Raw Tracks
Raven
Metal Blade Records, 1999
REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 02/01/2000
If you ask a metalhead to tell you who some of their favorite"unknown" bands are, they're sure to rattle off a list that willmake your head spin. For every band out there whose name iswell-known, there are dozens of groups who, for some unknownreason, never quite achieved the same level of success.
Now, some people might be offended that I would put the Britishtrio Raven into this category. After all, they did rise up throughthe ranks with Metallica. They did have an album deal at one pointin time with Atlantic Records. Trust me, I mean no offense. Iremember the Gallagher brothers well, dressing up for the stage asif they were prepared to tape an episode of "American Gladiators"due to their frenzied stage presence. And while their music nevergot the same attention as other bands, their overall output wasquite good.
As the band works on their latest studio project, Raven has nowunleashed Raw Tracks, a collection of live and studio outtakes thatlive up to the album's name, on their fans. While I'd normallylambast a release for not having optimal sound quality, there issomething unique about listening to tapes that almost had to havethe jaws of life called in to save them from eternal loss. It'skind of like sneaking a bootleg into the stack, and experiencing aguilty pleasure in that you're listening to something you shouldn'teven have.
Of course, Raw Tracks is not a bootleg. Instead, it's 19 songs inversions that have never been released. Vocalist/bassist JohnGallagher clearly warns the fans in the liner notes that due to thecondition of some of the source tapes, you're bound to hear somepops, clicks and hisses. (Actually, the worst I could claim to hearwas an inferior mix at times during some of the live songs.)
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