Review Summary: When the apple falls far from the tree.
Being the opening act for a big, established band tends to bring one of two results; either a small group of curious listeners remember you after the show, or you become a bit of an unspoken joke. More times than not, the latter comes to fruition. In The Raven Age's case, they're the appetizer for Iron Maiden's Book of Souls tour in the US. I specify the US because other countries will get other/additional bands, such as Opeth, Anthrax and Ghost. Even compared to those bands, The Raven Age are hardly a blip on the radar. It's almost surprising, since they are the project of George Harris, son to Steve Harris of, you guessed it, Iron Maiden. However, when you consider the only thing The Raven Age have to their name (thus far) is an unremarkable, self-titled EP, their current lack of fame quickly adds up.
Why does
The Raven Age fail to compel? For starters, the genre. The band is self-described as "melodic metal," a term we see thrown around so often you'd think it was the football of heavy metal. A more appropriate pitch for The Raven Age would be melodic metalcore, minus the screaming. George Harris, who teams up with Dan Wright for guitar duty, clearly isn't taking a lot of inspiration from Iron Maiden. On one hand, it's good that he's not a shadow of his father's music; on the other hand his group IS a shadow of groups such as All That Remains and Bullet for My Valentine. Likewise, the guitars are practically ripped right out of a Killswitch Engage album--take your pick, while Michael Burrough's vocals are fundamentally a superior imitation of Philip Labonte's choral-based singing. The honest truth is that Burrough is The Raven Age's light in the dark. When the rest of the band are playing uninspiring music, made all the worse by relatively muddled production, Burrough tries dearly to offer up something memorable. Unfortunately, the only moment he has to fully shine on is the final track, "Angel In Disgrace," also the closest Harris and Wright come to instrumental curiosity. Upbeat and catchy, this song showcases what potential The Raven Age could do if steered in the right direction. Everything else? Well, let's just say you'll feel a lot like Dory from Finding Nemo after listening.
The Raven Age definitely have some adjustments ahead of them if they hope to leave a mark. Even at their best, it's difficult to imagine any path being forged that hasn't already been walked by their numerous predecessors. If they learn anything from this release, it's that they need to create their own, individual identity, as opposed to mostly imitating low-tier bands. It'd be nice to see them take "Angel In Disgrace" and build a more interesting sound around that (I half-expected it to continue when it ended), but until that day, what we have is nothing more than a short-lived, faintly enthusiastic release. Give the aforementioned track a go and ignore the rest.
