RAVAGE

It is time again for one of those quintessentially heavy metal albums that any self-respecting fan should have in his/her possession. The album is "The End of Tomorrow", the band is RAVAGE, and the music is American power metal with a traditional bent and a thrash metal aggressiveness. It will in fact end up considered one of the year's finer affairs, especially among the purists.

Perhaps most surprising is that the average age of the members is 24. Then again, maybe it not so shocking in this age of denim 'n leather clad youngsters discovering the golden age of heavy metal. Somebody certainly discovered the mighty JUDAS PRIEST, as indicated by the twin guitar firepower of "The Shredder" and the ace cover of "Nightcrawler". The act's original is pumped with thrash metal muscle that approaches KREATOR killing capacity and a chorus that could have appeared on "Hell Bent for Leather". As for the genuine PRIEST article, "Nightcrawler" is a perfect fit not only for the band's style, but also the flow of the album, even with Al Ravage's mid-range delivery, save for his marginally successful attempt to unleash the Halford scream at the end of the chorus.

"The End of Tomorrow" gives one many reasons to pump a fist and shout along, thanks to the band's melodic sensibility and knack for busting out great riffs. "Freedom Fighter", which appeared on the EP of the same name, is the album's most addictive track with a refrain you'll carry with you hours after the listening session. But RAVAGE also excels in the toughness department. The aforementioned thrash riffs are incorporated in several places, most glaringly on "Damn Nation" (also including those stadium-ready shouts of "Hey! Hey! Hey!") and "The Nightmare's Hold: Part 1". Moving right along, "Grapes of Wrath" comes with another fist-pumper of a chorus — this time with a gang shouted response to Al's lead — that owes a debt to the first METAL CHURCH album (and not because of the "Gods of Wrath" thing),while the title track wraps up the effort with more steel-belted power and a pretty damn good chorus in its own right.

I remember being thoroughly impressed with the "Freedom Fighter" EP, but never got around to reviewing it. "The End of Tomorrow" more than lives up to the promise of that release. Look for this one to be on some year-end lists. Up the irons, rock hard, and ride free.