(((((OPENmind/SATURATEDbrain))))): RAVIN

Sunday, 18 May 2014

RAVIN

Band: RAVIN

Genres: Punk / Hardcore / Post-Hardcore / Screamo / Powerviolence
Related artists: N/A.
Country: Perpignan, FRANCE
Years Active: 2013-present
Song: "Mercy Brown"
Album: "Ravin"
Year: 2014
Label(s): Self Released / Zegema Beach Records
This post's artist is from the May 2014 Mix. This is track #21.
You can download the May 2014 Mix#5 right here or get the new June Mix#6 here.
For fans of: State Faults, Cassilis, Young Mountain, Smile To The Wind aka Улыбайся Ветру, Carrion Spring, Foxmoulder, Nous Etions, Black Kites, Callow, Loma Prieta, Frameworks, Voyage In Coma, Itto, Storm(O), Youth Funeral, Jungbluth, Alpinist, Orchid, You And I and The Setup aka PROPER Screamo.

RAVIN sent me their stuff about 2 months ago. When bands send me their songs not many make it onto this particular blog (I have the OMSB-Talent page located here for the majority of stuff) but as soon as I heard this band I knew I was lucky enough to have stumbled upon something special. The band's debut cd is all made by the band. The packaging is diy and actually quite beautiful, although a lyrics are not included. (*note: lyrics ARE included)

But what do they sound like? That's pretty simple, they sound like Smile To The Wind and Carrion Spring but harder and with deeper vocals. The instrumentation is very similar to Smile To The Wind in the fact that it is fast, technical and punishing. The songs themselves rarely eclipse a minute and a half in length and don't contain any slow or pretty jams. The vocals remind me of a screamier version of Nous Etions that is placed with hella precision and ends up being catchier than most bands who play style. The track "Portraits" is an explosive song that showcases the vocals and powerful nature that band embodies - and by such a young band. I'm sure after a few listens you'll be singing along with "I don't know why / you're never coming back / and every single night / I wait to listen / to your whispers in my ears". Another fantastic song is "Sinking Ship" which has a killer off-kilter solo at the 20-second mark and then leads into more great vocal work "If this ship is going down, I will sacrifice / for the cowards / for every one of them" before bringing in a hectic breakdown and ending at 1:01. Lastly, "Mercy Brown" is probably the band's most accessible number and is reminiscent of newer screamy hardcore bands with more melody than power such as State Faults and Frameworks, and is arguably the band's best song. There's also an instrumental interlude and an outro song that both sound like something Hot Cross would have done but simpler.

My only complaint is that the some of the songs kind of run together and could use a little more variation to help differentiate the tracks. Grab their album from bandcamp or buy it from Zegema Beach Records here, as of this post I still have 3 or 4 copies left and I'm pretty sure they're the only ones in North America. The packaging, as described before, is diy and the you get a hand-numbered copy /100 cut into the cd sleeve with a knife. Cool. I think I'll be involved with their next record but it certainly isn't set in stone.

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DISCOGRAPHY

2014 - Ravin cdLP (stream here, buy here)

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(2014) RAVIN - "Mercy Brown" (from 'Ravin')