By Jonny Bakes
Two online streamed gigs in one week? What is this: 2020? In all seriousness though, I’m pretty happy that these are still an option while things are settling down. And for The Raven Age, a live stream seemed like the best way to showcase their new, stripped back album to their fans across the world so that they can all join in on this experience. But this isn’t just a play through of the new album; we’ve also got a fan-led Q&A session at the end to make this a more interactive experience which is something we might not have been able to have otherwise! So, I’ve got myself settled on the sofa, cracked a beer and it’s time to lose myself in ‘Exile’.
It’s set to be a very chilled out, melodic affair this evening because not only is the album, ‘Exile’, a mellow and emotive piece, but the addition of a pianist and string quartet adds an extra element (and even a touch of class). The set opens with the band seated at high stool, like all good acoustic shows, as they start the night with ‘As the World Stood Still’ which is an incredibly fitting opening track for what this evening is all about. The first thing that stands out is just how well produced this stream is, both visually and musically, everything is clear and crisp which allows us to really get lost in the emotiveness of this track.
We saunter through to ‘Fireflies’ via ‘No Man’s Land’ but it is the former that’s particularly impressive. Those familiar with the band will already be aware of the epic ‘Grave of the Fireflies’ but you may not have heard it quite like this yet. The acoustic nature combined with the string quartet pushes this song to the next level and makes it an incredibly emotional piece. The video backdrop shows an impressive display of fire, but things take a further step up in production shortly afterwards… in a normal show, the band would get the crowd to raise lighters/phone torches/etc. Into the air to add to the atmosphere but, naturally, this isn’t an option for a live stream. Their response to this is perhaps more impressive though, as black and white photos of fans raising various illuminated objects are projected over the band’s performance during the haunting instrumental section.
It takes until ‘Wait for Me’ for me to get my head around whether the performance is being shot live – it isn’t. But that’s not an issue, for an album launch event like this it’s almost better to record the songs in private and check the recordings for quality before the exclusive streaming, instead of risking technical hiccups for this big occasion. What this has meant though is that the sound quality has remained spot on throughout the performance to do justice for this gentler side of The Raven Age.
The musical portion of the event heads towards its close with ‘Hold High the Fleur De Lis’ which sees drummer, Jai, sat at the front of the stage with a set of bongos and other hand drums for a slightly more intimate approach to this song. This is accompanied by some interesting medieval-style animations in the background with vaguely religious depictions to add something a bit different. It’s been a particularly emotive experience for sure and, as the credits roll, I get the chance to reflect on just how sucked in I’ve been by this performance. I’ll certainly find myself listening to ‘Exile’ more in the future after this!
I decided to stick around for the Q&A too, just to bring you a couple of snippets from that session:
- It was one of the first times playing these stripped back songs live, and certainly the first with the string quartet and piano and the pianist was a huge help in arranging some of the string sections.
- The band’s first ÜS headline tour was unfortunately cancelled the day before the first date, while they were in the ÜSA, but they are aiming to head back out as soon as they can.
- ‘Exile’ is a bit of a passion project and is something that the climate of the past couple of years has helped to bring to fruition. The title itself is a reference to the way we’ve all felt over the period with forced isolation feeling like exile from everything and everyone. But metal fans can rest easy, there will be plenty more metal coming and a follow up to 2019s ‘Conspiracy’ is in the pipeline.
- On their favourite places to play, Brixton Academy was a firm favourite amongst the band, but they have big dreams to play Wembley (preferably Stadium, but they’ll settle for the Arena apparently!). They’re also very hyped to be opening the Saturday Main Stage at Download Festival next year!
- PHOTO CREDIT: Photos courtesy of The Raven Age.
- ‘Exile’ is released on 17 September. You can get your copy HERE.
- The Raven Age are due to tour in December:
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