Ravager – The Third Attack
Ravager – The Third Attack
Iron Shield Records
Release Date: 18/06/2021
Running Time: 41:48
Review by Simon Black
9/10
A long time ago, I remember sitting in the office of Skyclad’s management team up in Newcastle having a chat about the state of music here in the UK and globally. At the time Grunge was still ripping a new asshole through the major labels, who in a panic at missing out on the newest trend to some unknown independent labels, were busy tearing up their rosters to make room for anyone with a lumberjack shirt and lank neck length hair. Many Thrash and Metal bands got hung out to dry in those dark days. However, it was not all gloom and doom and I was told clearly and categorically that day that “If Thrash and Metal are dead, then someone better tell the Germans”. He was right, as here we are, nearly twenty-five years later and Thrash is very much still going strong, having never gone away and continuing to pull in new fans across the generations, with the obscure independent Metal supporting labels of the day having proven to be absolutely right, given that most of them are still here and plenty more have sprung up since. It’s not just the veterans who are still cranking the goods out in spectacular fashion right now (as the recent Artillery record proved), but the torch has been carried forward to much younger acts, of whom I’m going to single out the UK’s Incinery and the spotlight band of the moment – Ravager. When, as here, they get it right, they do so by balancing the energy and ethos of the past with the modern sound and focus of today.
These guys are Walsrode in Northern Germany based, which is North East from Hamburg as you head in the direction of Wacken’s hallowed lands and have been on the go since 2014. “The Third Attack” is, as you would expect, their third full length album and is well named. Normally at this point, bands can struggle to keep the writing going having exhausted the material they had built up prior to getting released, but there’s no sign of this being the case here and in full-on attacking mode. In fact a quick spin through their Spotify highlights indicated that if anything the reverse is true, as this beast of a record is positively brimming with energy and guts. For me the title track, in its blisteringly short two and a bit minutes of delivery, absolutely nails the ethos of this band, but when they do take their time, they do it with aplomb and control, as the more measured album closer ‘Destroyer’ proves. At eight minutes long and with a deceptively measured power-balladic intro, it’s not what you expect after thirty-four minutes of ear-bleeding brutality, but it does not stay slow for long and unleashes a blisteringly tight and controlled display of technical thrashery. The control and flow keep changing, and it’s a masterwork in control and accuracy.
The production balances the old-school Thrash feel and immediacy with that nice fat and crunchy belt round the earholes that comes with modern production techniques and a producer who knows what the hell they are doing. It’s far from over-polished, but the balance it has keeps the energy and aggression fuelled nicely, as frankly too much polish and you lose that edge that is the essence of good Thrash. And this isn’t just good Thrash, this is great Thrash.
‘Planet Hate (Official Lyric Video)
TRACKLISTING:
01. Intruders
02. Planet Hate
03. Back To The Real World
04. Priest Of Torment
05. A Plague Is Born
06. The Third Attack
07. Beyond Reality
08. My Own Worst Enemy
09. King Of Kings
10. Destroyer
LINE-UP:
Marcel Lehr – Guitars
Dario Rosenberg – Guitars
Philip Herbst – Vocals
Justus Mahler – Bass
André Sawade – Drums
LINKS:
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