Album: "Pheonix" (2000)
Label: Metropolis Records
Style: Synth-pop
Songs: 10

Reviewed by: Darklight

I really enjoyed Ravenous’ previous release “No Retreat And No Surrender”. However, due to its rather large amounts of genre mixing, I did end up losing interest in it quicker than expected. This release is much more focused, and feels consistant from start to finish. Basically, the band sticks to clean and polished melodic synth-pop music here. The heavy industrial and EBM styles from the past no longer make an appearance thus allowing for a much more coherent recording.

The band has matured and put together quality well rounded song structures with both driving beats and melody. The vocalist has also improved experimenting less with different singing styles, and sticking to more of a deep clean serious delivery that blends rather well with the music offered here.

The first thing that you will notice is that the electronic programming sounds very similar to both Fictional and Funker Vogt. The reason for this is because Gerrit Thomas does the programming for this band. So it’s safe to say that if you like the music of Fictional and Funker Vogt, you will also like the music of Ravenous. Just keep in mind that Ravenous is the most tame and mellow of the three projects delivering more harmony and less frantic electronic sounds.

This album starts off mid-tempo and melodic, and continues down this same exact path until it ends. There are a couple of occasions when the songs have more energy and clubfloor potential, but not enough to satisfy a rivethead such as myself.

Basically, this album is packed with songs that have a lot of melody and harmony. This is clean and polished synth-pop music with uplifting atmospheres. This is more laid back music for those relaxing moments when you just want to listen to something more pleasant.

The electronic programming, synthscapes and vocals blend together perfectly. There are a lot of interesting electro sounds always playing over well composed synths and hard driving beats. The singer has a good voice, and sings well with a lot of passion and emotion.

The problem that I have with this album is that all of the songs basically sound the same. While their previous release had too much variety, this CD doesn’t have enough. Each song here basically plays at the same mid-tempo pace, and the verses and chorus’ are very similar on each track. So while the lyrics change for each song, the actual songs themselves don’t seem to change a whole lot. There really are no hits on this recording. Everything feels and sounds the same. So while this isn’t a stellar album, it’s still well done enough to please synth-pop music fans.

Album: "No Retreat And No Surrender" (1998)
Label: Zoth Ommog
Style: Industrial / Synth-pop
Songs: 14

Reviewed by: Darklight

This is a very talented band. They are extremely skilled individuals that deserve to have their music heard on a large scale. The reason is that they are smooth and polished and deliver a wide variety of different styles of music. Each song sounds completely different from the next. You cannot compare any of these songs to each other. They all have their own style to allow them to stand out. Not only do they sound diverse, but they are of a very high quality. The music is performed to perfection, and the singer has so much range to his voice that it's simply incredible. What you are given here includes techno dance, electro industrial, heavy industrial, synth-pop, etc. The layering to the music is unmatched. Combine electronic sequencing, drum programming, synths, sampling, piano, guitars, acoustic instruments and various other sounds and elements together and you get the extremely full music delivered here. Then bring in a singer that is able to change is vocal style on every track. The guy can sing melodically, softly, carry a tune, rap, shout, yell, scream and rage at any given time. I don't really know of any other singer that has so much range to their voice. Some songs are dark, some are beautiful, some are uplifting and some are humorous. You get it all here. If you like electronic music of any kind, this album has it. By the way, there is not one instumental here. Most of the tracks are energetic and could work out on the dance floor. They are packed with energy, passion and emotion. This is very artistic and creative music that should not be missed by anyone into any electronic style of music. This is a must for your collection