I tell you, with all the work I put into this journal it's a wonder I don't just fade away (what do you mean, who said that? Can't you
see me? Oh no!) --- but here I am back with the second part of our in-depth look at the cultural phenomenon that swept, first the UK and then later the world, in the early 1980s, a movement that revitalised and redefined the heavy metal franchise, and gave birth to a whole fistful of bands, some of whom went on to do very well, some of whom blazed briefly before being extinguished and some of whom, well, just went out like guttering candles.
This time out, we're concentrating on three who made it, and not only that, one of whom had such a far-ranging and lasting influence on one particular part of the scene that they coined a new phrase which was taken up and used to describe and create a whole new sub-genre. But more of that later.
Any new movement is going to create and sweep up in its grasp a whole slew of bands who think they can make it. Look at the punk movement, or even the grunge rock of the nineties. So many bands got formed, gigged and then totally failed to make any impression on the public that they quickly disbanded and were forgotten about. It was of course the same with the new “young guns” of the heavy metal movement. Many bands never made it out of the starting blocks, or to tweak that analogy a little, never completed the first lap. It was, and is, and ever will be, a dirty, mean, unforgiving business, the music scene, and really, if you don't learn to swim with the sharks you end up being eaten by them.
Well, that's enough mixed metaphors for one morning! Point is, like the punk explosion of the seventies, everyone who could play three chords or bash a drum or roar out a song thought they could be a band, or in one, or form one. Enthusiasm is all very well and good --- where would we be without it, after all? --- but mixed in with that you have to have a healthy dose of realism, pragmatism, and --- what's the other one? Oh it just escapes me, on the tip of my tongue … oh yeah. Talent.
That's the problem with new fads, crazes, waves, call them what you will. Everyone thinks they can be a star. Probably the kind of thinking that led to no-talent wannabes queueing for hours outside the X Factor studios in the hope of getting their five minutes of glory, even if it's just to be “that bloke who told Cowell to **** off!” Easy, instant fame. Everyone wants it. But it isn't that easy.
Of course, that's not to say that there was anything close to the talent-show-factory culture there is now back then, but it just serves to underline the fact that no matter how hard some of these guys wanted to be a metal band, some of them just hadn't got it in them. Bands like Ethel the Frog, Fireclown, Fist, Nightwing, Legend and Ireland's Sweet Savage all had their day but faded quickly after the initial onslaught of the NWOBHM. Personally, I have not heard anything from these bands, so would not in any way denigrate them or say their music was below par, however it is a matter of record that the abovementioned, along with many other bands which rose under the NWOBHM banner, fell by the wayside and did not emulate the success of huge acts like Iron Maiden, Saxon or Def Leppard.
But as I said at the beginning of this piece, in this, our second episode, we are looking at three bands, with hugely varying styles, who all “made it” in one way or another.
Part the second, in which demons roam the earth, crows fill the sky and Heavy Metal is “born to darkness”...
The first of these bands I want to concentrate on is one who were formed well before the advent of the NWOBHM and would go on to crack America, or nearly, suffering some personal tragedy along the way. They were called Raven, and they were formed in 1974 in Newcastle by brothers John and Mark Gallagher (yeah, two more Gallagher brothers!) and Paul Bowden. Signed to the Neat Records label, they released their debut album, 1981's “Rock until you drop”.
Rock until you drop --- Raven --- 1981 (Neat)
There's little finesse about this album, but then, what do you expect from a NWOBHM band? AND one from “oop North” into the bargain! It's heads-down, straight-forward rockin' metal, with snarling guitars and thundering drums, all played at a pretty ferocious pace. “Hard ride” opens the album and sets the pace, which really never slackens throughout the whole recording. The songs are short, sharp and uncomplicated, with few over four minutes, bar the closer and one other. Vocalist John Gallagher, who also plays the bass, belts out the songs with the fervour of a real rocker, and although he does scream a lot you can always make out what he's singing. The simplicity of the setup --- bass, guitar, drums --- makes me think of a seriously heavy and much faster Rory Gallagher. There are no frills here, and no pretensions.
There's no doubting the talent of these guys, as a super guitar solo from Mark Gallagher during “Don't need your money” shows, with Rob Hunter pounding the drumkit like a steamhammer, and then “Over the top” has a certain Thin Lizzy feel to it, a little bit of boogie stuck in there somewhere among the screaming guitars and thunderous drums. There's a short almost medieval instrumental then, which comes across almost as a joke among all the headbanging and mayhem, but it's soon back to business with “For the future”, though in fairness this is a
little more restrained, reminding me of early Maiden really. Gallagher J more growls than screams this song, making it a little easier to understand, and it has a great hook. Quite melodic, in fact.
The title track comes in on a sort of handclap and military drumbeat, a slow cruncher with Gallagher M cranking the best he possibly can out of his guitar, and the speed flies right back up to the top of the scale then for “Nobody's hero”, until they churn out the only cover on the album, a great version of The Sweet's hit “Hellraiser”, combined with another minor hit for the seventies glam rockers, “Action”,with some truly superb guitar work.
The closer is the longest track on the album, at just over seven minutes. “Tyrant of the airways”, which becomes their first foray into progressive rock, or I should say progressive metal really, with its different sections and key changes and time signatures, is a really impressive ending to their debut album.
TRACKLISTING
1. Hard ride
2. Hell patrol
3. Don't need your money
4. Over the top
5. 39-40
6. For the future
7. Rock until you drop
8. Nobody's hero
9. Hellraiser/Action
10. Lambs to the slaughter
11. Tyrant of the airways
After the initial success of this and their next album, 1982's “Wiped out”, Raven attracted the attention of one of the big US labels, Megaforce Records, who had on their books also American metal acts Anthrax and a little outfit called Metallica. Touring with both bands raised Raven's stateside profile considerably, and in 1984 the band moved permanently to New York. Before that, however, they released their first album on the US Megaforce label, 1983's “All for one”.
All for one --- Raven --- 1983 (Megaforce)
Their third album, and their first directly aimed at, and recorded for, the US market, “All for one” is still considered by many fans to one of their finer albums, before they became Americanised. It kicks off heavy enough, though slower, with the songs more coherent and less frenetic: you can already see the influence playing with the likes of Metallica was having on the boys from Newcastle. Even John Gallagher's voice is lower, more growly and gutteral, with much less of the high-pitched screaming that characterised previous albums “Wiped out” and their debut. The guitar is used to much better effect, too, with a lot of reverb and feedback.
The opener, “Take control”, is perhaps a misnomer, as the only people who had control over Raven were their new US label taskmasters, Megaforce, and later the giant Atlantic Records, but “Mind over metal” at least throws down the gauntlet, asserting that it's all about the music. Again, it's heavy, a little faster than the opener and almost in the vein of the songs off their debut, but with a definite growl in Gallagher J's voice as he no doubt sought to emulate James Hetfield.
“Sledgehammer rock” became something of an anthem for them, with its heavy guitars and punchy chorus, while the title track of course recalls the legend of the Three Musketeers, with some great crowd-participation moments, no doubt. This is definitely a band enjoying themselves: wonder what the Americans made of the impromptu rendition of
La Marseilleise in the middle of the song? Perhaps onstage Raven switched it for
The Star-spangled banner?
Seems they had “Run silent run deep” as a song title before Maiden did, and it's a good rocker with a truly fantastic piece of guitar exposition in the middle. “Hung drawn and quartered” is a return to the Raven of old, with breakneck drumming, screeching guitar and indeed screeching John Gallagher! In fact, as the album crashes headlong towards its end, it becomes apparent that the Raven we heard on “Rock until you drop” are reasserting themselves. The songs get faster, heavier, and John Gallagher screams a lot more. It's really quite a joy to hear.
“Seek and destroy”, the penultimate track, does exactly what it says on the tin. Powerful, racing metal with screaming vocals and drumming that just punches your face in. Closer “Athletic rock” (which later became the odd way Raven described their particular brand of metal) is a little slower (though not much!) and a little more restrained, almost as if they were being reined back in, though it was completely apparent even at this stage that this raven could not be caged for very long.
TRACKLISTING
1. Take control
2. Mind over metal
3. Sledgehammer rock
4. All for one
5. Run silent run deep
6. Hung drawn and quartered
7. Break the chain
8. Take it away
9. Seek and destroy
10. Athletic rock
So what happened to them after that? Well, they released in total another nine albums, up to 2009, making twelve in all, but there would come a drastic shift in direction. After “All for one”, Raven theoretically hit the big time, being signed by Atlantic Records, but like many labels, particularly the larger ones, the US giants demanded more control over Raven's output, forcing them to move into a more commercial, radio-friendly vein, and the first two albums released on the Atlantic album, 1985's “Stay hard” and its followup the next year, “The pack is back”, despite yielding a semi-successful single from the former, served to alienate many of Raven's diehard fans. Two more albums were recorded with Atlantic before the band were let go by the label.
In the interim, Rob Hunter left the band to spend more time with his family, replaced by Joe Hasselvander, and the band released five more albums, including the sort of follow-up to “All for one”, 2000's “One for all”, though the growing supremacy of the grunge rock movement, particularly in the USA, was edging them out and they decided to concentrate on playing Europe and Japan, who had always loved them (what is it with the Japanese and heavy metal?) until tragedy struck.
In 2001 a wall fell on Mark Gallagher, crushing his legs and forcing Raven to take a five-year break while he recovered. They came back in 2006, touring over three years and finally releasing their last, to date, album, 2009's “Walk through fire”.
Throughout their career, Raven have remained true to the original lineup of bass/guitar/drums and vocals, never once adding any other instruments except under pressure from Atlantic for 1986's “The pack is back”, when Mark experimented with synths and guitar synths. The backlash from the fans obviously told him that had been a bad way to go, and they returned to their tried and trusted format.
Raven are an example perhaps of a band who rose through the NWOBHM, became big in America, fell out of favour and returned to what they do best, and yet they are relatively unknown to the public at large. Ask any ordinary Joe or Jane in the street who Iron Maiden or Def Leppard are, they can probably tell you. Ask about Raven, they'll probably say isn't that a crow? Sad in a way: Raven could have been just as successful as either of the two bands mentioned above, but got distracted and spellbound by the bright lights, and for a time gave over their music to Suits, who did their level best to change and therefore destroy it, trying to make it fit into their own concept of what made a good rock band. Or at least, a profitable one.
But despite Mark's injuries and the loss of founder member Hunter, Raven continue on, and are, as far as I know, still on the road as I write. Some birds' wings, it would seem, are harder to clip than others.