Review : RAVEN – “Walk Through Fire”

Raven – Walk Through Fire
released March 30, 2010 on Metal Blade Records

Rating: 3.5/5

Considering Raven is among the most common search results when one looks for “Mind Over Metal”, I wonder what took me so long to review their comeback album, Walk Through Fire. The band was on the front lines of the NWOBHM movement, recording seven albums throughout the 1980s (half of which have dubious reputations), but the twenty years that followed were plagued by problems ranging from audience decline to horrific leg-crushing accidents.

Walk Through Fire was originally released a year ago in Japan via King Records, but the album is just now getting distributed in the U.S. by Metal Blade. Charged with feverish intensity, it is a fitting return for the veteran band, who sound ready to be remembered as more than ‘the band that played with Metallica on their first major tour’ in the States.

The best example is the aptly-titled “Against the Grain”, which is tighter than your old denim and proudly displays bassist John Gallagher’s unique feral screams. He invokes a more rabid King Diamond, actually more akin to Cam Pipes of 3 Inches of Blood (whose ‘hot knives’/FUTB shirt I happen to be wearing at the moment!). Both Raven and 3IOB know how to balance their craft with a sly awareness of their inherently goofy nature.

Raven surprises you left and right, too. Both “Trainwreck” and “Running in Circles” are remarkably melodic without succumbing to commercial lameness. And “Bulldozer” worried me, because it apes the riff from Pantera‘s “Walk” almost completely. But instead of squealing pinch harmonics from the guitar, John unleashes a great bass solo out of nowhere (they are rare across the whole album). However, though I often appreciate wanting to give a little more, I was not really stoked about the cover of Montrose‘s “Space Station #5” or the two live tracks (especially the quality of the latter).

Walk Through Fire manages a solid, impassioned statement to the Metal world. If one’s purpose is true, we the audience are amazingly forgiving folk. I will choose to remember their early days of peddling ‘athletic rock’ fondly, and not with disdain. These guys have fought long and hard just to get where they are now; Raven deserves your attention, and whatever shiny objects you may have handy.

FCC: 15
Try 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 13

01. Intro
02. Against the Grain
03. Breaking You Down
04. Under Your Radar
05. Walk Through Fire
06. Bulldozer
07. Long Day’s Journey
08. Trainwreck
09. Grip
10. Running Around In Circles
11. Hard Road
12. Armageddon (the Beginning)
13. Attitude
14. Space Station #5
15. Live at The Inferno (LIVE)
16. Rock Until You Drop (LIVE)