Ravenous is a power metal band from Canada formed in 2016 by R.A. Voltaire (known for his exploits in the satirical terrorist metal band Villainizer). Ravenous released their debut E.P. ‘Eternal Hunger’ in 2017, followed by their debut album ‘Eat The Fallen’ in 2019. The band’s sophomore album ‘Hubris’ was released in 2021, and features a number of guest singers – Nina Osegueda (A Sound Of Thunder), Wolfbeard O’Brady (The Dread Crew Of Oddwood), Mathias Blad (Falconer), and Vincent Jones (Aether Realm).
‘Hubris’ is fifty-five aggression fuelled fist-pumping minutes of blistering power metal. The pace of the album is incredible, hurtling along at breakneck speed! Album opener ‘Carnage In Carthage’ sets a ferocious pace as it scurries out of the blocks, aggressively stamping its authority on everyone and everything in its path – a path of searing riffs and rhythms, leaving only desolation in its wake. What a scorching opener! Without a pause for breath, the phenomenal pace storms on with the red hot ‘Astral Elixir’. Weaving a dizzying path around the entire power metal genre, ‘Astral Elixir’ is bands such as DragonForce and Cellador combined!
Switching gears and adopting the mid-tempo heavy hitting anthemic style of power metal, Ravenous make a perfect landing with ‘Son Of Storms’. Big riffing and bombastic, ‘Son Of Storms’ is a huge Manowar-esque foot stomp. Electrifying pace makes an emphatic return as ‘Die 1,000 Deaths’ picks up speed, fairly hurtling along at a head bangingly pleasurable pace. The headbang ability so far has been top-notch, the infectious nature too, Ravenous rocketing into the stratosphere with stunning accuracy. Shredding guitars greet the listener as ‘Bridgeburner’ picks up the power come to speed metal baton, racing like prey running for its life from a deadly hunter! And at halfway, ‘Hubris’ has so far been a breathless rampage of all-out power metal.
And it looks like the second half will be much more of the same, for the ferocious high-velocity gallop continues with the aggressive paced ‘The Alder Queen’. Hitting with the force of a thousand wrecking balls, ‘The Alder Queen’ is the fastest song heard so far, obliterating everything it touches. Making a parachute jump into melodic metal territory, ‘March Of Hunger’ is a mid-tempo swagger of power metal pomp – and actually offers a breather from the all-out power come speed metal attack of the album so far. And take as many breaths as you can, for the blistering pace returns with a vengeance, as ‘Claw Is The Law’ explodes into life and scorches the Earth as it hurtles forth. And that chorus! What a beauty! The chanting style is gonna be a crowd participation moment for sure – “the claw is the law”!
As the album storms onward to a finish – with two songs to go – all pace and speed are halted as abruptly as if you’d hit a brick wall. ‘Onwards & Upwards’ perches the listener fairly and squarely in power ballad territory, with lighters held high and everyone swaying from side to side. Now I normally don’t like ballads on metal albums and have often let my opinion be well known. But it does seem to be a pre-requisite these days, and as Ravenous have delighted and excited with each and every other song heard so far, I’m gonna give them a pass. And rightly so, because ‘Onwards & Upwards’ has so much power mixed with the passion and emotion of ballads! And to be honest, you need the breathing space of the “calm before the storm” – because here comes the album’s final hurrah, the ten-minute-long epic ‘…Of Beasts And Faust’. From its tension-building crescendo of an intro to its lightning-quick pace, ‘…Of Beasts And Faust’ is a glorious rampage of speed blended power metal, setting land speed records left right, and center.
Overall, a sparkling speed metal fuelled power metal rampage, raising fists high, banging heads hard, and causing fans everywhere to roar out loud with delight.
Ravenous: Facebook
Release Year: 2021
Label: Feast Beast Records (NA/EU) / Spiritual Beast (Asia).
Category: Album
Country: Canada
Reviewed by Iron Mathew for Frenzy Fire, Metal Gods TV, and Metal-Roos.
