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Besides the 81 debut "Rock Until You Drop", RAVEN's 87 album "Life's A Bitch" is among my total favourites of the NWoBHM legend. After the flop of "Stay Hard" and "The Pack Is Back", which had been directed towards the American market, RAVEN are back to their old virtues. The trio infernale never could reach their former popularity anymore with this or any of the following albums (their former support bands METALLICA or ANTHRAX had lapped them in success), but musically they've been top again.
"Life's A Bitch" combines the hectic style of the first albums with an a lot straighter feeling for gripping structures. Sounds strange, but is the case here. To compare RAVEN to any other bands is also impossible as the band had its very own, unmistakeable style from the very beginning. Slightly nervous song structures meet simple, but trademark choruses. The typical RAVEN sound should have inspired many US Power Metal bands (comparisons to GRIFFIN, HEXX or ATTACKER are not all that unthinkable).
Songs like the furious opener "Savage And The Hungry" with its insane guitar riffs, the equally strong "Never Forgive", "On The Wings Of An Eagle", starting balladesque, then turning into a hunting rocker, the driving, a bit JUDAS PRIEST reminiscent "Overload" or the enthusing "You're A Liar" with its supercatchy chorus you should have heard to understand what makes a true, timeless sound of steel. (Online June 24, 2003)
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