Out of the windswept plains of southern Sweden comes RAVEN BANNER, delivering furious metal for raising horns and razing cities. Founded in 2021 in Skåne, Sweden by veterans of earlier Viking raids with the goal of making music for the Viking horde to bang their heads to. Inspired by the history and mythology of the area, the music is both harsh and melodic, technical and straightforward. The album has ten songs.

"Rise Up Clan" is first. It is indeed a straightforward MeloDeath sound, with harsh vocals and some guitar harmonies. Immediately, you can't help the comparison to AMON AMARTH. "Never Yield" is more of the same. The picture you get in your head is Vikings raiding village after village, slaying anyone in sight. But, there is a bit of cheese to this sound...a bit of a campy edge. "Sound the Horns" is another Viking themed song. Through three songs now, it is evident that the riffs are just too simple for me. Discerning listeners might feel the same way, though there is a contingent of those who prefer this more traditional sound.

"No Hero's Death" has a more powerful and rousing sound, but the song is done in nearly the same vein as all of the others so far. "Thor's Anthem" is unfortunately more of the same. I hear a lot of straightforwardness, but not much technicality at all. The band found a safe formula for their sound, and that is what they are sticking with. "Gutbound" might as well be a continuation of the previous song. The pacing is the same, the guitar riffs are the same, and so are the vocals. The band isn't taking any chances at all. "Raven's Call" is, you guessed it, more of the same. Let's close out the album.

"Twilight of the Gods" is the final track. I hate to say it, but this album is hopeless. Not only does the band stick with an old and tired formula of MeloDeath, they don't play with a lot of passion either. Nearly every riff is the same, and the vocal style also gets repetitive. As I mentioned above, there is a market for this kind of music, but the demographic is shrinking. Most Metalheads that I know demand more of their music. If you are a fan of AMON AMARTH, you might like this band and album. For me, it was stuck in the past with no way out.