The Raven Age’s Blood Omen (Music For Nations) is a scorcher of an album. It’s an album that was played on repeat prior to any writing of reviewing. It was super easy to get into this album as it sounds like music I’ve heard before and enjoyed thoroughly. The beginning song ‘Changing of the Guard’ throws you off as its operatic, European, and very folklore driven in tone. It’s a beautiful introduction but is not in the same genre as the rest of the album.
Pantera, Disturbed, Amon Amarth, Arch Enemy, Architects, Behemoth, Kreator, Meshuggah, Gojira, Parkway Drive, Testament, Voivod are among the 103 artists who have been added to the 26th edition of the Graspop Metal Meeting, set to take place June 15-18, 2023 in Dessel, Belgium. Tickets are on sale tomorrow at the links below. Continue reading
My Saturday at Download began over at the main stage where I caught the retro new wave of classic rock act Those Damn Crows, a band who have amassed a significant following in Wales thanks to appearances at the likes of Steelhouse Festival and other rock-oriented affairs. Possibly one of the smallest acts to perform on the main stage this year, the band spared no expense offering a fantastic wake-up call with some unremarkable if solid hard rock tunes. The day’s proceedings then continued firmly in the rocky territory with a southern, slightly heavier twang with Black Label Society, in their first festival appearance on UK soil since 2015, and with less of Zakk Wylde’s expectedly lengthy and tiresome soloing. Don’t get me wrong, Zakk was still doing his usual thing, but with a much-needed addition of percussion, making the moments of instrumental wankery much more palatable than usual.
After a prolonged absence from the British metal scene courtesy of the COVID-19 pandemic (save for a scaled-back pilot event in 2021), Leicestershire’s iconic summer rock, punk, and metal weekender, Download Festival returned to Castle Donnington in a maximalist blaze of glory, packing in a full-scale 5-day experience with some familiar favorites, hotly tipped up-and-comers and some of the best international acts that rock and metal scene has to offer.
Download Festival 2021 is postponed to summer 2022, but the fest has wasted little time stacking the bill. Already headlined by Iron Maiden, KISS, and Biffy Clyro, seventy new bands have been added including Deftones, Korn, Megadeth, Steel Panther, The Ghost Inside, Funeral For A Friend, Descendents, Electric Wizard, and Sepultura. Watch a video teaser with the updated poster and buy your tickets now!
Fresh off of their tour supporting Iron Maiden in the USA, has The Raven a new music video for the track ‘The Face That Launched A Thousand Ships’, taken from their recent Conspiracy. In a flurry a news, the band has signed a new record deal with Explorer Music, and announced a special headline show At The Dome, Tufnell Park, to be held on Friday 13th December. The band is currently on tour across Europe with Alter Bridge and Shinedown. Watch the video now!Continue reading
British metal five-piece The Raven Age have shared their new killer new video for ‘Betrayal Of The Mind’. The band is working in their next album in 2019, their first since their 2017 debut album Darkness Will Rise, and their first with new vocalist Matt James.
Guitarist George Harris comments:
“With the ‘Betrayal’ video, the idea coincides with the narrative. The actress represents someone who is stuck inside her own mind, it’s eating her up as she loses the ability to simply get through the day without her dark thoughts taking over. The performance concept, however, was pretty straightforward. We wanted a big space with lots of fire! The plan was to use it in certain sections but when we saw how cool it looked we were like “Nah, just go nuts!!”. I’m pretty sure Jai had no hair left at the end of the shoot but it was worth it!”
Vocalist Matt James comments:
“The ‘Betrayal’ video not only had to look visually appealing but had to be true to the message of the song. It’s hard sometimes to get the balance of simplicity but also portraying a narrative. I think the directors Richard and Adam did a great job with that. It’s a step up in production from the last video, and hope people will relate to the message. The track itself is a big heavy/groove orientated track which we love playing live as it gets the crowd head banging. It’s been going down a blast on the amazing shows we’re playing with Tremonti and we can’t wait to be playing it, along with loads of other new material next year when we get the chance to tour with Iron Maiden. That’s a dream come true!”
All proceeds generated from the first month of sales of ‘Betrayal of the Mind’ have been donated to The Blurt Foundation – an amazing charity that works tirelessly to make a difference to anyone affected by depression. Donations can also be made separately at https://localgiving.org/charity/blurtitout/.
The Raven Age are currently on the road in Europe with American rockers Tremonti, which includes five UK dates in Nottingham, Manchester, Bristol, London and Edinburgh in December. The band will be touring extensively throughout 2019, and have just been announced as the support act for Iron Maiden as they continue their ‘Legacy Of The Beast World Tour’ throughout North & South America.
Uk Tour Dates Supporting Tremonti
Nov 29th – Nottingham, Rock City
Dec 1st – Manchester, O2 Ritz
Dec 2nd – Bristol, O2 Academy
Dec 4th – London, The Forum
Dec 6th – Edinburgh, The Liquid Room
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Iron Maiden is bringing its massively popular “Legacy of The Beast” greatest hits tour to the USA in 2019 for a series of arena and amphitheater shows produced by Live Nation. The tour will include a first-ever headline appearance at the Banc of California Stadium in LA, with special guests Fozzy. Direct support on all dates will come from The Raven Age, except the Los Angeles gig. The tour will cover a total of 33 cities right across the U.S.A. and Canada. Tickets will go on sale to the general public beginning Friday, November 16th at 10am local time at LiveNation.com. As always, there will be an exclusive pre-sale for Iron Maiden fanclub members. Go to www.ironmaiden.com for all ticketing details. The full list of dates is below.Continue reading
Already featuring a massive lineup of bands, Download 2017 has added 20 more names to the roster with Devin Townsend Project, Code Orange, Max & Iggor Cavalera playing their ‘Return To Roots’ show, Sick Puppies, rapper Machine Gun Kelly, Sikth, Suicide Silence, Ty Bryant And the Shakedown, Krokodil and many more announced. Continue reading
Anthrax is heading out soon on their first full headline tour of Europe in over a decade. Watch bassist Frank Bello walk fans through the upcoming tour in this video: Continue reading