History & Biography War metal act Revenge has one of those monickers that is used by multiple bands in multiple countries. This solo act was founded in Edmonton, Canada in 2000. Main protagonist J. Read uses studio and concert musicians to execute his vision. He was known for his work in Axis Of Advance and Conqueror. A few snippets of music meant for Conqueror, such as on the song Superion Revenge, have made their way onto revenge tracks. The act’s sound demonstrates influences from Blasphemy.
Attack.Blood.Revenge was the.first.EP. It was issued by Dark Horizon Records in 2001 and because every demo and EP needs a dozen imprints at it, rereleases and format versions came though the rest of the scene. J. Read was on vocals and drums. War Hammer issued a single for the band called Superion.Command.Destroy in 2002. The debut full-length kicked off 2003 through Osmose Productions. American P. Helmkamp was on bass. It was morbid-cum-sexy time next when Arkhon Infaustus and Revenge released the The Toddler And The Priest/Deathless Will split single through Osmose Productions. Read had also drummed for Arkhon Infausts live in 2002. Helmkamp left. Haasiophis of Dead Of Winter became a concert bassist for the band and was the stand-in for 2012’s Scum.Collapse.Eradication was on Nuclear War Now! The band closed 2012 with an appearance at Messe Des Morts II and travelled to Indonesia for Obscene Extreme Asia in 2013. The band appeared at the Brazilian Ritual show in 2013 and was seen on the associated video Brazilian Ritual - Third Attack in 2015. Season Of Mist added the band to its Underground Activists imprint here. A full-length (2015) and a single called Deceiver.Diseased.Miasmic (2018) were queued up. Revenge, Mayhem and Watain toured North America in 2015. Shining and Revenge toured in 2017. Watain, Revenge and Deströyer 666 toured in 2018. Mgła & Revenge toured Europe in 2019. The Black.Metal.Revenge - European Tour was announced for April and May 2021 with Profanatica, Misþyrming and Ultra Silvam. This was postponed. The Black.Metal.Revenge European tour of 2022 was cancelled. Revenge was booked for Nuclear War Now! Fest Volume 6 in Tijuana Mexico in 2022. The band was booked for Never Surrender and Milwaukee Metal fests in 2023.
The band’s austere and spartan artwork sticks with the black and the white. Vermin of Axis Of Advance sings for the band at concerts. The above-mentioned reference to Blasphemy may be derogatory to Vermin as he replied to a Vae Solis interview question regarding the band Blasphemy having a black member by insisting, "If I am not mistaken (and I could be, as it is only a rumor), the nigger is now a rapper and sells crack-cocaine from his ‘gangster car’. Anyway, who cares... he is just a fuck. Black metal is strictly a white man’s realm, as far as I am concerned. Elite music for the elite society. Simple." Ironically, guitarist R. Förster of Conqueror was also in Blasphemy.
Reviews REVENGE - TRIUMPH.GENOCIDE.ANTICHRIST - OSMOSE
Revenge - not the ex-Joy Division bunch - does Canada proud. Now joined by former Order From Chaos man Pete Helmkamp, J. Read, formerly of Conqueror, has a vision of total annihilation in mind. And about time too for this world needs more noisecore bands like this. Imagine Venom and Tyson dogs brought into the new millennium. Not since those early Impaled Nazarene demos, or even Tol Cormpt Norz Norz, has a band spewed such insane noise unto the masses. The dual vocal system shouts and screams, the guitars rage larm and the untight drums crash with abandon with the toms in particular sounding out of control. It all has the aura of a wild rehearsal - in which circumstances this thing was probably recorded. This is the real stuff. - Ali "The Metallian"
REVENGE - VICTORY.INTOLERANCE.MASTERY - OSMOSE
When Cradle Of Filth got signed to Sony in 2002, there was much theorizing in black metal circles about the sub-genre's future in a world where Dani's unit had hit the big-time. We, of course, know that Cradle Of Filth really isn't black metal, but the BM community - oft primarily concerned with public perception, ironically! - reacted by pushing deeper into the grime that is kvlt, true, and grim. As such, bands like Revenge (and label mates Black Witchery) have taken what was once known and proudly decried as 'black metal' into a post-modern time, one which now reaches far beyond any constraints Norway circa 1992 might have imposed. Instead, Revenge injects layers and pillars of hatred (post-hatred?) into recorded output that, at times, doesn't resembles discernible music. One sometimes wonders just how far frothing-at-the-mouth ultra-anger will take you; Victory.Intolerance.Mastery answers that query succinctly. - James Tape
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