensure 'Long Way From Home' doesn't take up permanent residence in ballad country - 'Return To Egypt' hitting like the proverbial tonne of bricks! The bombastic oomph here is phenomenal, Reviver buzzing with a force so powerful I think the Earth might have just shifted into a new orbit!    
             
And that's where we stay for the power-driven Judas Priest-esque 'Land Of The Sinners', the iconic "metal gallop" shining through brighter than a thousand suns as the band echo a glorious forty year old sound that was prevalent during the eighties heyday for heavy metal evolution - an evolution that I lived and breathed as a teenager growing up listening to all of metal's greatest pioneering bands re-shape and re-define a genre of music that's grown into one of the biggest, if not the biggest genres of music in the world! And with songs like 'Crucified And Survived' around to reinforce that belief, heavy metal is in very safe hands with the Dutch metal outfit - the band bringing 'Carnival Of Chaos' (the album) to a close with the blistering pace of 'Friday The 13th' - the band giving every head banger and mosher one final fantastic opportunity to frantically rock their heads back and forth!    
             
Overall, a fast paced, blistering array of power-driven heavy metal, 'Carnival Of Chaos' is highly infectious and immensely head bang-able.    
             
             
Review by Iron Mathew Collins    
             
Reviewed for Reviver    
             
Review is also featured at Metal-Roos    
             
             
Other Reviews    
             

           
           
A Thousand Lives      
           
"a traditional metal mix of fast and mid paced old school flavoured songs" Read Review      
     
     
     
           
             
             
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