An early and influential band in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement, Raven are a group whose lean, tough sound helped anticipate the rise of thrash metal, though they preferred to describe their energetic and physical sound as "athletic rock," inspired in part by their habit of wearing sports gear on-stage. Emerging in the late 1970s, Raven played with the raw energy and reckless power that epitomized the NWBHM, and rode the crest of that movement with their 1981 album Rock Until You Drop, which is still considered a classic of the genre.
