Review by Paul Monkhouse for MPM
There is a tremendous wave of new artists carrying the flag for good old hard rock and metal and Ravenbreed stand loud and proud amongst the bands at the front of the pack.
The Welsh four piece have only been together for a couple of years but have already made a lastingly solid impression with their own brand of muscular and heavy-duty tunes.
This four track EP displays just what all the fuss has been about and speaks of a band who very much understand that firepower is one thing, but you’ve got to have the material to back it up.
The first release to come from the Cardiff combo since vocalist Luke Short joined their ranks, this sees them continuing to develop and refine their sound, it’s gloriously no-holds barred intent matched with tracks that will stay in your head for days.
Opening with the blitzkrieg riffing and pounding rhythms of ‘Echoes’, the EP is off to a flying start, a rush of speed and total adrenaline.
There’s a real touch of Alter Bridge in the delivery here and it’s just so good to hear, continuing in the same vein with the huge, canyon deep and wide groove of ‘Wasted (Over You)’.
The band certainly have the chops to take on Kennedy and Co, the guitar of Mikey Watkins having the same urgency and pinpoint accuracy of Tremonti.
‘Pulling My Chain’ gives bass player Ross Formosa and drummer Oli Watkins the chance to flatten towns with the unadulterated power of their playing, the wild riffing and extraordinary guitar sound of Watkins like a flame thrower to the broken remains.
Impressive throughout, Short gets a chance to expose his more thoughtful side with acoustic closer ‘Fires’, his soulful rasp bringing a real depth of emotion over the guitar backing.
From the high octane, no-nonsense blaze of the hard rocking rockets, through to the laid back and pensive mellower moments, ‘Echoes’ show that Ravenbreed are going places fast.
If they stick to the road ahead and carry on with a determination this obvious and material this good then the skies the limit. Without doubt, you’ll be hearing a lot more from this quartet of mayhem masters.
Follow Ravenbreed: Merch: https://www.ravenbreed.com Facebook: https://facebook.com/ravenbreed Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3qeu7… Instagram: https://instagram.com/ravenbreed Twitter: https://twitter.com/ravenbreed SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/ravenbreed
