Raven's Reviews: Rawoil - Last Day

 "Moments before, the end of it all, Last Day is coming, to settle the score"

Tracklist

1. Moments Before... , 0 minutes 26 seconds
2. Overdose, 4 minutes 27 seconds
3. Change, 3 minutes 48 seconds
4. Diagnosis, 0 minutes 27 seconds
5. Incurable, 3 minutes, 10 seconds
6. Sky Burns Red, 4 minutes 16 seconds
7. Trancendence, 1 minute 20 seconds
8. Wonderland, 2 minutes 30 seconds
9. Last Day, 6 minutes 21 seconds
Total: 26 minutes 45 seconds

Rawoil consists of 4 members;
Jere L. - Guitar, Vocals
Sakari H. - Guitar
Miika R. - Drums
Miikka K. - Bass

The thrash bastards from Pentinmaa, Finland have dropped a new, hard hitting album for the pleasure of all of us who love their metal fast, aggressive and chaotic. 'Last Day' is the second full length album from Rawoil, so let's get into it!

'Last Day' was released on November 3rd, 2023

1. Moments Before... , 7.5/10

Moments Before is a fairly standard acoustic intro song featuring a distorted spoken word intro, by composition it is very beautiful and gives a nice slow atmospheric style start to the album, letting us know that our final moments are upon us. 

Verdict: 7.5/10, a great start

2. Overdose, 8.5/10

Opening the album off heavy with the first full track is Overdose, a noisy, chug filled assault on the ears with a bass tone to die for and enough groove to smash through a brick wall, this whole song is just unfiltered, unapologetic riff heaven from start to finish with Jere and Sakari blasting out their heaviest riffs and tastiest licks over the frantic rhythm section of M and M.

The mixing on this song is damn beautiful, hearing it for the first time in Jere's Chevy Shed was an experience that had my eyes wide with surprise, every instrument stands out beautifully in the mix, and the ovrall atmosphere and energy of the playing translates beautifully through.

Not to mention the screams coming straight out of a mental institution.

Jere sounds like a mix of Judas Priest and Stalaggh just belting his voice out into the microphone, giving the song, and in truth their whole discography a very consistent sound.

Verdict: 8.5/10, Groovy, Heavy and Manic, everything Thrash needs

3. Change, 8/10

Though not as heavy as Overdose in my opinion, Change as a song is nonetheless drenched in groove and disgustingly great guitar tone, as well as filled with frantic riffs and a rhythm section that makes an anti-aircraft battery seem like a handgun.

The main riff of the song reminds me a lot of good old Thrash from the 80's with a mix of some 2000's influence and the background lead guitars bring a very Atmo-Black vibe to the playing that I very much like.

Verdict: 8/10, a good modern Thrash song, fitting well into any Thrash playlist.

4-5. Diagnosis / Incurable. 10/10 (Personal Favourite)

Incurable and the interlude leading up to it (Diagnosis) are what I would consider by far the best playing on the album, everything is tight, nasty and best of all, manufactured to make you bash your head along like a nutjob.

Out of all the songs on the album, Incurable has been on loop the most, it has loads of energy and a beautiful rhythm section to make you march along to the whole song. The track reminds me a lot of songs like 'Expendable Youth' by Slayer and 'Down for Life' by Testament, and I feel like anyone in need of good, heavy music for maxing out a personal record at a gym should have Incurable on the list.

And if the listener is has keen ears, towards the end of the song there is the sounds of a heartbeat monitor slowly coming to a flatline to pronounce you, just like the song, as done for.

Verdict: 10/10, the song I'd recommend anyone getting into Rawoil to listen to.

6. Sky Burns Red, 9/10

A song fitting the current situation of the world, Sky Burns Red is as some could guess by the title alone, a song about war, with the situation right now in Ukraine and what's happening in the Gaza strip, this song was released at an eerily apt time. According to Jere, the song was written shortly before the war in Ukraine kicked off.

Nonetheless the song is filled to the brim with great riffs and melodic parts reminiscent of Death, if I could say so, fitting right up the alley of the Godfather of Death Metal, Mr. Chuck Schuldiner (Rest in Peace).

Composition wise, Sky Burns Red sounds and feels like being forced to watch as cities get flattened and ruined by nonstop bombardment and shelling. Riff after riff the song just gets more and more dreadful and hard hitting, not slowing down for long periods of time or wasting any precious seconds to let you get your attention away.

Verdict: 9/10, for anyone who likes bands such as Havok or Warbringer, this song is right up your alley.

7. Trancendence, 7/10

Going off the acoustic riff that can be heard in the opening song 'Moments Before...'

Trancendence expands on the atmosphere of what the intro beautifully showed us and leads us down the rabbit hole, into the next song on the list.

8. Wonderland, 9/10

It's not often when I hear a band sound so similar to Testament that it makes me wonder if the rifflord that is Eric Peterson himself is behind the train that is the chugging guitars. Wonderland is full of riffs that belong straight into a 'The Gathering' demo collection, which I personally love.

Though Wonderland is a very short song, it does a great job of getting the listener hooked right from the get-go, starting with a beautiful groove before descending into madness that will leave anyone who loves the manic sound of Rawoil smiling like Chesire the Cat. (puns intended)

Jere, vocally on this song sounds the closest to what I think someone who escaped from Arkham Asylum would sound like if instead of crime, they picked up the guitar and microphone, demented screaming and shifty eyes all around.

Verdict: 9/10, If you don't like this song, Off with your Head!

9. Last Day, 9/10

Drawing straight out of the books of bands such as Sentenced, Amorphis and Trio Niskalaukaus, the final song and title track for the album is as tough as nails and hard as bedrock. Having the pleasure of hearing this before release and talking to Jere, he described this song as the band's "Epic" like that of Väinämöinen, and I would 100% agree.

Last Day is almost 7 minutes of the best riffage and groove that Rawoil can pour into a single song, featuring a solo from both guitarists and by far the most complex drummage from Miika that left me in awe upon first listen, from start to finish the song gets better and better, and with each listen you can unpack more and more layers off the song. This song if any, I would love to see performed live.

And a nice little detail for those who listened to the album front to back more than once, Last Day ends perfectly so that it goes into 'Moments Before...' creating a loop of the album, telling the story over and over.

Verdict: 9/10, fitting of the description of the band's "epic"

Overall the album is a great full-length sledgehammer of a Thrash release, I was very excited to get to make a proper review of it, and now that everyone in the public eye can experience the manic, tight playing of Rawoil, I'm glad to shine some eyes on them some more!

Verdict: 9/10, one of the better modern Thrash albums to date in my books without question.

Links
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