Metal maniacs, rejoice! I'm proud to present to you: THE RAVEN AGE; signed via BGM Records, hailing from England - performing Melodic Groove Metal, on their debut album entitled "Darkness Will Rise". (released March 17^th, 2017)

Since formation in 2009; the quintet in question have only 1 EP behind them in their entire discography: "The Raven Age". Having seen THE RAVEN AGE play with the mighty ANTHRAX Live in London 2017; I go in with medium expectations, as while they performed brilliantly...something was a little off-putting with them. Was it the vocals? Was it the instrumentation? ...Yes and no, I think it was more the "melodic" in Groove Metal...but that's a story for another day. I'm here to talk about "Darkness Will Rise"; a 13-track album ranging at around 01:14:54, it's safe to say that fans of this quartet will certainly get their fix with this new release. A shocking revelation to me is that one of the guitarist's is none other than Steve Harris' (from IRON MAIDEN) son - George Harris. The quartet knows their stuff at implementing the melodic in Groove Metal and after my first listen; I enjoyed a nice, intricate slab of solid Metal.

If you can have a sub-genre with the element of melodies built in; you can surely have it in any genre. THE RAVEN AGE consist of the courageous Michael Burrough on vocals; having high-pitched cords with some Hardcore elements, the guy showcases a thorough structure at keeping his singing adroitness in top form - performing exceedingly well, this retracts my initial thoughts about them when I first saw them Live as I hadn't discovered this band so that's natural, I guess.

The complex; dexterous duo from George Harris and Dan Wright efficiently provide some constructive riffs of an elegant and sufficient quality of songwriting proficiency. "Promised Land", "Age Of The Raven" & "The Death March" deliver original yet memorable groovy licks that pummel eardrums with succulently established blast beats, and a formulated sound production from powerhouse Matt Cox on bass & Jai Patel on drums. The instrumentation the band contributes to the Melodic Groove Metal sub-genre is unprecedented and surprisingly flourishes with an organic aesthetic and distinction that merits with dynamical substance and exquisite musicianship. "Salem's Fate", "The Merciful One" & "Eye Among The Blind" broad more enlightening equalities while excelling with prominence to be as unique as they can possibly be; while keeping the groovy beats with the atmosphere divinely strong and fulfilling.

"Wings Of Change", "Trapped Within The Shadows" & "My Revenge" are where things can seem a bit similar and the differentiates aren't so diverse; still - enjoyable enough to continue on to this point as there are some coherent delicacies still to discover.

And so concluding "Darkness Will Rise" with the final 3 tracks "The Dying Embers Of Life", "Angel In Disgrace" & "Behind The Mask"; I am overall compelled to say that THE RAVEN AGE certainly outdone themselves with their debut, it's by no means album of the year material...yet it's for sure worth checking out at least once, however. Not a bad start, fellas from London, UK!<