Photos By Shelly Harris
Explosive. Infectious. Polished. That was THE RAVEN AGE as they took the stage in this early spring evening in Paris.
The performance, in the chicly incognito club La Boule Noire ("The Black Ball"), reflected the palpable excitement of the Moulin Rouge section of Paris where the venue is located, with the dichotomy of the locale also reflecting the band's aura and stage presence.
Located at the foot of Montmartre, in the sex scene hub of Paris, and smack on the elegant-yet-bawdy Boulevard de Clichy, La Boule Noire has a throwback classic charm heavily dosed with a dangerous modern edginess, and the same could be said of THE RAVEN AGE, particularly when it comes to the themes of their debut self-named EP, debut album, Darkness Will Rise, and their current sophomore release, Conspiracy. Cuts from all the recordings were were played on this headlinging set that must be viewed as a definite warm up and dress rehearsal for the band's huge upcoming role as openers on the North and South American legs of the upcoming IRON MAIDEN summer campaigns. While it is true that they have opened for MAIDEN in past Euro and American tours, it is clear the band was determined to take their live show and presence up several notches, just as they did with Conspiracy.
The intimate venue made a powder keg environment when the band charged out on stage with an assortment of 12 plus songs, with the highlights being the some of the strongest tunes on the new album, including "Stigmata", "Fleur de Lis" (great to hear in front of a French audience) and "Grave of the Fireflies", which the band was able to recreate with amazing accuracy despite the high production level and multi-layered vocals on most of the tunes in the recorded versions.
Several members of the band sing but the addition of the tall, lanky, and highly charismatic vocalist/frontman Matt James (a true metal and hard rock singer and not growler, with forthcoming interview for KNAC.COM coming soon) is a is a definite nuclear weapon in the band's arsenal which also includes new guitarist Tony Maue joining founder/guitarist George Harris, and rhythm kings bassist Matt Cox and drummer Jai Patel.
As is true with the Conspiracy album itself, this swaggering and bombastically brilliant performance by THE RAVEN AGE - and the over-the-top audience response to it - leaves no doubt that THE RAVEN AGE is on the verge of a career surge.
