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Ravensire: The Cycle Never Ends

Heavy/Power Metal

4.5/5.0

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Cruz del Sur Records
Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 29.01.2016

Formed only a short five years ago, Lisbon's Ravensire has had a consistent output. The band returns with the second full-length album, The Cycle Never Ends on the Cruz del Sur label.

Ravensire

And that cycle is essentially "keep it true" heavy metal. Ravensire basically uses twin guitar harmony and riffage combined with a deep, often galloping, rhythm section to create, not merely a heavy sound, but a formidable wall of sound. This is accentuated by mixing tempos from near plodding doom metal to fast and furious speed metal. The final embellishment is massive amounts of bristling and soaring guitar solos. If you love lead guitar, you will dig this album. It's the perfect storm for classic heavy metal, and gives the band this large, even epic, sound without the use of keyboards or orchestration. But your going to need the lyric sheet handy as vocalist and bass player Rick Thor has rough raspy presentation that's not all that clear. It also appears that Ravensire puts some thought into the lyrical concepts. The final three songs, the White Pillars trilogy, has to do with the history of Sintra, a city not far from Lisbon, which has a rich history that dates back beyond the Moors occupation and the Crusades. Bottom line: Ravensire's The Cycle Never Ends is solid and substantial, guitar rich, classic heavy metal and may remind some of Manilla Road, a bit of Jag Panzer, Omen, and early Manowar. Recommended.

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Ravensire's The Cycle Never Ends is solid and substantial, guitar glorifying, classic heavy metal. Recommended.

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