DVD review: RAVEN – Rock Until You Drop: A Long Day’s Journey

SPV www.spv.de

Phew, what a mammoth metal feast this is. Well, I say feast, this is Christmas, Easter and several summer Metal BBQs all in one. Running to 4.5 hours, this is everything you’ll ever need by NWoBHM legends Raven and more besides.

Much overlooked on their influence and success, Raven were a Newcastle based metal band who were more at the speed end, often playing a frantic and frenetic blistering metal.

Disc one, aside some slideshow photos, is a 3 hours documentary kicking off with the Gallagher brothers growing up in the north of England and forming Raven, settling on a 3 piece, and signing to Neat records; there’s a lot of live and studio material played as well as interviews with the band, fans from around the world and also with the likes of Dee Snider (Twisted Sister), Lars Ulrich (Metallica), Chuck Billy (Testament) and Dave Ellefson (Megadeth). Live performances (some interesting private footage from Holland 1982 included) show the band’s high speed and high energy, and there’s much backstage and studio lunacy too.

There’s interviews with collectors and fans of the genre too, and many a producer who couldn’t understand the band’s accents. And no documentary would be complete a few Spinal Tap moments; one case being a track for a soundtrack that got credited to the film’s musical director. The melodic Atlantic moments are detailed too – some equally good music though.

Puerile moments, there’s a lot of great music, top footage and interviews, Lunacy and information. The only real issue is that, like the whole DVD package, it’s so long, so it’s not something you can really approach on one sitting, or would want to revisit regularly.

Disc two features more music (including full versions of some of the songs used in the documentary) and further interviews.

Good value that most metal fans, especially those with an interest in the NWoBHM will enjoy, even if you watch it only the once.

****

Joe Geesin

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Power Plays w/c 7 April 2025

SEVEN BLOOD To The Unknown (indie)
FROM FALL TO SPRING Incomplete (Arising Empire)
POP EVIL Side Effects (MNRK Heavy)
ERJA LYYTINEN Abyss (Tuohi Records)
SKY VALLEY MISTRESS Too Many Ghosts (New Heavy Sounds)

Featured Albums w/c 7 April 2025

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003 – 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003 – 2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003 – 2024 (Singer Songwriter)

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