RAVEN
All Hell's Breaking Loose
Silver Lining Music
If nothing else, you have to admire RAVEN's founding brothers John and Mark Gallagher for their stick-to-it-iveness. As the poster boys of "close but no cigar", the English pair could have packed it in at just about any point since their mid-'80s major label dalliance went south, setting off a Space Mountain-like series of ups and downs that has included house fires, heart attacks and wall collapses, among other indignities. Yet here they are, on the cusp of 50 years together as a band, delivering one of RAVEN's best albums since 1987's Life's A Bitch - and hopefully enjoying another resurgence.
All Hell's Breaking Loose harks back to the exuberant "athletic rock" heyday from 1981-84 - a time when the then-fledgling METALLICA and ANTHRAX were tour openers for RAVEN - as the trio (with then-drummer Rob "Wacko" Hunter) delivered one speed metal/NWOBHM gem after another, capped by the Live At The Inferno double live album. And while All Hell bristles with an energy that the Gallaghers have somehow managed to maintain for all these years and the snappy songwriting of old, it boasts modern flourishes like blast beats and brash, resonant production thanks to newish drummer Mike (FEAR FACTORY, MALIGNANCY, AZURE EMOTE, GOREPUNCH, etc.) Heller, at whose Heaven And Heller Studios in Los Angeles the album was recorded.
It shows the genuine chemistry the trio has developed since 2020's Metal City, the band's first album with Heller - who may have seemed an odd choice given his extreme metal pedigree - by cleaning up some of the that album's clunkiness, ratcheting up the punchiness and delivering everything with clear purpose. RAVEN is and always was at its best at its most freewheeling and All Hell's Breaking Loose certainly lives up to its title in that department.
"Medieval" opens the proceedings at full tilt and there is little let up the rest of the way - this is "speed metal" in the truest sense. The riffy "The Far Side" is the only thing that comes anywhere near to being a "slow" song, and even it is driven by a mid-tempo chugand punctuated by bracing sprints. That grooviness carries over to "Desperate Measures", though it opens to a blast beat and rides Heller's frisky gallop, so if you weren't able to catch your breath with "The Far Side", too late. "Edge Of A Nightmare" also offers grabby hooks galore, but plenty of velocity to go along with it.
And that is RAVEN's real strength on All Hell's Breaking Loose. Its sheer abandon is paired with ample hooks and solid melodies to give the album catchiness and crispness that connect from start to finish. The band has been a veritable riff machine over its now 15 studio efforts, but those riffs haven't always added up to solid albums. All Hell genuinely is an all killer/no filler affair - there is not a turd to be found anywhere near this punchbowl, and "Invasion" is the only B+ in an otherwise A-grade batch of material.
RAVEN's enthusiastic, vigorous performance is what seals the deal here and makes the album that much more infectious. Bassist/vocalist John Gallagher's bark and yowl vocals haven't lost anything over a half century, and he delivers everything with the conviction to match its zeal. His spry, grindy basslines lend a fat bottom end as well when paired with Heller's assertive, at times unbridled, drumming. And as noted above, Mark Gallagher brings the riffs like nobody's business and the band pulls it all together for a tumultuous yet tidy 10-track, 40-minute triumph.
But All Hell's Breaking Loose is a maximum effort album, though it also delivers maximum returns. And hopefully this isn't a case of the Gallagher brothers emptying the tank in one last grand gesture. They have obviously captured lightning in a bottle with Heller, but with both approaching their mid-60s their days as "athletic" rockers would seem to be numbered.So enjoy it while you can, and there is certainly lots to enjoy this time around- with hopefully more to come.
4.5 Out Of 5.0
