Raven
Wiped Out

THE REVIEW

'Wiped Out' or in short, how the tried and tested explosive and crazy mix composed by the devastating and "agitated" English trio of the Gallagher brothers continues to hit your eardrums straight on without a moment of respite, moving you uncontrollably.

The energy and adrenaline that flow fiercely from the robust riffs that Mark Gallagher skillfully pours one after the other, creating an enviable unison with the rhythm section of his brother John and Rob, and the shrill and powerful voice of John himself, represent the Raven trademark, comforted by a timeless genuineness and sincerity. In fact, even though it's been 25 years since the release of this second effort, everything about this monstrous creature is still unbelievably powerful, and listening to the record you will have no hesitation in admitting it yourselves, and you'll be amazed and find yourselves arguing how it is humanly possible that a trio can unleash so much vitality.

The solid work done by Wacko on 'Wiped Out' further cements the ideas of the Gallagher brothers and indeed goes hand in hand with their evolution and clear creative-destructive growth. The impression is that the melodic solutions are more considered compared to the spontaneity and expression of their crazy nature that had been 'Rock Until You Drop', trying to control their "hot spirits", even if this takes nothing away from the emotional impact of their offering, which continues to overwhelm like a river in flood. The sum of this is surely in "To The Limit/To The Top", rightly considered a metal classic: a solid expansion of the opening riff that repeatedly gives way to clean, delicate and atmospheric melodic arrangements.

The initial quartet ("Faster Than The Speed Of Light", "Bring The Hammer Down", "Fire Power" and "Read All About It") is a real blow to the teeth, with the sole aim to daze you, strike you mercilessly, firing shards of electricity and madness, the essence of true rock, the dirtiest and hardest kind. The impressive series of killer and frenetic riffs (interesting ones on "Live At The Inferno" and "Star War") which sometimes take on the appearance of real sharp metal rides avant la lettre (as in the aforementioned "Bring The Hammer Down" and "Fire Power" and in "UXB" and "Chainsaw") once again interrupted by the usual breath of oxygen before returning to mosh (the instrumental "20,21") supported by the incessant and precise work of Wacko behind the drums help to bolster the amphetamine rawsound of Raven, made even more damn badass by the usual deranged series of nervous and twitchy vocalizations by John and by some brilliant ideas (see the finale of "Chainsaw").

Before I bid you farewell, a small humble piece of advice: turn up the volume to outrageous levels to scramble your brains well and enjoy like pigs!!!

"Attention! Attention! The area is not completely safe "...

See Ya!