Concert Review: Raven and Slackjaw at Empire Undergound in Albany, NY.

Mark Kurtzner
Apr 23
5 min read

Updated: Apr 24

Review by John Moore

Photos by Mark Kurtzner

Legendary New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) heroes Raven have been doing it for around 50 years as a band, and have been releasing great, hammering metal albums since their debut “I Don’t Need Your Money” 7” single (on Newcastle, UK label Neat Records in 1980). Their first album, ‘Rock Until You Drop’ (1981) celebrates its 45th anniversary this Fall and was an early precursor to the thrash metal boom that kicked off around 1983. This band brought out now-legendary bands like Metallica and Anthrax on their first US tours in the early-mid 80s, and have been there and done that in every respect – huge underground success, major label record deal, accusations of ‘sellout’ in the mid-80s, answered by a string of heavy, uncompromising records – and after some breaks in activity due to physical injuries, rebuilding the band with a host of recent albums like ‘Metal City’, ‘All Hell’s Breaking Loose’ and newest EP ‘Can’t Take Away the Fire’. This is a band with a glorious and extensive history but not necessarily in Albany, NY: this was their first gig in the Capital District in 9 years, only the fourth show they’ve ever done in the area, and the first time in the City of Albany.

Raven did not come alone. Young South Carolinians Slackjaw have been touring with Raven on this March-May 2026 North American tour. Empire Undergound is the smaller half of the two-venue Empire Live spot, but still a good-sized small club located down an alley underneath a parking garage. You get the feeling that if a nuclear war was going on outside while these bands were playing, you’d neither here nor feel it until you exited the venue. Tonight had a great crowd in for a Tuesday. The age range was across the board, from Slackjaw’s youthful following, to the battle-scarred veteran metallers there to see Raven. The young’uns and greybeards mixed just fine – everyone was there to see heavy music, and no doubt every band that night picked up new fans from some of the other bands’ crowds.

There were two Albany-area support bands, Skull Mason (their second show ever, although you’d never have guessed that - hammering, chugging stuff, highlighted by newest single “Cancerous Hate”) and Deveria, a six-song set from an excellent Albany- area band which was mostly derived from their newest record, last year’s The Final Hour. Both openers went down very well.

Slackjaw have a huge social media presence, and it translated to some very enthusiastic support during their set. They’re a cool, heavy band – great stage presence, on-stage enthusiasm and energy. They’re a new band to these ears, and while I heard comparisons from fellow attendees to Pantera, I heard lots of Prong, Biohazard and some Celtic Frost weaved in there too. “Give ‘em Hell” was a standout. A solid set.

After a short delay Raven hit the stage and did a career-spanning set that checked all the boxes. Brothers John (bass/vocals) and Mark (guitars) Gallagher, with “new” (he’s been there for almost 10 years!) drummer Mike Heller opened the set with new EP title track “Can’t Take Away the Fire” straight into the evergreen “Hell Patrol”, a song from first record ‘Rock Until You Drop’, an immortal headbanger which got a huge response from the old-school faithful. But Raven’s show isn’t a nostalgia trip, as proved by the thrashing 1-2-3 punch of recent material which came next: “The Power”/ “Top of the Mountain” / “Surf the Tsunami”. Of course, vintage standards had to be in there, like the always rousing “Rock Until You Drop”, which was followed by the ever-hammering “Faster Than the Speed of Light”, a song which came from second record ‘Wiped Out’ (1982), and which song, arguably, may well have invented the entire thrash metal genre, along with Accept’s “Fast as a Shark”.

In between those songs was a ripping guitar solo from Mark Gallagher, who all night was stalking the stage like a deranged, recently uncaged animal, and his solo manages to transcend the usual “bathroom song” quality of long instrumental solos, supremely entertaining and skillful, with bits of Raven classics like “I Don’t Need Your Money” and “Stay Hard” mixed in there. Would I have rather heard the entire songs instead of extended solos? Probably. But both Mark and John (who later took a bass solo) are such great players and keep the solo spots so interesting and fun, you can’t get too irked.

But for lifelong fans like this writer, people who have pored over every album, EP and single, and dug into obscure b-sides and compilation-album only songs, it’s about the deep tracks. And Raven did not disappoint in that respect, next unleashing the long- unplayed first-album headbanger “For the Future”, which just crushed live, and even better followed it up with “Pick Your Window”, from the woefully-underrated 1987 album ‘Life’s a Bitch’.

John Gallagher unleashed a howling bass solo next, which led into the rampant “All Hell’s Breaking Loose”, the title track of the band’s 2023 LP. Down the home stretch were the band’s two biggest “hits”, the 1985 ‘Stay Hard’ anthem “On & On”, and 1983 ‘All For One’-era single “Break the Chain”, which saw the crowd down front roaring long merrily, and the band used “Break” as a launchpad into a lengthy jam which incorporated a host of old-school metal standards, including UFO’s “Rock Bottom”, Budgie’s “Breadfan”, Judas Priest’s “Victim of Changes”, Queen’s “Tie Your Mother Down” and Sabbath’s “Supernaut” and “Children of the Grave”. Even if you would’ve preferred some of the band’s own songs, it was hard not to enjoy, and the crowd lapped it up.

Raven wrapped it up fast, heavy and mercilessly, with the rampaging “Chainsaw” from ‘Wiped Out’ – in days of yore, this was always their closing song, but over the years it disappeared from setlists, before returning recently to its rightful place, a killer, headbanging show-ending blast of pure, unadulterated real metal.

Criticisms? Well, the song choice is always the rub – only one song from ‘All for One’ is

puzzling, of course a few more deep tracks in place of a covers jam or solos would be

ideal, and I would’ve loved to hear a few of the lesser-played tracks they sprinkled in

this tour (“Lambs to the Slaughter”, “Crash Bang Wallop!”, “Speed of the Reflex”, “All for

One” or “Seek & Destroy”), but it was a Tuesday and it was a four-band bill, so a longer

set was probably not in the cards. And the band played like demons, with the energy of

men 1/3 their age and the inclusion of “For the Future”, “Pick Your Window” and

“Chainsaw” was glorious indeed. A killer gig.

And of course, Raven are a band of the people, and post-show after a short break came out, talked, took pictures, signed records and posters and just generally hung with fans – this tour lasts into May – go see them if they hit your town!

All hail Raven!