RED RAVEN – Chapter One: The Principles (2014)
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A fellow Austrian reader (thanks Gotto!) is introducing to us a new band from Germany, RED RAVEN, and their debut CD “Chapter One: The Principles” to be released all over Europe next week.
The Hard Rock quartet featured seasoned musicians from the local scene, but perhaps the most known is singer Frank Beck, who replaced Kai Hansen when he got sick during Gamma Ray’s Empire of the Undead tour.
Red Raven delivers us in “Chapter One: The Principles” pure trademark German Hard Rock inspired in the ’80s / ’90s yet with a modern updated sound. A sound typically European – and quite related to the present Swedish wave – that means compact, clean, tight and crisp.
The star in Red Raven is Frank Beck. The man is able to reach impossible high notes and croon among the best during the slower tunes. He also is a clever arranger to fit his vocals skills to the nuance of the songs with ease.
The band instrumentalists are second to none, with Patrick Fey providing crunchy riffs and pristine solos, and the rhythm section is well oiled bringing to mind Treat or Accept dynamics.
The material is impactful via the straight, always melodious hard rockers like opener “Too Late”, “Silent World of Mine” or the anthemic “Famous”, while Red Raven add groove to songs like “Everyday” (a highlight) and the more Americanized “Planet Fear”.
They are not afraid to offer a couple of melodic hard rock tunes with the mid-tempo “Far Away From Me” and the highly harmonized “Another Little While”.
If you need ballads, the ultra-melodic “I Don’t Care” do not give up to its muscle. It’s a solid midtempo with a terrific guitar work throughout, while on closer “Angel of Your Life” Red Raven shows their acoustic side and they are quite effective at it.
One of the highest points of this band, and one that sets them apart from other bands in the same division is the, as said, many, differentiated and intelligently use of the backing vocals / choruses.
Another thing that I liked is the way the songs are constructed: they go for the song from the start. Only a couple feature little intros, but not in the unnecessary and endless type.
Additionally, there’s effective breaks on most of the songs providing a great dynamic to the flow, and all tracks have an end, as it should be. In my opinion, a song ending in a fade out is a lack of imagination.
Red Raven’s “Chapter One: The Principles” is an impressive debut from these Germans. It’s far from your ordinary Hard Rock affair, rich in entertaining arrangements and melodies.
This is the first part from the guys, there’s ‘Chapter Two’ in the making, proving that Red Raven is not an ‘on the fly’ project, they are a serious, intelligent rocking combo with a lot of talent to offer in a future to come.
01 – Too Late
02 – Planet Fear
03 – Silent World of Mine
04 – Foolsland
05 – Famous
06 – Far Away From me
07 – If You Don’t Know
08 – Walls Around My Chair
09 – Another Little While
10 – I Don’t Care
11 – Everyday
12 – Angel of Your Life
Frank Beck (vocals)
Patrick Fey (guitars)
Martin Reichhart (bass)
Sascha Waack (drums)
BUY IT !
www.amazon.co.uk/Chapter-One-Principles-Red-Raven/dp/B00MWG7RHY
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