Simon RushworthRaven Eye – Nova (Frontiers)
Genre: Classic Rock/Post Grunge
Perhaps it isn’t fair to present Raven Eye purely as a post grunge power trio but there’s no escaping the fact that Oli Brown’s boys have more in common with Soundgarden and Alice In Chains than Zeppelin, Free or Purple. That’s no bad thing though: their strikingly modern take on rhythmic classic rock cooks up quite a storm on the riff-fuelled Nova.
If muscular opener Wanna Feel You sets the heavy tone then there’s a punky feel to Come With Me and it’s easy to imagine Michael Monroe duetting on this Wildhearts-meets-Backyard Babies romp. Brown might have learnt from the Chris Cornell school of song delivery but there’s an edge to his urgent style.
Dig deeper into the multi-layered Nova and it becomes clear that Raven Eye are the band Audioslave fans have been searching for since 2007 – an alternative rock outfit spanning the decades with a mix of melody and measured volume. Brown can clearly turn his hand to just about anything but this is the band that can become his triumphant trademark.
It’s just a year since this band dropped a debut EP that caused serious ripples of excitement within the rock world. Thanks to Nova those ripples have become giant waves of genuine optimism.
RUSHONROCK RATED: 9/10 Eye On The Prize