RAVEN
“Faster Than The Speed Of Light”
Boxed Set Review by Iron Mathew

10/10

Raven are a heavy metal band from the UK, formed in 1974 by the Gallagher brothers John and Mark. The bands first three albums ‘Rock Until You Drop’ (1981), ‘Wiped Out’ (1982) and ‘All For One’ (1983) are quintessential listening, and pivotal in the creation of the iconic NWOBHM sound. Raven spearheaded the movement with bands such as Angel Witch, Diamond Head, Iron Maiden and Saxon – all these bands enjoying a forty plus year career!

In fact, Raven is more like fifty years! An incredible amount of time, placeing the band among some of the worlds greatest performers – Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, and the Rolling Stones just to name a few! And performing live is one of the greatest pleasures that any band can give their fans – two of the three CD’s in this ‘Faster Than The Speed Of Light’ triple CD boxed set showcasing Raven at their devastating best, live on stage!

The first live CD ‘Live At The Inferno’ – originally released in 1984 – cherry picks the bands biggest songs from their first three albums: ‘Rock Until You Drop’ (1981), ‘Wiped Out’ (1982), and ‘All For One’ (1983).

The second live CD ‘Destroy All Monsters Live In Japan’ – originally released in 1995 – was recorded live in Tokyo, featuring many of the bands earliest songs, but also newer ones like ‘For The Future’, ‘Architect Of Fear’, and ‘White Hot Anger’.

The third and final CD in the boxed set ‘Party Killers’ – originally released in 2015 – has Raven paying homage to their earliest influences with cover versions of eleven classic songs from a wide array of bands such as Deep Purple (‘Fireball’), Thin Lizzy (‘Bad Reputation’), Budgie (‘In For The Kill’), Queen (‘Ogre Battle’), and David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust (‘Hang On To Yourself’).

‘Faster Than The Speed Of Light’s two live CD’s coupled with the bands 2019 live release ‘Screaming Murder Death From Above: Live In Aalborg’ gives you an incredible picture of a phenomenal band performing live – on three separate occasions spanning an astounding thirty five years! Raven are one of the greatest heavy metal bands ever, and arguably, one of the earliest pioneers of speed and thrash metal, influencing the likes of Metallica, Megadeth, and Slayer.

So whether you’re an old, young, or new fan of Raven, and want to know the answer to the following two questions – who are the biggest influences/inspirations on the band? And what do Raven sound like live? Then the ‘Faster Than The Speed Of Light’ boxed set will emphatically show you!

Overall, two and a half hours of Raven performing live, plus cover versions of the bands earliest influences – a collection definitely not to be missed.

BOXED SET INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING ALBUMS

CD 1: LIVE AT THE INFERNO (1984)

Intro / Live At The Inferno
Take Control
Mind Over Metal
Crash Bang Wallop
Rock Until You Drop
Faster Than The Speed Of Light
All For One        
Forbidden Planet
Star Wars
Tyrant Of The Airways/Run Silent Run Deep
Crazy World
Let It Rip
I.G.A.R.B.O.
Wiped Out
Fire Power
I Don’t Need Your Money
Break The Chain
Hell Patrol
Live At The Inferno

CD 2: DESTROY ALL MONSTERS LIVE IN JAPAN (1995)

Victim
Live At The Inferno
Crash! Bang! Wallop! 
True Believe
Medley: Into The Jaws Of Death – Hard As Nails – Die For Allah
Guitar Solo
Medley: Speed Of The Reflex – Run Silent, Run Deep – Mind Over Metal
Gimme A Reason
Inquisitor
For The Future
Bass Solo
Architect of Fear
White Hot Anger
Drum Solo
Break The Chain

CD 3: PARTY KILLERS: THE COVERS ALBUM (2021)

Fireball (Deep Purple) 
Bad Reputation (Thin Lizzy)
He’s A Whore (Cheap Trick)
In For The Kill (Budgie)
Is There A Better Way (Status Quo)
Ogre Battle (Queen)
Queen Of My Dreams (Edgar Winter Group)
Too Bad So Sad (Nazareth)
Cockroach (Sweet)
Tak’ Me Bak ‘ome (Slade)
Hang On To Yourself (David Bowie)

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