Raven

English metal trio from the NWOBHM era, although they're more commonly described as "Athletic Rock". :) Their popularity has waned substantially over the years, although I hear they're still big in Japan (hey, wasn't that a song in the 80's??) The only CDs I really crave are the early ones...and of course, THOSE are the only ones that are out of print...

"Rock Until You Drop"

  1. "Hard Ride" (3:10)
  2. "Hell Patrol" (4:43)
  3. "Don't Need Your Money" (3:22)
  4. "Over the Top" (3:51)
  5. "39-40"--instrumental (0:51)
  6. "For the Future" (4:04)
  7. "Rock Until You Drop" (4:02)
  8. "Nobody's Hero" (3:50)
  9. "Hellraiser/Action" (5:37)
  10. "Lambs to the Slaughter" (3:51)
  11. "Tyrant of the Airways" (7:16)
  12. "Wiped Out" (4:30)
  13. "Crazy World" (3:57)
  14. "Inquisitor" (3:53)

Nice album, pretty damn raw. This CD routinely sells on eBay for over $25, but I got lucky and picked it up DAMN CHEAP for $12.50!! Nice, huh? The last 3 songs are bonus tracks, taken from b-sides and whatnot. "Lambs to the Slaughter" has been covered by Kreator.

"Wiped Out"

  1. "Faster Than the Speed of Light" (4:22)
  2. "Bring the Hammer Down" (4:19)
  3. "Fire Power" (3:08)
  4. "Read All About It" (3:01)
  5. "To the Limit/To the Top" (7:54)
  6. "Battle Zone" (3:34)
  7. "Live at the Inferno" (3:54)
  8. "Star War" (5:35)
  9. "UXB" (3:25)
  10. "20/21"--instrumental (1:36)
  11. "Hold Back the Fire" (5:50)
  12. "Chain Saw" (5:17)
  13. "Crash, Bang, Wallop" (3:04)
  14. "Rock Hard" (3:11)
  15. "Run Them Down" (2:59)

Hmm, did I say how I got their first CD pretty damn cheap? NOT SO with this one!! Try multiplying the price by 3 and you'll have a rough idea what I paid. Oh well, guess it was worth it, gotta splurge once in a while. :) This album continues in the same vein as the first -- loud, vicious, raw as sushi. The last 3 tracks are taken from their Crash, Bang, Wallop EP.

Of course, the guy who sold me this said he recently sold a CD of their third album, All for One, for a whopping $114!! Okay, THAT one I guess I'll wait for the reissue! :-)

"All for One"

  1. "Take Control" (3:23)
  2. "Mind Over Metal" (3:30)
  3. "Sledgehammer Rock" (4:00)
  4. "All for One" (3:33)
  5. "Run Silent Run Deep" (5:39)
  6. "Hung, Drawn & Quartered" (5:19)
  7. "Break the Chain" (3:46)
  8. "Take it Away" (3:26)
  9. "Seek and Destroy" (3:52)
  10. "Athletic Rock" (4:42)
  11. "Born to be Wild" (3:29)
  12. "The Ballad of Marshall Stack" (5:38)
  13. "Inquisitor"--featuring Udo Dirkschneider (4:01)

Oh, man. I totally forgot about how I paid $50 for Wiped Out just weeks before the first three Raven albums were reissued. Of course, that was way back when I *had* money to burn...anyways, I delayed buying this one for a long time, since there were more important things to spend my cash on, and finally ordered a copy solely to get myself out of a trade that was taking too long and costing me way too much money. :)

In any case..."Take Control" and "Break the Chain" were the first Raven songs I ever heard, and as it was when I was just getting into metal, they were quite a mindfuck then! I think it was my brother who bought this on crappy vinyl, I don't recall ever owning it. As always, the CD adds three bonus tracks, although "Inquisitor" is just a re-recording featuring the lead singer of Accept (who also produced the album.) "Born to be Wild" is the Steppenwolf cover, obviously.


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