Blues rock babies RavenEye got Out Of The Rain at Drownload and straight into the studio to create new super album, Nova.
If you’re a fan of last EP Breakout, you may find this one a little different. It’s as if they’ve disected their previous sound with a rusty razor and tied up all the loose ends; and the result is infectious. Disclaimer: the songs are so catchy they will take over your brain.
Opener Wanna Feel You, is probably the most catchy on the album and throws you straight into the gritty blues bassline and hair-raising guitar riffs. This track proves that rock with a blues twist is this band’s bread and butter. Frontman, and award winning guitarist, Oli Brown shows his multi-talented nature from the get go and the band follow suit, shredding layer upon layer with each song, revealing a sizzling rock core.
Come With Me has a face for radio and “drags us underground” in an Alice In Chains style blackhole, mixed with Foo Fighters pep. Oli stamps his signature gritty vocals, which slowly melt down into a waxy, textured, euphonious finish and the results are just sexy! If you like your guitar riffs dirty on the rocks, with a soul destroying twist, Inside has you covered. The track takes you creatively ‘inside‘ the mind of the talented trio and unleashes polished mayhem. A true explosion of energy.
The band continue to prove guitar Hero, by track 4. The coaxing guitar line sweetly leads you into a dooming drum-led electric storm of sound. As Oli screams “who are you to me?” – we know the answer is diehard fans! Album title-track Super Nova follows suit, and may as well have been taken straight from Break Out. The bluesy, psychedelic undertones are reminiscent of 90s influences, but the track is a sound garden. The intricate structure of the song showcases the new dimensions in the band’s sound and affirms how well the trio mesh. RavenEye have evolved into a rock monster.
“Thrown into the fire once again” straight to the belly of the beast, Out Of The Rain is out favourite heavy track on the album. The boys hit their modern flow with this one. The techno outro smelt a little of Bring Me The Horizon, but adds flare. Even the corny sing-backs (“oooo’s”) work and the guitar outro had us salivating; can these boys do no wrong? Nope! The magic continues as Oli proves he isn’t just a guitar god but a vocal genius on our favourite track on the album, Madeline. Warning: it took us 3 days to get this out of our heads! Bassist Aaron Spiers kills it on this one, providing moody bass to the tale of love, sex and heartbreak. The chorus and breakdown at the 2 minute mark is pure organised chaos; “it breaks, it takes, it moves you.”
The boys change up the pace with our close favourite, Oh My Love. This track with its bluesy balls is the sexiest of the album. It’s the kind of song you hear in a bar and you end up in someone’s arms (bed.) We blame the panty dropping vocal range, reminiscent of a youthful Chris Cornell, mixed with aggressively beautiful drum lines pounded in by Adam Breeze. The song will have your body in musical waves and the build up leads to an explosive end. This song is trouble.
No album can go on for Eternity, although we wish this one would. This closer acts as the amuse bouche, the palet cleanser after gorging on the indulgemt treats that this album delivers. An acoustic number feels a bit out of place (who needs the calm when you’re enjoying the storm?), but it works. Like a harmonious lullaby, Oli’s magical voice coaxes you to “close your eyes and see the night,” and we can’t wait to hear this gem of an album again in a live atmosphere. Take our money!
This has got to be the most exciting album to be released this month, but don’t just take our word for it! We caught up with frontman Oli Brown himself, to get his verdict on the album and the new sound that Nova brings:
“The biggest difference with this record is we went in as a band with a clear vision on how we wanted the album to sound and what songs to record. Breaking Out came together almost by accident. Where as NOVA has a full purpose and intention. We’re so proud of this record.”
They definitely should be, we expect very big things from this album and the RavenEye boys!
9/10
Standout Tracks: Wanna Feel You, Madeline, Oh My Love, Out Of The Rain
For Fans Of: Sound Garden, Eagles of Death Metal, Foo Fighters, QOTSA, Muse, Rival Sons, Twenty Two Hundred
Written By: Charly Phillips
