Raven – Over The Top! (The Neat Albums 1981-1984) Remaster 2019 Box-Set 4 CD, MP3+FLAC

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Here’s a monster, monster slab of classic New Wave of British Heavy Metal for you. The first three RAVEN studio albums and their remarkable live album – all from the band’s early career on the NWOBHM-friendly Neat label packed into this Cherry Red Records / Hear No Evil clamshell Box Set titled ‘‘Over The Top! (The Neat Albums 1981-1984)”, fully remastered by Rock Candy Records resident Andy Pearce and including a bunch of bonus tracks.

Raven originated from the NWOBHM “stronghold” of the north east. A proving ground which also spawned luminaries such as White Spirit, Tygers Of Pan Tang, Fist et all.
In this, er, neat package we can marvel at how good Raven were back then. This tasty box set comprises Rock Until You Drop, Wiped Out, All For One and Live at the Inferno – all on the Neat label before Raven bagged a big time contract with Atlantic.
This is all blistering stuff. Hard, heavy, powerful, self-styled “athletic rock”. Massive, chunky, brutal, strong riffs and powerchords. Manic solos, huge drumming and a vocal putting many shouters from the time in the shade.

Their full length debut, the self-explanatory “Rock Until You Drop”, was released by Neat to much acclaim in 1981, finding champions in the pages of Sounds and Kerrang! magazines. Although a pumped up medley of The Sweet’s ‘Hellraiser’ & ‘Action’ betrayed some of their earlier glam rock influences, tracks such as ‘Hell Patrol’, ‘Lambs to the Slaughter’ & ‘Tyrant of the Airways’ left no doubt to their dedication to metal muscle.
‘Hard Ride’, ‘Nobody’s Hero’ and the rest truly remarkable. As is the barking mad cover of Sweet’s Hellraiser and Action. The album closer – ‘Tyrant of the Airwaves’ is the standout on an album of heavy metal standouts.

The follow-up album – Wiped Out – was perhaps a bit rushed as the label tried to capitalise on the success of the debut though it doesn’t make it any less of a powerful listen with more of that muscular style hitting hard. It’s all good, including the band’s classics ‘Faster Than The Speed Of Light’ and ‘Live At The Inferno’.
And Raven’s potential was noticed attracting touring slots with the likes of Motorhead and Girlschool. Even America beckoned as they went on the road with Anvil.

That momentum was followed up with the third album – All For One – again showing what a force Raven were with a higher quality production from the Michael Wagner / Udo Dirkschneider “double trouble” team. The Accept lead singer also joined the boys for a cover of Steppenwolf classic ‘Born To Be Wild’, included here as a bonus track.

More touring followed – notably back in America again with none other than Metallica supporting. Returning from that tour would signal the end of the band’s association with Neat for the deeper pool of Atlantic Records. However the switch to the majors wouldn’t put Raven as far up the tree as talent deserved.
Featured on CD4 is the seemingly inevitable double live album, “Live At The Inferno”. Across 19 tracks, including live favorites ‘Mind Over Metal’, ‘Crash Bang Wallop’, ‘Rock Until You Drop’ & ‘Faster Than Speed Of Light’, the album proudly states THERE ARE ABSOLUTELY NO OVERDUBS ON THIS ALBUM! Following “Live At The Inferno” Raven would sign a major label deal with Atlantic, relocating to the States for further fame & fortune, with the band still regularly gigging and releasing records today.

Enjoy this box set from the “early days” to show how good and how important Raven were for the NWOBHM movement. Bonus tracks include ‘Wiped Out’, the “Crash Bang Wallop EP”, ‘The Ballad Of Marshall Stack’, ‘Inquisitor’ and ‘Power And The Glory’.
It’s proper classic heavy metal with muscle, and stands up well today four decades later.
Highly Recommended

Rock Until You Drop [1981]
1-1 Hard Ride
1-2 Hell Patrol
1-3 Don't Need Your Money
1-4 Over The Top
1-5 39-40
1-6 For The Future
1-7 Rock Until You Drop
1-8 Nobody's Hero
1-9 Hellraiser / Action
Written-By [Action] – Scott*, Connolly*, Tucker*, Priest*
Written-By [Hellraiser] – Chapman/Chinn*
1-10 Lambs To The Slaughter
1-11 Tyrant Of The Airways
Bonus Tracks
1-12 Wiped Out
1-13 Crazy World
1-14 Inquisitor
1-15 Let It Rip

2-1 Faster Than The Speed Of Light
2-2 Bring The Hammer Down
2-3 Fire Power
2-4 Read All About It
2-5 To The Limit / To The Top
2-6 Battle Zone
2-7 Live At The Inferno
2-8 Star War
2-9 Uxb
2-10 20/21
2-11 Hold Back The Fire
2-12 Chain Saw
Bonus Tracks
2-13 Crash Bang Wallop
2-14 Run Them Down
2-15 Rock Hard
2-16 20/21 (Outtake)
All For One [1983]
3-1 Take Control
3-2 Mind Over Metal
3-3 Sledgehammer Rock
3-4 All For One
3-5 Run Silent Run Deep
3-6 Hung Drawn & Quartered
3-7 Break The Chain
3-8 Take It Away
3-9 Seek & Destroy
3-10 Athletic Rock
Bonus Tracks
3-11 Born To Be Wild
3-12 The Ballad Of Marshall Stac
3-13 Inquisitor
3-14 Power And The Glory
Live At The Inferno [1984]
4-1 Intro / Live At The Inferno
4-2 Take Control
4-3 Mind Over Metal
4-4 Crash Bang Wallop
4-5 Rock Until You Drop
4-6 Faster Than The Speed Of Light
4-7 All For One
4-8 Forbidden Planet
4-9 Star War
4-10 Tyrant Of The Airway / Run Silent Run Deep
4-11 Crazy World
4-12 Let It Rip
4-13 I.G.A.R.B.O.
4-14 Wiped Out
4-15 Fire Power
4-16 I Don't Need Your Money
4-17 Break The Chain
4-18 Hell Patrol
4-19 Live At The Inferno

MP3 FLAC thx A.N.N for CDs!!!