John Gallagher (bass/vocals), Rob "Wacko" Hunter (drums) & Mark Gallagher (guitars)

English metal trio from the NWOBHM era. Raven was formed in late-70's in Newcastle, England by brothers Mark (guitar) and John Gallagher (bass/vocals), and drummer Rob "Wacko" Hunter. They signed with independent Neat Records and laid the groundwork for what would become known as thrash metal, although Raven commonly referred to themselves as "Athletic Rock!" This was not a bad description as Raven were over-the-top, energetic, British heavy metal. I am a complete Raven Lunatic, although I must admit I did lose interest in them in the late 80's when they were following the glam pop-metal trend. I picked back up with "Nothing Exceeds Like Excess." When the band returned to its roots. Of course, the task in 1997 was to replace all the crappy vinyl with discs. Fortunately this wasn't quite as hard as I had originally thought, especially after seeing the prices people were paying for "All for One" on eBay. Yikes! Turns out all the early albums were re-released with bonus tracks in 1999! Sometimes patience really is a virtue. Raven finally secured an American label in 2000 and released "One For All" on Metal Blade Records. In Nov. 2001 Mark Gallagher suffered a very bad accident where his legs were crushed. After years of rehabilitation, Raven were back to doing shows and as of 2006 recording new material.

"Rock Until You Drop" is a NWOBHM classic. The production was raw but it only added to the appeal. The cover photo of Raven buried in their own equipment is a tell tale story of what you will hear in the music. Controlled chaos! In a sense Raven (or arguably Motorhead) were the first speed metal band. 1981 and Raven were one of the heaviest things going. "Fist clenching, neck-breaking, head-busting sound. High power metal!" "Hell Patrol" is one of my favorite Raven songs. "Action" is a smokin' cover of Sweet's classic track. For some reason, despite being re-released by Spitfire in the U.S., the first three Raven albums are are still hard to find.

Well, the above statement is true no longer, with Spitfire releasing the first three albums in the US Of course these reissues have bonus tracks so I traded in my Neat/Castle import version for this reissue.

"Lambs to the Slaughter" has been covered by Kreator.

"Wiped Out" wins the award for the WORST cover art! CHEESE is the word for it. Never judge a book by it's cover, however, because the music contained is great! Wiped Out contains many classic, over-the-top Raven bangers including album opener "Faster than the Speed of Light", "To the Limit/To the Top", "Live At the Inferno", and the infectious "Fire Power". This CD features a tad better production than "R.U.Y.D." but if you listen to Raven, you were never concerned with production to begin with. Raven are loud, proud, and obnoxious! Crank it up and drive your mom, wife, or whoever up a wall! This 1999 reissue has the Crash Bang Wallop EP as bonus tracks. "Rock Hard" features Mark Gallagher on vocals.

Raven - Radio Hell/Heads Up (CD-R compilation) 1. "Lambs to the Slaughter" (3:28) 2. "Hold Back the Fire" (5:48) 3. "Hard Ride" (3:08) 4. "Chainsaw" (4:11) 5. "Hell On Earth" (4:57) 6. "World Comes Tumbling Down" (4:43) 3. "Stay Human" (4:32) 4. "Still Hungry" (3:47) 5. "All For One" [live] (3:52) 6. "Into the Jaws of Death" [live] (3:56) 7. "Can't Run & Hide" [live] (2:40)

CDR compilation of some rare Raven tracks made for me by John Gallagher. Tracks 1-4 were released on a record called "Radio Hell" which was recorded live over a UK Radio One program in 1982. The original was released on CD by Raw Fruit and featured four songs each by Raven, Venom and Warfare. These four tunes are all excellent and sound as good as the original album recordings, probably because they too were pretty much recorded live in the studio. The last seven tracks are taken from the "Heads Up" EP. See below for more info on that disc.

When I was in high school bands like Accept, Anvil, Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer and Raven were all underground bands and with the exception of the small group I hung out with, nobody in school listened to them. Who would have figured that a few of these bands would break out from the pack and become giants. Raven's third full length disc, "All for One" was a raw, mean, aggressive piece of metal. "Break the Chain," the album's single was doing well and it looked as though Raven would be one of those bands that would become huge, but alas, it never really happened to the extent that it did for Metallica, Anthrax, or even Accept and Slayer. Who cares! This album is a metal classic. Nobody did it like Raven in 1983! Nobody was this intense, this aggressive, this outrageous! Add to that the "Break the Chain" EP that has been added to this 1999 reissue and you've got one monster metal disc. "Inquisitor" with Udo Dirkschneider (UDO/Accept) sharing vocals duties is one outrageous song. "The Ballad of Mashall Stack" is no ballad, but another outrageous Raven masterwork. "Born to be Wild" is the craziest and the truly heaviest version of this song I have ever heard. Udo and John Gallagher sharing lead vocals is, well, let's just say that if someone were to ask me what the definition of heavy metal was I would play them this song. Enough said? Too bad that Raven would give into big label pressure after this and start releasing pop metal fluff.

For some reason this disc, although it has been re-released several times is one of the hardest Raven discs to find. I had to ask a friend of mine who lives in Germany to see if he could locate a copy for me. He did!

Raven - Live at the Inferno (Megaforce/Steamhammer) 1984

1. "Intro/Live at the Inferno" (1:21) 2. "Take Control (3:22) 3. "Mind Over Metal (3:30) 4. "Crash Bang Wallop (3:13) 5. "Rock Until You Drop (4:12) 6. "Faster than the Speed of Light (4:12) 7. "All For One (3:48) 8. "Forbidden Planet" [guitar solo] (1:52) 9. "Star Wars" (5:19) 10. "Tyrant of the Airways/ Run Silent, Run Deep" (6:41) 11. "Crazy World" (4:53) 12. "Let It Rip" (3:48) 13. "I.G.A.R.B.O." (2:03) 14. "Wiped Out" (4:02) 15. "Fire Power" (3:29) 16. "I Don't Need Your Money" (3:22) 17. "Break the Chain" (3:58) 18. "Hell Patrol" (7:23) 19. "Live at the Inferno" (6:54)

Raven & Metallica

I read somewhere that live albums are usually the end of an era for a band. This is especially true of Raven. After this disc they totally lost focus of what they were doing and what their fans wanted. So, I suppose this live album is a testament to the early days of Raven, when they were on the top and perhaps the greatest NWOBHM band around. Raven's "Live at the Inferno" is an excellent testament to that fact. Every song on this disc is blistering, heavy, and raw, exactly the way Raven is suppose to be. Finding this two record set on CD was a chore as it has never been commercially available in the US, that I know of. My copy is a German import. I also own a vinyl copy on Megaforce.

"Take It Away", which was recorded for this album and didn't make the cut, was released on the "Deep Into The Vaults" compilation.

"Stay Hard" was Raven's major label (Atlantic) debut. The disc is leaps and bounds better than the disc that would follow it, but no where near as important an album as any of it's predecessors. "Stay Hard" is a transition album, taking Raven into more commercial territory for the first time, yet somehow it still rocks heavy and manages to keep the Raven sound. "Hard Ride" is a rewritten, re-recorded version of the song off the band's landmark debut complete with new blazing solos. "Extract the Action" is an excellent song and one that has seen resurrection on the "Raw Tracks" disc. The instrumental "Bottom Line" is a cool song as well, but includes a horn section, which is quite bizarre for Raven. The entire album is actually a good listen, but unfortunately a precursor to one of the worst albums in Raven's catalogue. This particular copy is a German import and included two bonus tracks.

Raven - The Pack Is Back (Mayhem) 1986 1. "The Pack is Back" (3:43) 2. "Gimme Some Lovin'" (3:14) 3. "Screamin' Down The House" (4:00) 4. "Young Blood" (3:24) 5. "Hyperactive" (3:41) 6. "Rock Dogs" (4:00) 7. "Don't Let It Die" (3:47) 8. "Get Into Your Car" (3:54) 9. "All I Want" (3:34) 10. "Nightmare Ride" (3:38) 11. "How Did You Get So Crazy" (3:50) 12. "See It On TV" (4:07)

Mark Gallagher 1986

If didn't know any better and someone had played "Pack Is Back" for me and told me it was Raven, I would not have believed them. This is not the mighty metal machine that gave us such manic metal classics as "Wiped Out" and "Rock Til You Drop". "Hyperactive" may very well be the worst song Raven has ever recorded and features a horn section. "Gimme Some Lovin'" is a Spencer Davis Group cover and has scary resemblance to The Knacks "My Sharona." This song features synth guitars not unlike Priest's "Turbo". "Youngblood" starts off with a cool riff that sound like Raven but is completely destroyed by horns and a synth solo. YIKES! Likewise "Don't Let it Die" features a horn section that is totally out of character for Raven. Just about the entire album is forced, happy, schlock rock. This may have worked for a band like Def Leppard, but for Raven it was a disaster. Fans of the band's manic metal style turned away in droves. There were a few songs that were decent like "Nightmare Ride" and "Rock Dogs", but even these songs are drug into the ground by the glossy production. Raven were such a unique band with their own sound and style that were drug into the ground by a clueless label. Oddly enough, "Pack is Back" was produced by studio legend Eddie Kramer who had worked miracles with Kiss and Jimi Hendrix, among others. According to John Gallager, "Eddie was pushed (by Atlantic Records) to make it even more commercial..so it was done & Atlantic basically did zilch to promote it….thanks a lot!"

You know it's funny though, I have seen read countless reviews that state that Raven are posers because of this album. Granted, they look like Twisted Sister in hockey gear and the music is cartoon anthems, but it's not terrible either. I'd still rather listen to this than a laughable song like "Pour Some Sugar On Me" by Def Leppard. Alice Cooper had his "new age" period, Kiss went disco in the early 80's, Accept had their pop-metal "Eat the Heat" and Judas Priest had a similar commercial sellout "Turbo" yet nobody dismisses these bands as worthless. I'm almost positive it was the big label pressure of Sony/Atlantic that had everything to do with Raven's sound change on "Pack Is Back". For some reason, big labels tend to destroy good metal. It's just an observation, but I think Raven have redeemed themselves from this fiasco over and over.

Raven - Mad (Atlantic) 1986

SIDE ONE
1. "Speed of the Reflex" (5:01)
2. "Do Or Die" (3:57)
SIDE TWO
3. "How Did You Get So Crazy" (3:45)
4. "Seen It On T.V." (4:06)
5. "Ginne Just A Little" (3:56)

I've had a few people inform me that I am missing the "Mad" EP. Unfortunately, as far as I know, it was never released on a single CD, but all of the songs have been released on CD. "Speed Of The Reflex" is a bonus track on Mayhem Record´s re-release of "Life´s A Bitch". "Do Or Die" & "Gimme Just A Little" were released as bonus tracks on "Stay Hard" and "How Did Ya Get So Crazy" & "See It On TV" on "The Pack Is Back." That's the whole "Mad" EP right there! So while I do not have the EP on a single disc, I do have all the songs off that disc split on three CDs and I also have the original vinyl version. If they ever do release this EP I will still buy it to round out the collection.

As far as the music is concerned, the Mad EP was most certainly Raven's attempt to recapture the fast and furious metal mayhem of their past. For the most part they succeeded. As a matter of fact, "Speed of the Reflex" is one of the band's finest songs ever.

About this EP, John Gallagher had this to say:
"(We were) licking our wounds after the Pack is Back promo nightmare...we decided to do what WE wanted..and to celebrate & tie in with an upcoming tour with Twisted Sister (which unfortunately was cancelled!) we did this EP. "Speed of the reflex" is still a killer song...also "Gimme just a little"...some good live pix from the Judas Priest 1986 tour are on the original sleeve...mark had kidney stones as we were mixing and was stretchered out of the studio...ugh!!" -John Gallagher

Raven - Life's A Bitch (Mayhem) 1987 1. "Savage and the Hungry" (3:47) 2. "Pick Your Window" (3:29) 3. "Life's a Bitch" (3:47) 4. "Never Forgive" (4:38) 5. "Iron League" (3:21) 6. "On the Wings of an Eagle" (6:35) 7. "Overload" (4:18) 8. "You're a Liar" (2:39) 9. "Fuel to the Fire" (3:43) 10. "Only the Strong Survive" (3:45) 11. "Juggernaut" (5:08) 12. "Playing with the Razor" (3:21) BONUS TRACKS 13. "Finger on the Trigger" (3:34) 14. "Speed of the Reflex" (5:03)

John Gallagher 1987

By this point Raven had gotten the glam/commercial metal bug out of their systems and returned to making real heavy metal! Gone are the synth guitars, the pop metal leanings, the horn section, the bubble gum and everything else about "Pack Is Back" that made it so wretched. "Savage and the Hungry", "Iron League", "Wings of an Eagle" and "Overload" are all metal barnstormers! "Life's A Bitch" is a return to form and should have put Raven back on the metal map in '87. "Life's A Bitch" was a return to form. Unfortunately, because of their bad decision in direction on "Pack Is Back", they lost momentum BIG TIME, their fan base diminished and this record sold poorly. Raven were dropped from Atlantic due to "poor albums sales" soon after. Probably the best thing that ever happened to them.

My CD copy of "Life's A Bitch" is a reissue on Mayhem Records, which includes two bonus tracks, but has little in the way of liner notes or photos. Actually, the insert is a poorly printed single page. This album needs a proper re-issue like Raven's first three albums. Of the two bonus tracks, "Speed of the Reflex" is from the "Mad" EP and possibly one of the best songs that Raven had recorded while with Atlantic Records. "Finger on the Trigger" was a bonus track released on the cassette version of "Life's a Bitch."

I saw Raven around this time at the Penny Archade in Rochester, NY when they opened for Motorhead. Although it is a long story that I won't go into, I can honestly say that events at this concert changed my life.

Raven - Rare Tracks (CDR compilation)

EXCELLENT collection of Raven rarities. Most of these tracks have been released before, some being included as bonus tracks on the remastered CD reissues of Raven's early catalogue. The rarest tracks here are the BBC tracks. Disc One: Tracks 1-2 are from the "Don't Need Your Money" 7" single, Track 3-4 from the "Hard Ride" 7" single, tracks 5-8 from the "Crash Bang Wallop" EP, tracks 9-10 from the "Break the Chain" 7" single, tracks 9-10 from the "Born to be Wild" 7" single", tracks 13-17 from the "Mad" EP, and track 18 is from the "Wiped Out" album. Disc 2: Tracks 1-7 are from the "Heads Up" EP, tracks 8-11 from the BBC Live "Radio Hell" LP, tracks 12-13 from the Ultimate Revenge 2 compilation, and track 14 is from "Nothing Exceeds Like Excess." This compilation was put together by myself and Randy Michaud from Arizona. This compilation also has a nice booklet complete with all the information I just listed, as well as plenty of vintage photos of the band and the various album and single covers. Even the CDs are nicely printed.

The BBC tracks were given to me by Raven's John Gallagher. These tracks were originally released on a record called "Radio Hell" which was recorded live over a UK Radio One program in 1982. The original was released on vinyl by Raw Fruit and featured four songs each by Raven, Venom and Warfare. These four tunes are all excellent and sound as good as the original album recordings, probably because they too were pretty much recorded live in the studio.

Raven - Nothing Exceeds Like Excess (Century Media) 1988

The first album without Rob "Wacko" Hunter who apparently quit to spend more time with his new wife who was pregnant at the time of his departure. "Wacko" did go on to do some producing, including a couple of obscure thrash bands; Killjoy and Gothic Slam. Rob's replacement was Joe Hasselvander (ex-Armageddon), who has as of 1999 been with the band as long as Wacko was. Anyhow, "Nothing Exceeds" was Raven's attempt to regain the fans they lost because of their big label, commercial failures that proceeded this album. This new CD was so far removed from being commercial that, at first listen, I thought it suffered from lack of hooks. What the band focused on was playing as fast as they possibly could with John Gallagher sucking helium before he sang each and every note. (Gotta love that!) Despite my initial reaction in '88, over the years this has grown to be one of my favorite speed metal albums. My favorite track is "Into the Jaws of Death" as they slow down the pace a bit on this one. This allows for a less frantic guitar riff which in turn makes the song have a more memorable groove. There are several other stand out tracks, including "In the Name of the Lord", "Gimme a Break", "You Got a Screw Loose" and the infectious speed metal track, "Die for Allah." "Die for Allah" is yet another song that focuses on the atrocities committed by organized religions. At least this time it's not Christianity that's under fire.

This was actually the last record I bought from Raven before getting rid of all my vinyl. It was also the first Raven CD I bought as I found the original Combat Records version used for $2.91. For years this disc was out of print but 1999 saw the re-release of this disc on Century Media Records, Germany. Since I already owned the original version, I never really bothered to check out the reissue of this metal classic. However, one day I received an e-mail from John Gallagher telling me that the mastering on the original Combat issue CD was horrible, and that it would be worth my while to check out the re-mastered edition. Indeed he was right, the sound improvement is quite amazing. On top of this a live version of "Lay Down the Law" was included as a bonus track. The reissue also includes some killer live photos and short liner notes by John Gallagher. The only thing I like better about the original issue is the cover printing is far superior. The reissue is darker and muddier. The original Combat Records cover art also folded out into a Raven poster. Unfortunately the lyrics were not included with either release.

Raven also released two live tracks ("Into the Jaws of Death" & "Gimme a Break") on Combat's Ultimate Revenge 2: Soundtrack.

Raven - Architect of Fear (Steamhammer) 1991 1. "Architect of Fear Intro" [instrumental] (1:21) 2. "Architect of Fear" (4:01) 3. "Disciple" (4:03) 4. "Got the Devil" (4:39) 5. "Part of the Machine" (3:59) 6. "Under the Skin" (5:27) 7. "White Hot Anger" (5:31) 8. "Can't Run & Hide" (2:48) 9. "Blind Leading the Blind" (5:03) 10. "Relentless" (3:49) 11. "Just Let Me Go" (6:08) 12. "Heart Attack" (3:52) 13. "Sold Down the River" (3:52)

Mark Gallagher

1991 and Raven are back to bring to the world another album chock full of earth-shattering, speed-incrusted Raven-lunacy. This is just a great disc. It's such a travesty that so many have given up on this band as they have so much life in them. Favorite tracks are the title track, "Disciple" and "White Hot Anger."

I'm not sure that this disc was ever released in the US. My copy is a German import, not unlike most of the rest of my Raven collection. I own this one on CD and vinyl.

Raven - Heads Up (Steamhammer) 1993

1. "Hell On Earth" (4:57)
2. "World Comes Tumbling Down" (4:43)
3. "Stay Human" (4:32)
4. "Still Hungry" (3:47)
5. "All For One" [live] (3:52)
6. "Into the Jaws of Death" [live] (3:56)
7. "Can't Run & Hide" [live] (2:40)

Very nice German EP featuring four new songs and three live offerings. The new tracks are all over-the-top Raven lunacy. Great heavy metal! The live tracks are excellent as well.

There is also a Japanese version of this that supposedly has a different track listing. Will have to keep an eye out for that one. Once again, thanks to my brother of metal Olaf for hooking me up.

Raven - Mind Over Metal (Elap Music) 1993

1. "Mind Over Metal" (3:28)
2. "Faster Than the Speed of Light" (4:19)
3. "Take Control" (3:20)
4. "All For One" (3:31)
5. "To the Limit/To the Top" (7:50)
6. "'Hell Patrol" (4:37)
7. "Rock Until You Drop" (3:59)
8. "Hell Raiser/Action" (5:32)
9. "Break the Chain" (3:44)
10. "Live At The Inferno" (3:52)
11. "Bring the Hammer Down" (4:15)
12. "Star Wars" (5:32)
13. "Fire Power" (3:02)
14. "Don't Need Your Money" (3:17)
15. "Run Silent Run Deep" (5:37)
16. "Tyrant of the Airways" (7:12)

Well, what do you know, a Raven CD I had not heard of. This disc is a special release from Metal Hammer, a popular magazine in Europe. "Mind Over Metal" is a compilation of Raven's pre-Atlantic Records years. Most would say this was the band's best material, and I would not disagree. Each and every song on this compilation is 100% "Fist clenching, neck-breaking, head-busting...high power metal!" Gotta love it!

Raven - Glow (SPV) 1994

1. "Watch You Drown" (4:36) 2. "Spite" (2:26) 3. "True Believer" (4:42) 4. "So Close" (4:14) 5. "Alter" (4:33) 6. "The Dark Side" (3:52) 7. "The Rocker" (3:07) 8. "Turn on You" (3:43) 9. "Far and Wide" (5:21) 10. "Victim" (3:51) 11. "Gimme A Reason" (4:02) 12. "Slip Away" (4:04)

If you read my bio on this sight, you know that n the early 1990's I lost track of what was going on in metal. Despite the fact that Raven were one of my favorite bands, I had lost track of them. After getting over my self righteous attitude about music, I began searching for the old Raven albums again. When I found out that Raven covered a Thin Lizzy tune I immediately had to find this disc. Their version of "The Rocker" is excellent, although not as over the top as their version of "Born to Be Wild" (One of the greatest cover songs ever!). To my delight, the whole disc is quite good. Much better than what I expected actually. The raw Raven heavy metal sound is back, although the production is much cleaner than their earlier albums and overall, the band has found a nice ballance of raw aggression and melody. There are a few slower songs that are actually quite good as well. I was surprised at how much I like this disc right off the band. Over the years since I purchased this CD I have listened to it quite often and it has become one of my favorites. I might even go so far as to say that this is my favorite CD from their 1990's releases.

Raven - Destroy All Monsters-Live in Japan (Steamhammer) 1995

I'm not sure I like this one as much as I like "Live at the Inferno" but I haven't lived with this one as long either, so nostalgia could be a factor in that. One thing for sure is that at times John's voice sounds a bit tired on this disc. Still the energy factor is high. The selection of songs is excellent as well. As a matter of fact, I found it interesting that Raven didn't play any of their more commercial late 80's material, but rather focused on the first three albums then skipped over to some of their excellent 90's material from "Glow" and "Architect of Fear." What is also great about this disc is that it is obviously "live" without much overdubbing or studio fixes. Every guitar squeak, rim shot, and vocal crack is there, just like you were there for the performance. Sometimes this doesn't work, depending on the band, but for Raven it works well as overpolishing usually destroys their charisma.

"Symptom of the Universe" is a Black Sabbath song, "Won't Get Fooled Again/Summertime Blues" is a tribute to the Who, although "Summertime Blues" was originally written by Jerry Capehart and Eddie Cochran.

Raven - Everything Louder (SPV) 1997

1. "Blind Eye" (3:50) 2. "No Pain" (3:33) 3. "Sweet Jane" (5:01) 4. "Holy Grail" (3:51) 5. "Hungry" (5:01) 6. "Insane" (4:52) 7. "Everything Louder" (5:56) 8. "???" (:29) 9. "Between the Wheels" (3:43) 10. "Losing My Mind" (3:07) 11. "Get Your Fingers Out" (3:40) 12. "Wilderness of Broken Glass" (6:06) 13. "!!!" (:13) 14. "Fingers Do the Walking" (4:06) 15. "Bonus" (1:37)

Mark Gallagher

1997 and Raven are sounding as rabid and Raven-ous as ever! According to the liner notes, this disc was recorded live in the studio. It seems to me that Raven sound best when recorded like this. Raven's first three albums, which many consider to be their best, were all recorded this way. I know many people have dismissed this band due to some of their more commercial recordings in the late 80's, but when a band returns to greatness, why not return to them? The bonus track? Well this is what John Gallagher has to say on the Raven website: "the "bonus" is from a rehearsal tape i found ..every time one of us screwed up, we'd play this dumb "happy" tune...here it is along with rockabilly hell!"

Raven - Raw Tracks (Massacre) 1999

1. "Firepower" -live 1984 (3:09)
2. "Don't Need Your Money" -live 1984 (3:14)
3. "Savage & Hungy" -demo 1984 (3:54)
4. "Nightmare Ride" -demo 1984 (3:39)
5. "Get It Right" -live 1985 (4:18)
6. "On & On" -live 1985 (4:01)
7. "Extract the Action" -live 1985 (4:15)
8. "Barbarian" -demo 1984 (4:23)
9. "Hot Moves" -demo 1984 (3:38)
10. "Rock Until You Drop" -live (3:47)
11. "Juggernaut" -live 1989 (4:03)
12. "Thunderlord" -live 1989 (4:30)
13. "Gimme A Break" -live 1989 (3:15)
14. "Move Over" -demo (3:14)
15. "White Hot Anger" -live (4:36)
16. "Alter" -live 1995 (4:30)
17. "Tie Your Mother Down" -live 1995 (4:00)
18. "Architect of Fear" -live (4:10)
19. "Enemy" -live (3:36)

A nice collection of demo, live, and unreleased material. The sound quality is as the title suggests but is actually quite good for the most part, especially considering some of this stuff was from bootlegs. "Hot Moves" probably has the worst sound of any of the demo tracks. "Thunderlord" is the worst of the live tracks, sounding like it was recorded using a small condenser mic. Still, overall this disc is very listenable. I've said it before, but Raven are one of those bands that sound best when heard in their most raw form. That is what this disc is-Raw Raven!. Nice booklet complete with lyrics, notes about the songs, and tons of photos. "Raw Tracks" is probably the closest thing we'll ever get to a Raven box set. "Tie Your Mother Down" is a loose and live Queen cover.

Raven - One For All (Metal Blade) 2000

1.   "Seven Shades" (4:13)
2.   "Double Talk" (3:29)
3.   "Roll with the Pouches" (5:21)
4.   "Get Your Motor Running" (3:36)
5.   "To Be Broken" (4:52)
6.   "Derailed" (3:44)
7.   "Hunger Inside" (4:47)
8.   "Top of the World" (3:47)
9.   "In the Line of Fire" (4:11)
10. "Kangaroo" (3:04)
11. "New Religion" (4:38)
12. "Last Ride" (4:35)

As the name suggests, "One For All" takes up where "All For One" left off and kicks as much buttox as "All For One" ever did. Raven's sound has not really changed much over the years, with the exception of a few attempts at commercialism in the mid 80's. This album was produced by Michael Wagener who has also produced such killer albums as Testament's "Low." "One For All" is the first album that has been readily available in the US since they were dropped from Atlantic many years back. It's nice to have 'em back. Now I'm waiting for the tour.

So, what's been up with Raven since the release of "One For All"?
We toured Europe in 2000 & did some East Coast shows (before we) started writing for the next album & then we have been sidelined since Nov. 2001 as Mark suffered a very bad accident where his legs were crushed. He has had a long, hard rehabilitation & still has some operations to go....so his health is the most important thing. The way he is, he'd get onstage & re-injure himself in about 2 minutes! Right now he's getting around with a walker/walking stick & we'll be getting together later this month (August)!
cheers,
john

As of 2004 Raven finally were back in the concert halls and arerecording demos of new material. Left to right: John Gallagher, Joe Hasselvander, and Mark Gallagher.

Raven live in Italy 2006. Left to right: John Gallagher and Mark Gallagher.

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