http://www.metalteamuk.net/jan11reviews/cdreviews-ravenwoods.htm
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Turkeys Ravenwoods seem to be having something of an identity crisis. Their moniker brings to mind some obscure, second-wave Scandinavian black metal band, and a quick glance at their bio does indeed reveal them to have raw BM origins, but new album Enfeebling the Throne is an exercise in slick and pummelling melodic death metal with neither a wintery blizzard nor frosty grimace in sight.[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]The album does frequently encroach on blackened-death territory however: the title track kicks in with raw, tumbling riffs in the vein of more recent Marduk, but this is mixed up with tight, clinical death-grind sound of Coldworker, complete with dense, fill-heavy drumming and taut, barked growls. Theres a definite Nile influence lurking in there too, with the ADHD-inflicted riffing and blasting complemented by some delirious melodic soloing and sudden forays into lethargic, mid-tempo crawls. [/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]The opening track sets expectations pretty high, presenting an impressive level of technicality along with a considerable sonic punch, but most of the remaining tracks tend to blend into one another and quickly start to feel formulaic and over familiar. Breathless Solace employs bouncy Behemoth riffs, crunchy breakdowns and sharp, Middle-Eastern-sounding melodies that are to be a central staple throughout much of the album, and though professionally executed it nevertheless starts to feel a little vanilla, with nothing really new to grab the attention. Ecstasy Through Carnage employs a tried and tested chugging bass riff, sporadic bursts of relentless galloping drums and some electrified melodic charges that remind of old Dark Funeral, whilst both Torture Palace and Upheaval Subterranean mix passages of warm acoustics and tribal drums alongside merciless bulldozer-riffs and mechanical monotone hammering, but although this is all perfectly enjoyable again nothing particularly stands out.[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]As if aware of my rapidly waning attention, the album throws in a sudden curveball seven tracks in on Inward Massacre, which shifts suddenly midway through from BM-tinged melodic bludgeoning to a languid and brooding doom riff that makes it sound like Mourning Beloveth just wandered into the studio by mistake and started jamming. It sounds very cut-and-paste but the sudden change of pace works surprisingly well, and leads into another unexpected turn in the form of the cheesily titled Stay, which is a mash-up of Swallow The Sun-style pop-doom, fleeting glimpses of latter-day Katatonia and slick Swedish melodic DM, marred only by some slightly weak crooned vocals.[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Following track The Grey Cold Shade goes off in yet another direction, offering up erratic bursts of dirgey riffs and sporadic drumming that all sound incredibly Opeth-like, crowned by jagged Gothenburg riffs in the At the Gates vein. The Gothenburg influences are even stronger on The Fading Trace, which welds stripped-down grooves of (old) The Haunted to some epic, beautifully flowing riffs that evoke classic Dissection, and make it damn-near impossible to actually stay sitting in a chair long enough to finish this sentence.[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]And then, with my interest suddenly and unexpectedly piqued, the album fades away into Karl Sanders-style acoustic outro territory. Bugger.[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Enfeebling The Throne makes for a pretty frustrating listen, all in all. It starts off well enough, mixing abrasive BM, clinical grind and tech-DM elements together in a convincing and enjoyable way, but then seems to nod off midway through and slide into formulaic blackened-DM that falls between the two stools. Then halfway thought it suddenly jolts back out of this bout of narcolepsy and tries to make up for lost time, hurling doom, thrash, and gothic elements around in the closing minutes as if desperate to show off its myriad talents before the clock runs out. Whats most surprising is that most of these wild stabs across genres actually work, revealing a talented band with a knack for writing strong hooks and compelling arrangements when it suits them. If Ravenwoods could only decide what they actually want to sound like, then they might just be able to pull off something rather special.[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]
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http://www.myspace.com/ravenwoods
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[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1] Ross Taylor [/SIZE][/FONT]