Album
Type: Full Length
Date
Released: 11/07/2014
Label: Self-Released
“Beast Manufacturing” DD track
listing:
1). The Star Spangled Bastard
04:25
2). Sonic Blood 05:00
3). Chariots 04:21
4). Clockstopper 06:07
5). Queen Bee 07:50
Bio:
Not to be confused with The
Ravenna Training & Logistics Facility, The Ravenna Arsenal is a seasoned,
well-oiled, war machine from the overcast lands of Northeast Ohio. Bold riffs,
21,000 plus acres in size, rumble and whirlwinds of magical frequencies sweep
you into another dimension, far away from the objective world.
The Band:
Ken Royer
Aaron Shay
Mike Shea
Bill Govan
Review:
Beginning
with a star spangled banner section under a sample into a vaguely Americana
section, “The Star Spangled Bastard” sets a nice tone for the tracks to follow.
“Sonic Blood” starts with a lurching Queens of the Stone Age style riff. The
lead guitar over the first verse has a really cool druggy country vibe. The
unexpectedly clean bridge is a nice touch as well with some nice subtle female
backing vocals.
The
third track “Chariots” starts with the heavy
bringing some chugging riffing into some nice breaks. Great use of open space
on this track makes the heavier parts that much heavier and breaks the song up
nicely. An unusual track in that it gets progressively less heavy and slower
tempo as it progressesm, definitely some great song writing.
“Clockstopper”
has one of the more interesting opening riffs I've ever heard which sounds
vaguely like Adrian Belew playing doom. The heaviest track on the album you can
tell by the verse it's crushing live. The riffs when the song opens up at
around the 2:20 mark are pretty fantastic with some heavy dirty blues
riffing. The acid-fried country solo in the bridge is pretty slick as well.
Closing with some guitar freakout duelling lead section reminiscent of
Mastodon's oddball track “Bladecatcher”, this is the best track on the album
and the one that showcases Ravenna Arsenal's musicality the best.
The
closer “Queen Bee” starts with some sultry sexy jazz drumming under some nice
70s lead guitar melodies. The second half of the song when the riffing kicks in
is pretty badass and the middle section of the song involves fast subtle riff
variations over some frantic vocals. Transitioning into an open section again
for a big spacey outro bringing a nice close to the album.
The
mix and tones overall are excellent and all instrumentation is clearly audible.
The drum kit in particular sounds excellent and allows the intricacies of the
playing to really shine. “Beast Manufacturing” is a solid effort that deserves
to be heard with a cool blend of art-rock weirdness into groove metal/rock
seamlessly blending styles as diverse as country into sludge rock into an
amalgam of awesome. Get it below.
Words
By: Chris
Tedor
You
can pick up a copy, as a name your price DD here
For more information:
