The Raven Age: Escaping Exsilium
There have been many words used to describe how imposed lockdowns and quarantine sessions have felt like. Not all of them bear repeating, but we’ve come across one particular word which sums it up perfectly. Being ripped away from the stages you call home and forced to stay somewhere almost unfamiliar to you is similar to being exiled. The conditions of this banishment are different, granted, but that feeling of isolation and emptiness is no joke. In part, this notion is the reasoning for THE RAVEN AGE titling their interim album Exile.
Prior to the world coming to a halt in Spring of 2020, this British metal act were beginning to see the fruits of their labour. Fresh from a supporting slot with ALTER BRIDGE and SHINEDOWN in late 2019, this band of merry men set off to the US, ready to embark on their first headlining shows in the land of opportunity. Guitarist George Harris soon tells us the devastation the pandemic wrought; “The day before our New York show, the plug got pulled and we were flown home.”
Faced with a period of uncertainty, THE RAVEN AGE found themselves losing motivation and, for a small period, contact with one another. “For a good few months, motivation was through the floor and it was like ‘what’s the point in doing anything?’” he says. Noticing a huge crash in morale within the band, conversations around making new material began to surface. Resulting Exile isn’t a collection of entirely new material. Branded an “interim project”, the album features two new tracks, four live songs, and five pieces of reimagined material. Fans expecting a traditional album from THE RAVEN AGE with thick riffs and metal vibes are in for a surprise when they discover Exile is an acoustic record in majority.
“Exile was something we always spoken about doing but never really had the time to get stuck into,” George explains. Carrying acoustic guitars with them on tour often called for impromptu jam sessions. This “noodling around” soon turned into a half an hour acoustic sets in South America when the band had days off from tour. “We developed a few songs through those sets and thought we should take things further,” he tells us. From there, with the addition of orchestral sections and piano compositions, Exile was born.
With two albums worth of material from Darkness Will Rise (2017) and Conspiracy (2019), THE RAVEN AGE weren’t starved for choice when it came to which songs to reinvent. Some choices were easier to make than others. An example of this being Behind The Mask. The original was the closing track to Darkness Will Rise meaning it didn’t feature two of the band’s current members. “It didn’t have MJ [Matt James, vocals] on it or Tony [Maue] playing the guitar,” George comments. “It’s quite an epic song, very melody based and we thought it’s a good one to showcase MJ’s vocals.” With this and Dying Embers, THE RAVEN AGE are tying their past and present together with Exile. When we put this to George, it was a reflection he was keen to look into; “No disrespect to Mike [Burrough, previous vocalist] but I feel like we’ve really found our groove with us five now,” he states.
Following in the veins of LINKIN PARK’s Reanimation, THE RAVEN AGE could have simply stuck to reimagined material. The two new tracks, No Man’s Land and recent single Wait For Me, added some much wanted freshness. Not just for the band but for the fans also. “We really wanted to look after our fanbase,” George starts. Throughout the pandemic, the band saw their streaming numbers for Conspiracy continuing to climb. New fans were discovering the band through the likes of YouTube and Spotify. This then lead to constant social media engagement. “It really did keep us alive and we wanted to give them new tracks to get their teeth into as a thank you,” he finishes.
It seems coincidental an album called Exile would have themes of revolution and escaping war torn situations – because it is. “It’s funny, I didn’t think about that until you mentioned it,” George chuckles. There is no song more telling than Fireflies. While the flamenco style guitars distract from the soundscape slightly, there is no denying “maybe they’ll spare us our lives” pertains to escaping peril. With current events in Afghanistan, this song is more poignant. “It touches a bit of a nerve with myself when I read about that,” he says. “That’s what I look to when trying to get influence for music. Something that makes me feel something.”
The horizon sees a slew of live dates for THE RAVEN AGE. As well as their headlining UK tour in December, a slot on the main stage of next year’s Download Festival awaits them. Having played the festival three times already, the magnitude of opening the Saturday isn’t lost on this guitarist. “Download is sacred ground,” George beams. “I’ve been going to the festival since I was 16 when touring schedules have allowed me to. I just love it there!”
Escape now pending, what is THE RAVEN AGE taking away from this? “If anything, it brought us together,” George comments. “We believe in this band enough to do this and we still want to do it.” With almost 18 months served time, THE RAVEN AGE is free to go.
Exile is out now via EX1 Records.
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