### Ravens Creed: The power

#### 21/01/13 || gk

Ravens Creed is a British super group of sorts that you may never have heard of. Formed in 2006 by Steve Watson (Iron Monkey) and Jay Graham (Skyclad), Fraser Craske from Sabbat joined the band on bass and Ben Ward came in on vocals for the first album in 2009. By 2010, Ben Ward had left to focus on Orange Goblin and the band recruited newcomer Al Osta on vocals. Late 2012 saw the band release its second album and The power is one relentless exercise in British thrashing.

The album opens with the title song as the sample of an air raid siren sits over a chugging groove and it’s a solid indication of the carnage to come. Bloody luxury is my favourite song here with its kickass riffing and a pretty inspired vocal attack from Osta. It’s also one of the few places on the album that the band slows down to a mid-paced groove. “Wiccan wanderers” introduces a touch of melody but “War cauldron” goes back to the hyper charged thrash attack that is prevalent through most of this album. Elsewhere, we get the heavy grooves of “Raped by the graveside” and the non-stop aggression of “Kick to kill” and “Atomic fist” is exhilarating.

What we have here is basically thrash metal with touches of death metal and British hardcore punk. What makes “The power” such a powerhouse is the relentless riff attack which never lets up. The longest song here is a shade less than 3 minutes and there are 16 songs clocking in at less than 30 minutes. Steve Watson’s guitar playing is really a lesson in thrash riffs. Simple, and owing a fair bit to the likes of Venom and Motorhead but also managing to give off a modern vibe while retaining its old school feel. At times, the riffs remind me of Bolt Thrower but in a thrash metal context. Also, the rhythm section of Craske (who has since departed the band) and Graham is just incredibly solid. Osta’s vocals remind me a fair bit of Barney Greenway around the time of “Diatribes” and while he does sound a bit monotonous as the album goes one, he overall does a solid job complementing the savage unrelenting approach of the music.

Ravens Creed has been around for a while now and while initially having Ben Ward in the mix might have got them some attention, they are now a far superior band and in a just world should get some attention based purely on the quality of music. “The power” is a huge step up for the band and pretty essential listening for fans of thrash metal.

- Information
- Released: 2012
- Label: Doomentia Records
- Website: Ravens Creed Facebook
- Band
- Al Osta: vocals
- Steve Watson: guitars
- Fraser Craske: bass
- Jay Graham: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. The Power
- 02. Bashed In
- 03. Bloody Luxury
- 04. Wiccan Wanderers
- 05. War Cauldron
- 06. Raped by the Graveside
- 07. Rat Kill Rosary
- 08. Kick to Kill
- 09. Buried in the Bin
- 10. Atomic Fist
- 11. Inappropriate Eulogy
- 12. Horse Fucker
- 13. The Slaughter House
- 14. Silence in the Crow Court
- 15. Woman and Children First
- 16. Unleash the Rat Bashers