Ravened bring their take on groove metal in full force in their debut album, setting expectations high for this new band.
New bands are always a treat to review as you never know what you are going to get and in this case the promo material wasn’t the greatest amount of help as a good bit of the bio was spent discussing the relatives of the band members, but I guess when you’re a new band of members under 25yrs old, you may have to fill space. The band from Jönköping, Sweden formed in 2018 and as mentions features a couple members with a famous heritage in Olle Liljegren (guitars) who is son to Simeon Liljegren (Modest Attraction) and nephew to Christian Liljegren (Narnia, Divine Fire) and drummer Oliwer Svensson who is son to Kent Svensson (Hellfueled). I guess Isak Wendel (vocals), Willy Eriksson (guitar) and Simon Salqvist (bass) don’t have famous relatives but they do round out the band of youngsters. The band itself is said to be influenced by the likes of Pantera, Lamb of God, and Metallica and once you start listening that becomes readily apparent.
The album opens up with the somewhat creepy sounding intro track “The Path” featuring some atmospheric keyboards and clean guitar that eventually fades into the opening riff of “Foul Deeds” and from that moment on, it’s clear that we’re heading into the realm of groove/melodic death metal. Isac Wendel’s vocals are immediately gruff shouted and somewhat ragged, but do veer into the simmering clean vocals similar to Corey Taylor on some Slipknot songs where you can hear the tension building in the voice as you wait for it to explode. Drums are heavy and pummeling as is the rest of the rhythm section.
That theme of heavy riffs, pummeling drums and shouted, gruff vocals continues throughout the rest of the album and while in many ways, this is a good thing, it comes across as almost too much of a good thing with little variation. “We’ll Rise” does at least start out a bit differently but quickly settles into that heavy riff groove found in the other songs. “Golden” does bring a bit of a different vibe with Isak Wendel actually going through parts of the song and nicely showcasing the tension one can bring to clean vocals as they build to the inevitable screams. When the opening riff of “False Conviction” kicks in the band does seem to go to another level and the groove really becomes apparent in this track. Backing gang vocals are employed expertly as well within this song which has some great sections largely of just guitar and a pounding drum to carry things along. These sections also highlight the expert production on the album as the instruments are clearly heard in the mix. Throw in a good guitar solo that fits within the boundaries of the song and you have one of the strongest tracks on the album.
“Personal Universe” and “From the Depths” close out the album and perhaps fittingly show the band reaching a bit more for variety compared to other songs on the album with the keyboard-supported opening in “Personal Universe” to the heavier groove of “From the Depths” which is closer in overall structure and pacing to “False Conviction”.
Overall, From the Depths is equally impressive and unfortunately a bit forgettable. There is not a bad track on the album, but it does seem a bit single-minded in focus and more variety in the tracks would have been appreciated. That being said, this is a 50 minute debut from a young band where many of the songs would put older, more established bands to shame. Usually even on albums I really like there is a track or two that misses for me but that is not the case here. This is an album filled with heavy, fast riffs, aggressive vocals and a pummeling rhythm section that you can play through start to finish and enjoy the metal. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for a band with so much promise…
Rating: 8/10
Written by John Jackson
Tracklist
- The Path
- Foul Deeds
- Blackened One
- We’ll Rise
- Golden
- Denial
- Stridsugglan
- False Conjunction
- Onyx
- The Cunning
- Personal Universe
- From the Depths
Band Members
Isac Wendel – Vocals
Olle Liljegren – Guitar, arrangements
Willy Eriksson – Guitar
Simon Sahlqvist – Bass
Oliwer Svensson – Drums
Release Date: August 7th, 2020
Record Label: JONO Music
Social Media: Website / Facebook / Spotify
Video for ‘Foul Deeds’
Video for ‘From the Depths’
