The fledgling Raven were formed by brothers Mark and John Gallagher, playing their first gig in 1975 while building up a loyal following across the North East of England. Coming to the attention of NWOBHM pioneers Neat Records, a power-trio were formed when John Gallagher on bass and vocals and Mark Gallagher on lead guitar, joined forces with drummer Rob “Wacko” Hunter, releasing debut 45 ‘Don’t Need Your Money’ in 1980, followed by debut LP Rock Until You Drop in 1981. Successfully capturing the energy of their live shows, the album picked up instant champions across the influential UK rock press, rewarding them with key features in Kerrang! and Sounds.These would lead to tours with Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake and Motörhead.

These self-styled “athletic rockers” were a huge influence on future thrash and speed metal bands, such as Slayer, Megadeth and early touring partners Metallica. Becoming a big crowd draw, Raven did what they do best, and hit the road, exemplified by their live album, Live At The Inferno, released in 1984. Their last album for Neat Records before signing a major deal with Atlantic Records in the States, Live At The Inferno cherry picks their biggest hitters from their early 45s and first three Neat albums.

Jumping forwards by more than a decade, Destroy All Monsters: Live In Japan (CD2) was recorded in 1995 at Tokyo’s famed rock venue, Club Citta. Though the set does have a concentration of their early New Wave Of British Heavy Metal days, latter rockers such as ‘For The Future’, ‘Architect Of Fear’ and ‘White Hot Anger’ get a well-deserved airing.

As much as Raven had been a huge influence on the metal and thrash of the 1980s, the roots of the band lay in the classic hard rock and even the heavier end of glam of the 1970s. Raven were able to pay homage to their heroes across eleven cover versions on Party Killers (CD3), including the rock classics ‘Fireball’ (by Deep Purple), ‘Bad Reputation’ (by Thin Lizzy) and finishing off with the ‘Ziggy Stardust ‘classic, ‘Hang On To Yourself’ (by David Bowie).