Ravenbanner is a supergroup of sorts, combining the talents of Athalwolf of Wolfnacht, Jarl von Hagall of Der Sturmer, and Saturno of Alastor. Unfortunately, what they've recorded is less than stellar.
I guess I should start off with the good stuff. The drums are really powerful, exhibit a great deal of musical skill, and stand out as clear as day. The croaks are just as powerful and exude a great deal of hate. Finally, I love the cover art. Antichrist Kramer's style is really striking and can grab your attention real easy.
Now we get to the bad stuff, namely the guitars. They go for the simple, lo-fi feel similar to Darkthrone. However, the songwriting and performance is extremely sloppy. Normally, I like the sloppy feel, but these are supposed to be seasoned veterans of the black metal scene. Their performance just sounds amateurish. Not only that, but most of the riffs sound really derivative. Not a single riff got stuck in my head; they're completely forgettable.
The lyrics are completely stock. They're all about Christian killing, wolves, winter, steel, and destiny. Also, their song “White Power Black Metal” is full of unintentional hilarity. There are many reasons why people see neo nazis as a joke. Here's one reason.
The last four songs come from their demo days. They're even worse than the main songs, especially in the drum department. However, I did like those cheesy Super Nintendo-sounding keyboards they used on “Wolf In Dungeon Chapter I”. I guess these songs were put in there as padding because without them, the album would just be twenty three minutes long.
It's a shame the album turned out like this. The members came from several great bands. They should have made something amazing. Instead, they phoned in this amateurish, derivative crap.
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