Ravenlight - End of the World

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Northern Ireland has produced some iconic rock (My favorite is punk legends Stiff Little Fingers) so I was looking forward to hearing symphonic metal band RAVENLIGHT. What I was reminded of was just because they come from the same area doesn't necessarily mean they'll be just as entertaining. RUSH and are from the same general area, but I wouldn't base my life on the lyrics of The Bieb! Justin Bieber

Technically the music is sound, and all my issues with them are by themselves easy to overlook, but together make for an unpleasant experience. Fortunately for RAVENLIGHT they have the fixes in very easy grasp. From the opening song "Words Unspoken" it is obvious that John Connor is a talented musician, but the guitar is the only non-keyboard part of the recording. Why? The electronic bass is fine by itself if needed, like Geddy uses when he's playing “Xanadu” live, but if you're in a studio and a guitar player GET A REAL FRIGGIN' BASS! Same complaint about the drums, bring in your live band if need be. That extra work would have paid off big time.

"The Wild Hunt" was the first time I heard vocalist Rebecca Fenney's true natural voice, during the verse, but for some reason she prefers to use an outrageously high falsetto that robs her of the power she could be having if she wasn't trying to sing operatically. The rest of the EP is more of the same, very artificial and a feeling of trying to force their musical vision from something not capable of producing their true ideas.

In conclusion, I understand that this is basically a demo, so let me offer some advice. Get your live members into the studio and let Mr. Connor to focus more on his keyboard/guitar work (his guitar sound is fantastic!) and learn to use Rebecca's real voice with diaphram. It has more than enough range and the extra power will really make everything pop! The pieces are there, they just need to be properly arranged.

Songwriting: 6
Originality: 6
Memorability: 6
Production: 7