Review RAVEN “Can’t Take Away The Fire”

50 years in metal is more than a noteworthy achievement. Metal heavyweights Raven are a band that can celebrate half a century of contribution to heavy metal. The band formed in 1974, and after releasing their debut album “Rock Until We Drop” in 1981, the band has been a constant factor in traditional heavy metal. And that the title of the debut album was more than just words is a guiding principle for the Gallagher brothers in their heavy metal journey.

With “Can’t Take Away the Fire” Raven release a new EP, which contains three live songs as well as five new songs. The title track is also the lead single for this release and 100% Raven is what echoes with every note played. A melodic shouted chorus together with heavy riff power is what makes this song so special.

With “Black and Blue” the band has put a real headbanger at the top of the tracklist, unleashing the full power that the trio has been spreading since 1974. “Gimme a Lie” is another fast-paced metal anthem a la Raven, before the dark “The Wreckage” shows a band that has more in its repertoire than just playing fast and dirty. An almost doom-driven riff kicks off the track, an epic piece of music that reflects traditional heavy metal in all its nuances.

Last but not least, 50 years of metal calls for a little retrospective and in this case Raven release three live songs from different eras. There is the blistering version of “Don’t Need Your Money” recorded in Amsterdam in 1984. That the grunge and nu-metal wave of the 90s could not stop Raven is proven by a live recording of “Architect of Fear” from 1991, when the trio played in Erlangen, Germany. And there is “The Power”, recorded during a show in Clifton, New Jersey in 2022.

“Can’t Take Away the Fire” shows that the flame of metal is still burning in the hearts of the Gallager brothers, along with Mike Heller, the band’s hard-hitting drummer for the past few years. Raven are pioneers in metal and the fact that they are still around after five decades shows that heavy metal is a way of life and not a question of age.