The Raven Age

Your latest album ‘Blood Omen’ is out now and was produced by Matt Hyde (Slipknot, Machine Head, Bullet For My Valentine). How did you want to approach the making of this album and did you have a particular process?                                                                          

We actually decided to originally go with a different producer as we’ve worked with Matt on our other releases and thought that it would be a good move to “progress our sound”. But after trying this out we realised that we’d lost the sound that we’d created together with Matt and decided to stick with him.                                                                                   

Earlier this year you supported Iron Maiden in Europe. How did that opportunity arise and do you have any interesting/memorable or funny stories from the shows?                           

We’ve played with Maiden a few times now. There’s obviously the family connection if you didn’t know already and we also share the same booking agent which makes things easier.

We had a blast touring with them, it’s not an easy spot as maiden fans are notoriously tough to please but I think we went down pretty damn well. Our first show in Ljubljana was memorable/funny in hindsight but a nightmare for us at the time. We spent a long time preparing for that tour and at the first show all of our equipment decided to go wrong. The stress that caused was insane, we managed to pull it back but my god was that not an ideal start to a tour!                                                                                                                               

Do you have any favoured stage instruments/effects/pedals?                                                  

Tommy and I used a particular pedal on the Blood Omen album for all of the solos and lead parts called Vanilla Sky by MLC. We’ve now made a collaboration with them and have our own ‘The Raven Age’ pedal which we use in our live rigs. The pedal is being released on 7th Nov as it happens to be mine and Tommy’s birthday.                                                                

You will be embarking on a headline UK and European Tour in the Autumn. How are you feeling about the shows and what can people expect?                                                              

The tour has been incredible so far! We have 3 sell out shows with a few very close behind. The vibe has been great, crowds have been insane. Fans crying in the audience which is very humbling to see. Can’t wait for the Paris show it’s going to be one to remember, especially with our pals Disconnected who are from France.                                                     

What was the inspiration/story behind the track ‘Nostradamus’?                                             

This is obviously based on the French astrologer. It’s a song MJ wrote and he had the concept up his sleeve for a while. I think it’s a cool thing when you come across a subject that gets you excited an interested. As soon as you get that spark of inspiration you know you’re into a winner.                                                                                                                  

On the album you also worked with noted British cellist arranger Audrey Riley (Foo Fighters, Muse, Coldplay) at the ICMP [Institute of Contemporary Music Performance] studios in London. What track/s was she involved with and what was that experience like for the band?                                                                                                                               

That was a really great experience for us. She’s a true professional and it was eye opening seeing her go to work on the songs. I think she worked on every song on the album apart from War in Heaven. It was just nice to have a different perspective on the songs and have someone with her experience add in what we wouldn’t have thought of to the songs.           

What makes The Raven Age happy and what makes you unhappy? 

I can’t think of what makes us unhappy as an entire band. Touring is not easy so everyone has their shit they go through, it’s tough to make everyone happy 24/7 but I think we do a pretty good job generally. 

 

We’re happiest as a band when we’re creating. That could be music, artwork, music videos, putting on a live show… anything related to TRA that involves the challenge of making something new. May sound generic, but connecting with our fans at headline shows…there’s no better feeling.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Photo Supplied By Chuff Media                                                                                            The Raven Age’s latest album ‘Blood Omen’ is out now Sony Music/Music For Nations.