 |
 |
||||||
RAVEN***Seminal British Heavy Metal Trio's Stunning New 'Metal City' Studio Album Released September 18th On Steamhammer / SPV*** |
|
| New Wave Of British Heavy Metal legends Raven have announced the release of 'Metal City', their first new studio album for five years, on September 18th on Steamhammer / SPV as a Digipak CD, 140 gram purple vinyl LP (with printed inner sleeves), download and stream. 'Metal City' picks up from where 2015's hugely acclaimed 'ExtermiNation' album left off, packing an even more exuberant musical and creative punch than its mighty predecessor - which was hailed "A superpowered album of pure crackshot heavy metal" by Classic Rock's Geoff Barton in his 8/10 July 2015 album review. 'Metal City' marks the arrival of new drummer Mike Hellor (Fear Factory, Malignancy), who replaced long-standing drummer Joe Hasselvander after he suffered a heart attack (putting an end to his active music career) immediately prior to Raven's Spring 2017 US tour. "Our initial goal was just to raise the bar once more. We did a good job on 'ExtermiNation' and decided we just wanted more of everything next time," grins bassist / vocalist John Gallagher; "however things changed once we got Mike on board. Attitude and tempos got revved up a lot! Mike is a ball of energy. He has a good ear and is a big fan of the early albums, especially the crazy feel. He's kicked us into a higher gear where we feel that we can play anything and everything we write with no restrictions."  'Metal City' is the sound of a band who have evidently pushed the envelope to up their game to the next level, perfectly combining their classic strengths with exhilarating, contemporary influences. Gallagher notes that "We definitely have a couple of traditional Raven rock & roll tunes on the album. 'Top Of The Mountain' definitely has lineage to the past. Also 'Not So Easy' has a bit of that early vibe. Besides that there's so much aggression in songs like 'Human Race', 'Cybertron' and 'Break'." The album's title track itself is a homage to the Gallagher brothers' hometown; "Newcastle upon Tyne has been referred to as 'Metal City' for good reason. We come from there for a start. But it's about a mindset, the people there have a tenacity and an ability to go beyond the limits to get to where they are going." Gallagher also reveals that "'The Power' is our Game Of Thrones song, all very cut-throat! 'Break' is a kind of anarchistic rallying cry, and 'Cybertron' is all about the surveillance state and the AI singularity, disaster porn. 'Human Race' is just blistering, then we change gears radically in the middle. You also have our little epic 'When Worlds Collide' and a few with an anthemic feel like 'Battlescarred' and 'Metal City'. But there's serious left turns in all the songs." The album's striking cover artwork, meanwhile, reflects the band's notorious sense of humour; "it's a comic book inspired theme, we are all lunatics and we figured we all wanna be superheroes, so we went for it".  'Metal City' was recorded at production legend Michael Wagener's studio in Nashville; "The album was produced by us, Mike Heller engineered his drums and Michael Wagner engineered everything else. We then turned the tracks over to a guy called Zeuss who did a great job mixing and mastering it. So it's been a departure for us process-wise. We kinda got dragged into the 21st century kicking and screaming... but the new tools are great as long as you use them, and they aren't using you." |
| Steely – Roland Hyams on 020 8677 8466 / 07768 156392. roland@workhardpr.com www.ravenlunatics.com www.spv.com 10th July 2020 |
|
© Work Hard PR 2020 |
RAVEN***Seminal Heavy Metal Trio's Superlative 'Screaming Murder Death From Above: Live In Aalborg' Album Released January 18th On Steamhammer / SPV *** |
|
| New Wave Of British Heavy Metal legends Raven have confirmed the release of an extraordinary live album, 'Screaming Murder Death From Above: Live In Aalborg', on January 18th on Steamhammer / SPV as a digipak CD (+ poster), double gatefold red vinyl (with printed inner sleeves + CD in paper sleeve), download and stream. 'Screaming Murder Death From Above: Live In Aalborg' contains 11 pure crack-shot heavy metal live cuts recorded at Raven's massively acclaimed concert in Aalborg, Denmark, in November 2017. On fire and blissfully unaware that the gig was being recorded, the trio put in one of the best performances of their lives. "We were surprised of course, since nobody had informed us of this beforehand", John Gallagher explains. "We had a flash drive with the recording delivered to us and when we checked it, we realised that – barring some small technical problems – we had a truly magical live recording on our hands. It was a near perfect concert thanks to the great atmosphere inside the hall and our out of control attitude – since, you know, we weren't aware the show was being recorded."  "The live recording is truly exceptional", Gallagher continues; "There were merely one or two small issues, which are bound to happen at a live show such as this: Some irregularities with one of the microphones, and I broke a bass string during the second song of the evening, during 'Hell Patrol' actually. Fortunately, both problems could be resolved and we're able to present a virtually perfect Raven concert to our fans." The fact that they had put in a performance of their lives was all the more amazing given the setback that occurred to the band in the spring of 2017. Shortly before the start of their US tour, Raven's long-standing drummer Joe Hasselvander suffered a heart attack, putting an end to his active music career. After a few temporary replacements, it was quickly decided that Mike Heller (Fear Factory, Malignancy) would be Raven's new drummer. "Mike rocks", Gallagher enthuses, "for our first performance, we could not rehearse with him because of the tight schedule. We just discussed the songs for 30 minutes and … boom! ... he played the set practically without mistakes and he's a such a breath of fresh air to the band. It's clear from the way he picks up the pace how much he enjoys being with Raven. In some of his former bands, he was limited in the way he played, with us, he's completely at liberty to improvise and go crazy!"  This delight in playing is clearly reflected in every single note on 'Screaming Murder Death From Above: Live In Aalborg'. Two superpowered songs from their newest, universally acclaimed studio album, 'ExtermiNation', are included; 'Destroy All Monsters' (Gallagher: "An incredible live song, which we play, like, ten times as fast on stage as in a studio") and 'Tank Treads (The Blood Runs Red)', along with songs we haven't heard from Raven in many years: "I believe 'Hell Patrol' hasn't been in one of our set lists in 15 years. The same goes for 'Hung Drawn & Quartered" we haven't played that one in a very long time. It was a lot of fun to come back to those songs again." Contemplating any comparisons with the new 'Screaming Murder Death From Above: Live In Aalborg' and earlier Raven live recordings, Gallagher reflects that "We have of course gotten better and better on a technical level over the years. Also, on 'Destroy All Monsters/Live in Japan' (1996), you can clearly hear that I was wrestling with voice issues due to a bout of laryngitis. And if you compare 'Screaming Murder Death From Above: Live In Aalborg' with 'Live In The Inferno' from 1984, it almost seems as if we had taken sedatives back then", Gallagher says laughingly and concludes: "The Aalborg recording matches the energy which Raven is exuding 100 percent. It's the best representation of us as a live band yet." Line-Up: John Gallagher (bass, vocals) Mark Gallagher (guitars) Mike Heller (drums |
| Shrieking – Roland Hyams on 020 8677 8466 / 07768 156392. roland@workhardpr.com www.ravenlunatics.com www.spv.com 10th November 2018 |
|
© Work Hard PR 2018 |
RAVEN***Seminal NWOBHM Rockers' October UK Tour Confirmed Following Rave Reviews Of New Studio Album 'ExtermiNation'*** |
|
| "The NENWOBHM (North East New Wave Of British Heavy Metal) veterans have unleashed a superpowered album of pure crackshot heavy metal, a listening experience akin to being hit square in the face by a Dalek's sink plunger…In a dour modern-day metal world, this is just so much fun. Raven's hellter skelter musical approach has always been laced with humour, and nowhere is this more evident than on bonus track 'Malice In Geordieland', which is sung in a near indecipherable Geordie accent and namechecks famous old haunts such as the Mayfair Ballroom. Elsewhere, the song titles tell the triumphal tale: 'Fight', 'Feeding The Monster', 'No Surrender', 'Fire Burns Within', 'Battle March / Tank Treads' (and holy shit, unlike many of his ailing peers, bassist / vocalist John Gallagher can still scream like he's been crushed under the aforementioned). 'Thunder Down Under', a suitably raucous tribute to Bon Scott, rounds off a peerless package. Howay the lads, this is proper mint. 8/10." (Geoff Barton, Classic Rock Magazine – July 2015 issue.) Seminal British heavy metal trio Raven have lined up an October UK tour in the wake of a slew of rave reviews of their new studio album 'ExtermiNation', released in Spring 2015 on Steamhammer / SPV. Dates are:- 20th Oct BIRMINGHAM - The Asylum 21st Oct. CHESTER - The Live Rooms 22nd Oct. GLASGOW - Audio 23rd Oct. BELFAST - Limelight 2 24th Oct. NEWCASTLE - Think Tank 25th Oct. LONDON - Underworld Formed in Newcastle in 1974 by brothers John and Mark Gallagher, Raven soon developed their own unique, highly energized 'Athletic Rock' live rock show; wearing guards, helmets and plates from various sports such as hockey, baseball etc, the manic interaction between band members (let alone the audience!) was guaranteed to be electrically charged. By the end of the decade Raven had signed to Neat Records, the legendary low budget label from the North of England, who released the band's ground breaking debut album 'Rock Until You Drop', which was awarded a five star review by legendary scribe Geoff Barton in Sounds, in 1981. Both 'Rock Until You Drop' and the follow-up, 'Wiped Out', released in 1982, breached the top 75 of the UK's national album charts. Raven then signed to New Jersey's Megaforce label, who released their third album 'All For One' in 1983 and brought the band over to tour America with Metallica SUPPORTING them on their East Coast tour, on which Anthrax also played their first ever gig. Megaforce boss Johnny Zazula was so impressed he became their manager, brought them back over to the States to live and secured a major record deal with Atlantic Records. The band's 4th album, 'Stay Hard', in 1985, fared impressively on the Billboard Top 100 album chart, boosted by a Top 100 single and video for the track 'On and On'. But then Atlantic pushed Raven along a more slick, lightweight, commercial path for the band's subsequent 2 albums, 'The Pack Is Back' (1986) and 'Life's A Bitch' (1987), which, apart from alienating the band's core fans, did little for their career and the label and band parted company in 1988. Raven then dropped their outlandish image, returned to a more basic denim and leather look and released 'Nothing Exceeds Like Excess' on the Combat label, in 1988, just as grunge was taking off in the States. Raven soon returned to Europe and signed to SPV Records, who released 'Architect Of Fear' (1991), 'Glow' in 1994, 'Everything Louder' in 1997 and 'One For All' in 2000. Then tragedy struck when a wall collapsed on guitarist Mark Gallagher in 2001, crushing his legs. Raven went on hiatus for most of the rest of the decade while Mark rehabilitated, before tentatively playing live again in the UK in summer 2008. Hugely encouraged by the crowd's reaction, Raven spent the rest of the year writing 'Walk Through Fire', which was recorded in Spring 2009 and released on SPV in March 2010. Malcolm Dome reviewed the album in the magazine's May 2010 issue, stating that "Walk Through Fire' is the best record since 1985's 'Stay Hard'. What the band have done is strip away any pretensions towards maturity or becoming elder statesmen of metal and gone straight for the jugular. This is a no-holds barred, full-on attack. The sort of thing Raven do well. Led by bassist / vocalist John Gallagher, a man with a banshee wail so high he makes King Diamond sound like Cronos of Venom, Raven revel in songs like 'Breaking You Down', 'Bulldozer' and 'Armageddon (The Beginning)'. Those titles say it all. All fired up, Raven still deal in pure metal." 2011 and 2012 saw Raven regularly playing the European festival circuit, making a triumphant return to Japan, and playing their first shows in South America. 2013 brought a retrospective DVD entitled 'Rock Until You Drop - A Long Day's Journey' featuring a voluminous amount of never before seen footage of the band from 1982 onwards, along with interviews with Lars Ulrich (Metallica), Dee Snider (Twisted Sister), Michael Wagener (producer), Chuck Billy (Testament), and Dave Ellefson (Megadeth). In the Summer and Autumn of 2013 Raven played their first full scale tour of the US since 1989, headlining on the East Coast and joining forces for a double headlining jaunt through the West Coast with fellow UK NWOBHM stalwarts Diamond Head. November/December saw the band playing Europe with old mates Girlschool as support, garnering rave reviews for their explosive performances. In March 2014 Raven opened for Metalllica in Sao Paolo in front of 70,000 fans, and then set off on a 43 date headline USA tour, prior to returning to the UK to put down 'ExtermiNation' in the Autumn. 'ExtermiNation', an even more accomplished, intense, inspired, exuberant, true heavy metal offering than its predecessor, combines the melody/chaos/musicianship/lunacy that defines the band with songs that are simply the best Raven have recorded in decades. 'ExtermiNation' is the sound of a band totally on fire, of a unique power trio who have effortlessly pushed the envelope to up their game to the next level. |
| Ravin' – Roland Hyams on 020 8677 8466 / 07768 156392. roland@workhardpr.com www.ravenlunatics.com www.spv.com 21st September 2015 |
|
© Work Hard PR 2015 |
RAVEN***ORIGINAL 'NEW WAVE OF BRITISH HEAVY METAL' ROCKERS RETURN WITH BRAND NEW ALBUM 'WALK THROUGH FIRE' RELEASED MARCH 29TH ON STEAMHAMMER / SPV*** |
|
|
Seminal British heavy metal trio Raven, who were at the forefront of the burgeoning metal renaissance in the UK dubbed NWOBHM, release their first new studio album for ten years, 'Walk Through Fire' on Steamhammer / SPV on March 29th. 29 years on from the release of their ground breaking debut album 'Rock Until You Drop', (which was awarded a five star review by legendary scribe Geoff Barton in Sounds in 1981), Raven return to show all non believers what real metal is about screaming guitar riffs, pumping bass lines, exploding drums and soaring, searing, classic hard rock vocals! Raven formed in Newcastle in 1975 and soon developed their own unique highly energized 'Athletic Rock' live rock show; wearing guards, helmets and plates from various sports such as hockey, baseball etc, the manic interaction between band members (let alone the audience!) was guaranteed to be electrically charged. By the end of the decade Raven had signed to Neat Records, the legendary low budget label from the North of England, who released 'Rock Until You Drop' in 1981 and then 'Wiped Out', in 1982, both of which breached the top 75 national album charts. "That Beating of wings and flurry of tail feathers was the sound of Raven flying overhead, faster than the speed of light!...Watch out, like an Exocet missile, Raven can't miss!" stated Chris Welch in his rave review in Kerrang! In 1982. Raven then signed to New Jersey's Megaforce label, who released their third album 'All For One' in 1983 and brought the band over to tour America with Metallica and Anthrax. Megaforce boss Johnny Zazula was so impressed he became their manager, brought them over to the States to live and secured a major record deal with Atlantic Records. The band's 4th album, 'Stay Hard', in 1985, fared impressively on the Billboard Top 100 album chart, boosted by a Top 100 single and video for the track 'On and On'. But then Atlantic pushed Raven along a more slick, lightweight, commercial path for the band's subsequent 2 albums, 'The Pack Is Back' (1986) and 'Life's A Bitch' (1987), which, apart from alienating the band's core fans, did little for their career and the label and band parted company in 1988. Raven then dropped their outlandish image, returned to a more basic denim and leather look and released 'Nothing Exceeds Like Excess' on the Combat label, in 1988, just as grunge was taking off in the States. Raven soon returned to Europe and signed to SPV Records, who released 'Architect Of Fear' (1991), 'Glow' in 1994, 'Everything Louder' in 1997 and 'One For All' in 2000. Then tragedy struck when a wall collapsed on guitarist Mark Gallagher in 2001, crushing his legs. Raven went on hiatus for most of the rest of the decade while Mark rehabilitated, before tentatively playing live again in the UK in summer 2008. Hugely encouraged by the crowd's reaction, Raven spent the rest of the year writing 'Walk Through Fire', which was then recorded in Spring 2009. The band members state "It's been a while since our last album- not our intention to be under the radar this long but as the title of the album suggests, it's been a challenging time…Joe lost his Mom, Mark and I lost both our Dad and Mom, Mark suffered a terrible accident and has fought his way back from what would have finished many…But as they say, what does not kill you makes you stronger…" (John Gallagher Bass, Vocals, Mark Gallagher Guitars, Joe Hasselvander Drums) |
| Fiery – Roland Hyams on 020 8677 8466 / 07768 156392. roland@workhardpr.com www.ravenlunatics.com www.spv.com 2nd March 2010 |
|
© Work Hard PR 2010 |
| Some Current Clients The Dead Daisies Magnum Anvil Prong UFO Supersuckers |
Some Previous Clients Motorhead Emerson, Lake And Palmer Saxon Doro Dio Ronnie Wood Twisted Sister |
||||
 |
35 Farm Avenue, London SW16 2UT. Telephone: 0208 677 8466 | ||||
| All site content is copyright Workhard PR 1981-2021. Please feel free to use wherever you want... | |||||