Swedish death/groove metal band Ravened are back with another nine tracks frilled with heavy riffs, crushing drums and intense, shouted vocals on thei r second full length, the aptly titled The Relentless.
Formed in 2018 in Jönköping, Sweden, Ravened released their debut full length, From the Depths, in 2020. At the time, little information about the band was available outside of two members being related to other musicians in bands like Modest Attraction , Narnia, and Hellfueled, and since then, that situation doesn’t seem to have changed much. For those who missed the first review, the band cites influences of Pantera and Lamb of God among others, and very simply, those influences come through in an obvious manner. The album was recorded, mixed and mastered by Fredrik Nordström at Studio Fredman in Gothenburg.
Taking a step back to see how I reviewed From the Depths and making a broad comparison, it seems as if The Relentless has even less variety than From the Depths. Heavy riffs, near blast beat drums, a bit of groove here and there and gruff, barked vocals pretty much describes every song. This album fittingly is relentless in its approach. There is no let up from start to finish and that may appeal to some fans, but for me I found it difficult to differentiate songs. “Intertwined in the Void” is my favorite track on the album with its heavy groove, but many of the other tracks seem to blend together, which may be partially due to the intensity never varying and staying at 100% throughout the album. There is definitely no subtlety or nuance here.
Intertwined In The Void is the third single for the upcoming Ravened album called “The Relentless”. The music for ‘Intertwined In The Void’ is recorded, mixed and mastered by Fredrik Nordström at Studio Fredman in Gothenburg, Sweden.