RAVEN was one of the original bands of the NWOBHM when it surfaced at the end of the seventies. Coming from Newcastle Upon Tyne in the UK they actually started in 1974 (48 years ago!!) and changed quite considerably when they went from a five-piece band to a trio. They play(ed) Athletic Rock and made a very big impression when they released their first single "Don't Need You Money" in 1980. The following few years they couldn't do anything wrong, as albums like "Rock Until You Drop" (1981), "Wiped Out" (1982) and "All For One" (1983) were full of very explosive Metal. The band then put their sites on the USA, resulting in the very poor albums "Stay Hard" (1985) and "The Pack Is Back" (1986). RAVEN recovered from these by making an old-fashioned no-nonsense record called "Life's A Bitch" in 1987.

Their then drummer Rob Hunter was way ahead of his time, as he was very prominent in appearance and filled every possible hole of the music. A bit like Brann Dailor of MASTODON has done all through his career. Only back then it was considered to be too much, so he was replaced in 1988 by Doom drummer Joe Hasselvander, who was lot more sedate in the way he filled the position. During that time the band became a little stale, or should I say less Athletic. It still was good, but not as explosive as it had been. Joe Hasselvander recorded the brilliant album "Extermination" in 2015 before leaving the band in 2018. He was replaced by current drummer Mike Heller. This man is a monster, who has brought back the faster drumming, giving RAVEN another life. You could hear the results of it on the outstanding 2020 album "Metal City".

Now we have "Leave 'Em Bleeding" to listen to. In short it is a compilation album, containing stuff that was recorded from 2015 until now. So, you will hear songs from "Extermination" and "Metal City" as well as from the 2015 EP "Party Killers" ("Bad Reputation"[THIN LIZZY]), but also some extras like "Space Station #5" (MONTROSE) and a few live songs. If you are a real fan of RAVEN you will undoubtedly already be in possession of all these songs. If you aren't, this is a perfect way to get to learn what they area about. For me they were, are and always will be a superb band.