14 new Raven songs (although they debuted a couple on the road, late last year) and the ‘Malice In Geordieland’ extra, on the physical product. For uninitiated (are there any left, after the brothers Gallagher's 41 years of service?) the opening ‘Destroy All Monsters’ (one of the in-concert teasers!) begins with a barrage of noise, ultimately locking into John's pounding bass and wild vocal yelping, punctuated by Mark's guitar, before ending in another scraping metal-on-metal noisefest. Don't know about you, but I don't want Raven writing conventional songs, keep it metal! That said, got to think ‘It's Not What You Got’ is the sort of tuneful material the band were trying to pull off during the ill-fated Atlantic days. Here it works, thanks to the agrro, true metal undercurrent. By contrast, ‘Fight’ is a wild guitar ride, more in the 'Crash Bang Wallop’ tradition. Guitar shuffle chugging like a locomotive, ‘Battle March Tank Treads (The Blood Runs Red)’ sees John's voice (delightfully) flying off the rails.

Could have pruned a few musical limbs, in order that the others grew stronger (candidates? ‘One More Day’ and ‘River Of No Return’ probably should have rotted on the vine). ‘Thunder Down Under’ is an ode to AC/DC vocalist Bon Scott, utilizing old song titles in the lyrics. The cash infusion from SPV will surely help support the next tour (overseas dates already announced), enabling them to once again play the classics and a few newbies. That's a good thing!