The Raven Age have shown they are excellent ambassadors for a new generation of British metal acts. Founded in 2009 by George Harris (son of Iron Maiden chief Steve Harris) and Dan Wright, this melodic metal band stands for contemporary and melodic metal. They released their self-titled debut EP in 2014, resulting in support slots for the likes of Mastodon and Tremonti. In 2016 they opened for Iron Maiden on their Book of Souls world tour. The following year they released their full-length debut, ‘Darkness Will Rise’: melodic, epic and dynamic but at times also fast-paced and abusively heavy. They made a lasting impression at three consecutive editions of GMM (2016-2018) and since then they’ve released their sophomore effort ‘Conspiracy’ (2019), with shorter tracks but similar history-themed lyrics, and ‘Blood Omen’ (2023), their most rounded effort yet that sees them perfecting their recipe of genuine heavy metal with commercial appeal. ‘Blood Omen’ is a good place to start exploring their music, or you can spin ‘Exile’ (2021), which contains acoustic versions of previously recorded material as well as four blistering live recordings. #GMM25
