A welcome return for the music world's REAL Gallagher brothers (the metal ones, naturally); brothers John and Mark of NWOBHM men Raven, who along with former Pentagram drummer Joe Hasselvander behind the kit, release their first album in 10 years – and their twelfth overall.
I've always been selective over NWOBHM bands, as over the years I found that not all that were lumped under the banner suited my taste, many keeping a bit too close to the hard rock territories of their forefathers. I found that bands such as Angel Witch, Blitzkrieg and Maiden pushed into new, very much 'metal' worlds with a harder vibe and a more urgent sound when held in comparison to some of their NWOBHM brethren, which was much more up my alley.
Raven call their own music 'Athletic Rock'(!), but they've always fallen onto the better side of the NWOBHM fence for me personally. Come 2010, Raven sound as reassuringly fresh and vibrant as ever. Of course their sound has evolved over the years, but the Raven spirit is still there for all to hear, occasionally harking back to the heyday of debut 'Rock Until You Drop' and 'Stay Hard'. There's a large dosage of rocking, classic heavy metal riffage to be heard throughout this album, with a great cocky, snarling vibe to some of the songs that adds an extra edge to the proceedings.
Having come through their fair share of bad luck, accidents, and bereavements in the ten years between this album and the last (2000's 'One For All'), these three guys have obviously never let their passion for rocking heavy metal die. Although there are a few more 'rock' styled tracks, with catchy hooks and choruses (comparing the hard rock commercialism of 'Running Around in Circles' to the speed metal bombast of 'Against the Grain' is like listening to two different bands), the album as a whole falls very much into the metal camp. Just one listen to 'Attitude' will surely have you pumping your fist like it was 1981 again... well, if you were alive back then; personally I was 2!
Fair play to Raven for keeping it metal through all the years since forming way back in 1974, and still managing to release an album of new material 36 years later which stands up against their classic material. An impressive feat, and an impressive album. Check it out.
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