With a history only dating back a few years to 2016, Calgary’s Ravenous have fused their flamboyant cross-breeding of European power metal and early ‘80s US speed metal, using it like a sharp ’n’ shiny scythe to forge their way through the crowded underground. Past accomplishments have included tours and gigs with Delain, Alestorm, Hammerfall, Striker and Powerglove with festival appearances and headliners interspersed in between. Considering all of the above, it shouldn’t come as a surprise a large part of this quintet’s musical vocabulary involved loving it speedy, epic, melodically grandiose while having a sword waving good time in the process.
The band’s latest and second album, Hubris highlights those characteristics to great length and, unsurprisingly, you can check out a stream of it below, one day before its official release via Feast Beast Records (in N.Am/Eur) and Spiritual Beast (Japan). Originally recorded and produced by the band itself, legend has it that after tracks were sent to Studio Fredman in Sweden for vocal editing by Robert Kulka, metal producer of note Fredrik Nordstrom overheard what Kukla was working on and personally reached out to the band asking if they would hire him to mix and master the record, expressing that, “This is the cheesiest thing I’ve ever heard, I have to mix this!” This could be a modern day power metal legend, but we’re assured it’s the Satan’s Honest truth, same goes with the fact that the photo shoot that gleaned the picture above was interrupted by a grizzly bear. Do yourselves and the band a favour, at the very least, by checking out Hubris before either they’re mauled by a Sasquatch or Quincy Jones gets involved saying, “Y’know, I’ve always heard about this power metal stuff and wondered what I could do with it…”
When asked about what’s been on the band’s mind as of late as they wait for the album’s release and the return of live shows, they offered the following:
“The last 18 months have been a challenging and frustrating time for everyone and this album Hubris is the culmination of our creative efforts and expression during that time. Written in two weeks, refined over six months,and self-recorded in isolation, we had hoped the world would be back to normal by the time of its release, but somehow the constant adversity in navigating cancellations and changing public policies has strengthened our resolve and pushed us to be more creative with our marketing, online presence and branding than ever before. These songs stand for so much more than just North American Power Metal — they stand for the resolve and dedication within our industry in a time where people would rather make art than perish! We challenged ourselves to push forward past the appealing draw of the couch, and in our hubris we have created this. Cheers to Decibel for hosting our new album and premiering it to the masses — never stop making art.”
Ordering, info and all that sort of thing:
