BAND – RAVEN
ALBUM – SCREAMING MURDER DEATH FROM ABOVE: LIVE IN AALBORG
BAND MEMBERS –
JOHN GALLAGHER – BASS & LEAD VOCALS
MARK GALLAGHER – GUITARS & BACKING VOCALS
MIKE HELL – DRUMS
LABEL – RAVEN ON STEAMHAMMER/SPV
FACEBOOK – RAVEN OFFICIAL FACEBOOK
WEB SITE – RAVEN OFFICIAL WEB SITE
REVIEW B Y – JOHN ERIGO
RELEASED – 1/18/19

 

NWOBHM legends RAVEN have released a new live album titled “Screaming Murder Death From Above: Live In Aalborg”. The funny thing about this album is it was not planned!!! Thanks to a sound man recording the show and then giving it to the band on a flash drive, all of us headbangers get the prize of a live album filled with the same energy Raven have displayed for decades. With a catalog of songs deep with metal history and excellence, brothers John and Mark Gallagher, along with new drummer, Mike Heller, rip through their set and prove that Raven are still on the top of the metal food chain! Yes, you did read NEW drummer – as some fans of Raven might not know, long time drummer Joe Hasselvander suffered a heart attack thus ending his active musical career. Mike has been a stellar addition to the band, taking nothing away from Joe, and it seems the band have new life pumped into them.

Quick thanks to Steamhammer/SPV for getting this album to me in advance. I was really looking forward to this one! I have been a fan and luckily also friends with Raven since 1982, and after talking to John and Mark about the recording a few times, I was anxious to hear it. While the set is mostly comprised of older songs, the do manage squeeze in a few from their last album, the amazing EXTERMINATION album! The opening track DESTROY ALL MONSTERS and later in the set, TANK TREADS(THE BLOOD RUNS RED), show how Raven’s newest material holds up to the older and classic songs like HUNG, DRAWN & QUARTERED ( see the video below)

 

I’d really like to bring the track FASTER THAN THE SPEED OF LIGHT to attention because I saw Mike’s very first gig with Raven after Joe’s unfortunate incident. NO rehearsal, only a 30 minute discussion/run through of the songs. This was a gig in NJ. Mike was good, you could tell he had the chops, but just didn’t know the songs yet. But, when they played faster songs, you could REALLY hear the roaring double bass chops Mike had, which just fueled the Gallagher brothers to step it up a notch. FASTER THAN THE SPEED OF LIGHT was the song that really made me go “Oh yeah, this is the guy!”.

With older, classic Raven songs like HELL PATROL, ALL FOR ONE,  ROCK UNTIL YOU DROP and BREAK THE CHAIN, you just can not go wrong!!! Then for good measure throw in CRASH BANG WALLOP and damn, what a set!!!! Raven have new life people, and the metal World couldn’t be happier or luckier! Grab this album for a reminder of where it all started back in the early 1980’s before MTV and the internet, 100% live with no filler, no bullshit. Raven has always been one of the funner and talented bands in metal history and this live album showcases the bands chops and John Gallagher’s air raid siren type vocals. Crank it up and enjoy!!!!!!!

Tracklisting:
1. Destroy All Monsters 5:18
2. Hell Patrol 4:31
3. All For One 3:22
4. Hung Drawn And Quartered 4:28
5. Rock Until You Drop 7:58
6. A.A.N.S.M.M.G.N. 3:59
7. Tank Treads (The Blood Runs Red) 4:36
8. Faster Than The Speed Of Light 3:37
9. On And On 5:10
10. Break The Chain 7:10
11. Crash Bang Wallop 4:11