Album review: RAVEN BLACK NIGHT – Barbarian Winter

March 15th, 2013 by Yiannis

Metal Blade – Out Now.

I am sure that most of you would have gathered by now that 70s and 80s Rock/Metal music is definitely back in fashion. I mean, all you really have to do is to have a look at the roster of any record label and you will find the names of many spandex-clad bands adorning their site pages.

One such band is the Australian outfit Raven Black Night, whose self-released debut “Choose the Dark” was of such quality that led the US label Metal Blade Records to offer them a contract. Eight years after that release, the Adelaide-based Metal Warriors are about to bring out their second full-length album under the title “Barbarian Winter”.

On paper, Raven Black Night is one of the bands that tick all the right boxes for me. Being clearly influenced by the music of legends of Doom and Epic Metal, such as Black Sabbath, Candlemass, Manilla Road and Omen and sponsoring a deep-registered vocalist who does not hesitate to put his high screams to the test, should be enough to guarantee a top quality 80s sounding release, right?

That could have easily been the happy ending of this story, providing that these lads did not have to face their strongest enemy: themselves. While some compositions are of the utmost quality, there are quite a few moments when the band seems to lack quality control and by that I mean their ability to provide variety in compositions, as well as space to breathe, and not letting them get bogged down and lack direction.

The first fifteen or so minutes of the album contain some of the strongest material on offer, starting with the Manilla Road sounding riffs of “Fire In Your Eyes” – a song whose main melody will stick with you for a long time.

Less impressive but quite decent, “Morbid Gladiator” is a Doom-influenced, riff-based composition that will make its best to get you ready for the duet “Mystery Woman”/ “Fallen Angel” – songs whose vocal harmonies may be sung by a male artists but which, nevertheless, sound terribly reminiscent of those used by Farida ‘The Mouth of Satan’ Lemouchi of The Devil’s Blood fame.

It is at that very point when things start to go wrong for this album! “Black Queen” features some interesting individual themes but lacks coherence, “If You Choose The Dark” is enjoyable but lacks urgency, “Warriors Call” is an unnecessary eleven second vocal narrative and as for the same-titled “Bavarian Winter”: while its opening section featuring a Candlemass-influenced opening riff makes it a mouth-watering offering, the remaining half is based on an out of place up-tempo theme featuring…Death Metal growls…!

If the album was to finish right here, my rating would have been fairly low, however, the band seems to regain their senses and offer a decent ending instead. “Changes” may not be the most inspiring of Black Sabbath covers ever recorded, but the guitar harmonies involved are pretty decent indeed, “Lips Of Desire” bears some top quality melodies and “Nocturnal Birth”, a song operating in a style and tempo similar to that of Sabbath’s all time classic “Planet Caravan, is the absolute highlight of the album.

“Angel With A Broken Wing” may initially come across as a fairly bland offering but its straight-forward melodies and few hidden surprises towards the end make it much more appealing after a few good spins.

If I am to be very honest with you, listening carefully to “Barbarian Winter” left me both annoyed and somewhat disappointed with the members of Raven Black Night.

There are moments in this album when the spirit of 80s Doom/Classic Metal is both revived and celebrated, however, there are also moments when exaggerated performances, especially by the band’s vocalist, leads to the end result sounding both kitsch and out of control.

I am sure that these are capable of releasing an album worthy of carrying the title of an ‘underground classic’ but “Barbarian Winter” is certainly not the one – still, it is a decent effort.

John Stefanis

Rating: ***1/2 (3.5/5.0)

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