Revealing Damnation

...And that's about it. "Revealing Damnation" isn't a terribly original album; it's straightforward Tampa death metal. So what makes them special enough to merit an 90? A high level of musicianship; totally solid vox (both the highs and lows are very strong); a predilection for getting the best drummers around on board (Derek Roddy tears it up on this one; fans, he actually wrote the next to last song, "Cast from the Heavens," and played all the instruments! aside from vox the track is ALL Derek Roddy! And it's the best one on the album!); and a real knack for writing groovy, fist-pumping, headbanging riffs, not terribly brutal and full of melody. The riffs do have a moody but classic feel which is distinctive from a lot of other Tampa bands, and the tone is really quite clean - the guitars are definitely not the kind of Trey Azagthoth worship you get from a lot of the Tampa scene. The songs on this album are very consistent; they're all good and the first half in particular smokes completely. All this aside, Council is still pretty much cookie-cutter death metal; GOOD death metal, and if that's what you want, then you'll dig it.