A couple of weeks ago my first ever promo package from RevelationZ was delivered unto me by the nice people of Royal Mail. Upon opening it and examining the contents I was immediately drawn to one CD in particular. It more than likely captured my attention due to it's enduringly rubbish artwork which depicts a badly drawn Knight with a spiked helmet and blood-red sword, sullenly sitting on some skulls against a backdrop of a decaying city half buried in a desert.
"This is a proper album cover!" I thought to myself and stuck it straight in the Hi-fi. Thankfully the contents of the EP did not let me down. It turns out that
Black Raven are a fairly decent Power Metal (or as they like to call themselves "Fucking Heavy Metal") band from north-east Italy who got together to pay tribute to the Metal Gods and write some Heavy Metal the way Mamma used to make it (that's the first and last Italian joke, I promise)
The Day of the Raven is their first ever release and sets out its stall with the punchy opener
Black Raven. It's your standard tale of a mighty warrior with vengeance on his mind and it's a fast little number with some clear thrash influences. The production is a little rough but in a way that actually helps give a tougher, hungrier impression of the band compared to the slickly produced Power Metal fare which comes at you from all angles these days.
Live for Metal is the stand-out track for me. It opens with the sound of a child's music box being interrupted with the roar of a chainsaw and a female scream. Its main riff reminds me in a strange way of Pantera's Walk but with a generous helping of Hammerfall-esque melody. Its catchy chorus extols its listener to:
"Bang your fuckin' head
Stand till the end and live for Metal"
Which may be a total cliché, but my God it's a cliché that never fails to get me singing along with my fist in the air!
It's a well done track and is actually far superior to many of the like minded Metal songs out there by well respected bands e.g. Manowar's similarly themed (if oppositely titled) effort
Die for Metal. This is due to its lyrics and sentiment sounding heartfelt and never forced. The tempo change at 2.14 adds a nice bit of variety to the song and they just about pull off the breakdown moment shortly after that without looking too silly.
The EP then ends with a couple of longer tracks
Soldiers of the Light and
The Day After. Both are mid-paced numbers which reach just beyond the 6 minute mark. This leads to the CD feeling a little uneven and they would probably have worked better being spaced out between the 3 shorter, faster songs.
The Day After is the stronger of the two "epics". Strangely after 4 tracks of "Swords and Metal" lyrics it brings things back to the here and now with a warning of the dangers of Atomic weapons. It's a well constructed song with a hammering riff suddenly shifting gears for the streamlined chorus. It ends with a haunting outro which made me hope it would kick back in again. But sadly it was not to be and the song fades out to the clicking of a Geiger counter
The Day of the Raven is a fine debut that points towards a bright future for
Black Raven. Admittedly it offers nothing you haven't heard before and does little to further the genre. But then it never claims to, the bands main aim is to get you banging your head and having a good time. And what's wrong with that?
Written by
Stuart Monday, December 10, 2007
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