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Raven - ExtermiNation

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    Ian Jane
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  • Raven - ExtermiNation



    Raven - ExtermiNation
    Released by: SPV/Steamhammer
    Released on: April 28th, 2015.
    Purchase From Amazon

    Formed in Newcastle in 1974, Raven have been playing their own brand of metal for over forty years now. 2015 sees the British legends releasing their latest studio album, ExtermiNation (funded through a successful kickstarter campaign), out now from SPV/Steamhammer and following a pretty great tour with German metal legends Accept (read our coverage of their NYC stop here). Still made up of John Gallagher on bass and vocals, Mark Gallagher on guitar and Joe Hasselvander on drums, this new offering, their first in half a decade, sees the trio in very fine form indeed.

    Destroy All Monsters kicks things off just as you'd hope it would - it's fast, crunchy, it's got a great guitar lick to it and it's just classic Raven-style metal for all six minutes of its running time, right down to the falsetto scream and barrage of noise that brings it to a close. The second track, Tomorrow, slows things down but only a hair, it's still fast and fairly rhythmic. Great drum work from Hasselvander here anchoring the piece nicely and there's a cool breakdown in the middle complete with creepy, corny, evil laughter behind it.



    It's Not What You Got is a straight head hard rock track with a catchy chorus. It's a bit more accessible and a little less 'metal' than some of the other tracks but it'll have you pumping your fist in no time. Fight, as you'd probably guess from the title, ups the aggression factor a bit more, with some thrashy guitar opening the song over which the rhythm section comes in with some impressive intensity. This is arguably the most anthemic track on the record. Battle March Tank Treads (The Blood Runs Red) completes the first third of the album, opening with a chanting 'hey hey hey' overtop of some weird noisy playing that builds, then goes briefly silent, until the band kicks things back into high gear. There's a bit of cock rock style swagger here but it suits the song and the tone of the album really well. Raven have always head that attitude up front in their best recordings, and it's here in spades.

    Feeding The Monster once again sees Hasselvander's drumming really up front in the mix as John Gallagher rolls his tongue and makes a weird opening howl before laying down the vocals. This has a bit of an Iron Maiden sound, but only in so much as it has a gallopy sound to it at times. Fire Burns Within again starts off with a noisy intro, some pounding drums and then another Gallagher growl but this is a slower, almost blues-influenced track. At least as blues-influenced as Raven are likely to get. At the same time this feel like a throwback to eighties metal in a big way, especially when the chorus starts up. Scream, at three minutes, is one of the shorter tracks on the album and with some super fast and guitar heavy stop/start playing it's a stand out track to be sure and one of the heavier songs on the disc.



    One More Day lets Mark Gallagher solo a bit to set the mood before the drums start to go wild and the bass gets thick and heavy. Half a minute later the band gets down to business and the tempo is set in typical Raven 'fast and heavy' style. Thunder Down Under is up next, the album now two thirds of the way through. Again, it's Raven doing what Raven does best - pounding, riff-tastic metal in the NWOBHM tradition in which they were forged. It's that sound, more than their more thrash sounding stuff, that permeates this recording and while it's a cliché to say they've gone back to their roots, that's kind of the feeling you get from this album.



    No Surrender opens with another great falsetto scream, and from there the song quickly gets right to the chase, delivering a catchy chorus and more of Gallagher's trademark vocal hysteria. There's another great guitar solo in this one too. Golden Dawn is an odd one, it's fifty-three seconds of acoustic guitars that keep a mellow tone but then segue into Silver Bullet, which won't surprise you to learn is another typically loud, rowdy Raven track. Golden Dawn almost seems unnecessary but once Silver Bullet plays you won't care, it's the closest thing to traditional thrash metal that you'll hear on this record, at least in parts - it mixes things up a bit. River Of No Return has another mellow opening bit with Gallagher's vocals showing admirable restraint and setting an ominous tone. A minute later the instruments kick in and build a heavy sound but this track maintains its drudgy, slower pace and standing out from the rest of the album because of it. The last track, Malice In Geordieland, ends things on a high note with just over three minutes of the band's traditional loud and proud style of metal. It ends the album just as you'd want it to, proving that age has not slowed these guys down in the least.


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