RAPTORE has travelled the world during their existence. When they were formed in 2012, the band were located in La Plata, a part of Buenos Aires, Argentina. A few years later they relocated to Barcelona in Spain, where they currently are operating out of. The only one left of the original line-up is singer and guitarist Nino Cattoni. So, it is quite safe to say that the rest of the band only joined when he already was housed in Spain.

Throughout the years RAPTORE hasn’t been idle. They have given us two albums so far. “Rage ‘n Fever” was released in 2016, whilst in 2022 we saw “Blackfire” trying to woo the audiences with their brand of NWOTHM, almost leaning on NWOBHM from time to time. Now, another two years later, the band has deemed us worthy enough to be awarded another 33 minutes of RAPTORE noise. The result is “Renaissance”, which is being pushed through my computer speakers while I try and type my review. The first thing that strikes me is the amount of energy that the band is showcasing. They definitely aren’t holding back.

The next thing that I like is the fact that all musicians are adding to a very nice sound. Yes, this is very much eighties-oriented Metal, but by making sure that they have gotten a proper production, they sound good in current times as well, without becoming too contemporary. RAPTORE has another thing going for it, and that is that even though I am hearing my pet hate of lesser pronunciation of the English language, I have to admit that they generally get away with it. Only when I decide to use my headphones to listen to “Renaissance” I am confronted with the fact that I feel that the Spanish language would have worked just as well, or maybe even better.

The songs themselves are all of an adequate quality. Nothing more, nothing less. There are no tunes that have that little bit of extra, that provide me with goosebumps, that make me excited about my listening experience. That might be good enough for some listeners, and it usually is for me as well, but I like to be surprised throughout an album. That, unfortunately is something “Renaissance” doesn’t offer. Like I said, enough listeners will love what they hear from RAPTORE, but after such a long existence and with so much experience I just was hoping for more.