Eric Raven Releases Debut Album The Shape of Pain

A cobra sways from side to side, hypnotizing its prey with a menacing glare, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. In his debut album The Shape of Pain, New Jersey based artist Eric Raven assumes the guise of the cobra, while the listener is his unknowing prey.

The opening track, “Ascension (The Gate)”, starts the album off with a hypnotic techno rhythm lulling the listener into a trance, when midway through the track Raven strikes with his hardcore screams shocking his startled prey. On “Anointed”, Raven changes the mood from the opening track. It starts off with a haunting, eerie tone that would feel right in place at a Goth club or in a movie like Queen of the Damned. Similar to “Ascension (The Gate)” it follows up the intro with a blast of hardcore. The track is a sign of the diversity that is yet to come with the album.

Raven hits the brakes with the next two songs. “Substance” is the album’s longest song at just over 4 minutes while “Chance for Absolution” is the shortest at just over one minute. Both songs are slow tempo with clean vocals. The latter has a Lennonesque vibe to it. After the short clean interlude, Raven wastes no time heading straight back to the hardcore with “Afterglow” and “Safeword”.

The album closes out with “Left Hand Path”. Raven reflects, “Hopefully the listener can see that taking the ‘left hand path’ – a no-limit, all-pleasure approach at dealing with your issues – could result in an unwanted outcome. For me that path was alcohol,” shares Raven on the new track. “I had been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and coped with my issues by drowning them in booze – it didn’t help and only made me run faster from the trauma I wasn’t ready to face. I will be four years sober this January and could not have done it without my support circle. “

Eric Raven’s debut album shares his battle with alcohol addiction, anxiety triggers, and urges listeners to lean on their support systems when needed. It is a combination of multiple genres including techno, industrial, hardcore, and punk which will keep listener on their toes. The Shape of Pain is out on January 13th.

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www.onlyravens.com
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www.youtube.com/channel/UCipwANLBRu1nimF_IyuAOEg

Post by Scott Raymer (Website | Instagram | Facebook)

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