100% HEAVY / 100% Free / 0% Spam

REVOCATION Set To Decimate BLACKEN OPEN AIR 2022

Share This:

With the countdown to Blacken Open Air 2022 entering its last two months, HEAVY felt it high time to start chatting with a few of the bands who will be playing.

Not that there is a shortage to choose from!

How’s this for a line-up?

Revocation (Exclusive Australian Show), Amyl and the Sniffers, Psycroptic, Shepherds Reign (New Zealand), Abramelin, Lagerstein, Hadal Maw, Southeast Desert Metal, Ruins, Miazma, Potion, Lo!, C.O.F.F.I.N, Suldusk, Black Rheno, Hammers, SNAKES, Growth, The Furor, DEAD, The Neptune Power Federation, Mountain Wizard Death Cult, R U N, Diploid, Astrodeath, 100YearsWar, Descend to Acheron, Myriad Drone, Fuxache, Diskust, Fleshvoid, Jeremy Whiskey, The Holy Dimes, Xanadoom, Mulga Bore Hard Rock, Nglah, Whet, Slugboiler, 3wayjays, Tombfeeder

To be held from July 29 to August 1 at Arrernte country, Inteyerrkwe, Ross River Resort, Blacken Open Air is Australia’s premiere metal festival and is one not to be missed!

Tickets and more information from the festival’s official website.

We thought it only fitting to catch up with the headliner first, but unfortunately, time zone difference meant we could only get a Q & A, so sit back and enjoy!

HEAVY: Revocation will be in Australia in just over 2 months to headline Blacken Open Air 2022. How much do you know about the festival?

David Davidson Revocation: To be honest, this is the first time I’ve heard of it, but we’re all really excited to play in the Outback. We’ve been to Australia a few times and the shows are always sick, so we’re looking forward to playing our first open air fest there.

H: You are making a round trip of around 40,000 kilometers to play the one headlining show. That’s a great effort.

DD: I know, definitely gotta bring a neck pillow or something for that flight haha.

H: Will you be here for the full three days?

DD: We’ll be in town for a few days prior to the festival to rehearse. We all live in different locations, so we don’t have the luxury of jamming on a regular basis. Hopefully, we’ll be able to check out some cool local attractions if time permits. I think we fly out the next day after the festival, but I haven’t looked at the itinerary in a minute. 

H: Three days is ALOT of metal. Do you have any survival tips for the fans?

DD: Definitely drink a lot of water, hydration is key. Try not to go too hard right out of the gate, otherwise you’ll be paying the price when you’re mega hungover for the rest of the gig. The one exception to that is when we’re playing, definitely go hard as fuck during our set haha.  Maybe bring some baby wipes too, not sure what the bathroom situation is like at this fest, but it’s better to come prepared.

H: Would you have to allow yourselves time before playing to get over things like Jetlag or does that not matter once it comes time to getting on stage?

DD: We try to fly in a day or two before the set just to get acclimated to the new time zone. We used to be able to fly in and rock no matter what, but father time has a way with us all. Putting on a great show is one of the most important things you can do as a band, these days we just need a little extra beauty rest to facilitate that.

H: Are you familiar with many of the bands playing?

DD: The guys in Psycroptic are good buds of ours, we’ve toured a bunch with those guys, and they always bring the heat live. I’m not too sure about the other bands, we may have played with some of the more illegible logo bands on the list, if I don’t recognize the name I  apologize in advance. I think one of the cool thing about these festivals is you can discover a bunch of new bands you’ve never heard of. 

H: You’ve toured Australia a few times before. What are some of the things that have stood out about playing here?

DD: I just love the general vibe of Australia. Everyone I’ve met has been super friendly and you guys definitely like to party, which is rad. The slang is incredible too, I’ve never heard the phrase “We didn’t come here to fuck spiders” before, but now it’s part of my vernacular for sure haha. I like that it’s got a great food scene as well, I’ve had one of the best breakfasts ever in Australia and your coffee shops are really on point as well. I dig that there’s a lot of green spaces too, there’s a really awesome park not too far from Max Watts in Melbourne that I always like to go for a stroll in. So yeah in short Australia rules haha.

H: What can fans expect from your set?

DD: We’ll be debuting a new song, which is very exciting. It’ll be the first time we’ve ever played it live which is always a bit nerve-racking but at the same time we’re pumped to premiere a new jam. The rest of the set will be a mixed bag of most of our records. The new album is our 8th full length, so it’s getting harder and harder to choose a set list, but I can assure you that it’ll be a rager for sure.

H: I read that you have completed the follow up to The Outer Ones. What can you tell us about that?

DD: It’s 9 songs of pure, diabolical death metal. It’s got some fast rippers, but there’s also some super heavy mid-paced bangers on there and of course a healthy dose of prog weirdness. If you liked the last album, this one will be right up your alley. The artwork was done by Paolo Girardi, I think he really captured the vibe quite well. We also had Jens Bogren mix and master it, it was our first time working with him, and he totally knocked it out of the park. The album sounds very organic but also has that modern punch to it.

H: The band is quoted as saying “this is our most diabolical record to date.” Can you elaborate on that?

DD: Let’s just say on the last album we took our listeners to outer space, on this one we’re going straight to hell.

H: It’s your first record since Dan left in 2020. How did that change the writing process?

DD: For me, it didn’t really change the writing process other than the fact that I had to write a couple of extra songs. But honestly, I welcomed the extra creative workload since we all were stuck at home during the pandemic. Having music projects to focus on definitely helped keep me sane the past couple of years.

H: That leaves you as the only founding member left. Does it feel like the start of a new chapter in the life of Revocation to a certain extent?

DD: Yeah I guess it does, we’ve been going out with our fill-in guitarist Noah, and he’s been absolutely ripping live, but it does change the band dynamic a little having a new guy in the band. We’re all getting to know Noah, how he is on and off-stage, it’s a different vibe than what we’re used to but so far he’s been working out great. He’s super chill offstage, but he definitely delivers the goods live. Working with a new artist on the cover art and a new producer also makes it feel like a new chapter for us. I think it’s important to try new things to keep the whole aesthetic fresh, both for the fans and for ourselves.

H: What do you have planned for the rest of 2022 and beyond?

DD: The new album comes out in September, so we’ll definitely be doing a lot of press leading up to it followed by a headlining US tour. 2023 is already starting to get booked up as well, we’ve got a headliner in Europe planned for the early part of 2023, and then I’m sure we’ll be doing something in the spring or summer. I’m ready to get back out there and support this album, especially since we’ve been sidelined for so long. Next year is gonna be a busy one, but we all welcome it.

Discover more like this on HEAVY:

Our Picks.

Get the HEAVY
Digi-Mags!

Get the HEAVY Digi-Mag in-boxed weekly. 100% HEAVY / 0%SPAM.