History & Biography Raunchy from Copenhagen, the capital of the Kingdom Of Denmark, could be dismissed as irrelevant to metal fans owing to the groovy, keyboard-oriented, mallcore-ish and alternative forays the band so likes. It must have been a steady diet of SYL or Fear Factory. Then again there is some metal in there and here they are.
The band was founded in 1994 and issued a demo called Parental Advisory Space Lyrics a year later. An album took even longer and came out in 2001. Shows with The Haunted and Withering Surface followed. The band appeared on the Danish National radio to play its version of an X-mas song. Nuclear Blast, which had had a distribution deal with Drug[s] distributed an EP called Confusion Bay in 2004. The full-length of the same name followed. The next one was on Lifeforce however. Death Pop Romance featured Kasper Thomsen on vocals. Illdisposed drummer Thomas Jensen inexplicably sat out the band’s shows for June and July 2010 and was temporarily replaced by Morten Toft Hansen. Singer Kasper Thomsen sat out the act‘s European tour with Sybreed and Threat Signal “for family and personal reasons.” He was temporarily replaced by Travis Neal from Divine Heresy.
The band switched to Massacre Records for Vices.Virtues.Visions., which meant less publicity, less promotion and less visibility for the band anywhere outside a Rock Hard magazine. Mike Semesky was on vocals. The band went on hiatus.
Raunchy was recording a new album in 2021. The band was booked at the Næstved Metalfest 2022.
Reviews RAUNCHY - VELVET NOISE - DRUG[S]
There is no question that a velvet noise is music that seeks to answer Fear Factory with a European slant. This is why Raunchy's delivery is dominated by a mechanical and disciplined delivery accompanied by ambient rhythms and passages, the occasional trip hop sample and a singer who titillates between the morose and aggressive. There is no question that Raunchy employs very effective melodies which affect the mood in a haunting way. That being said, the album's fault is one common to this type of band. The drum machined industrial tendencies and accessible elements work against the intensive emotion prerequisite for a work of high art. Fans of Fear Factory, Tiamat and even Meshuggah may well find much here that is appealing. This, especially more so, given the aforementioned potent melodies which seemingly come easily to Raunchy. Metal fans will have to fight the nagging feeling that the Danes are better-suited to the Roadrunners, Edels, Kerrangs and Ozz Fests of the world as opposed to a metal-related forum.
RAUNCHY - CONFUSION BAY - NUCLEAR BLAST
The words energy and keyboards do not go together as far as music is concerned. Therefore faced with Raunchy and their claims to be strong, to combine power and anger one must question the accuracy of such assertions. Raunchy's sophomore album combines the tested sounds of Fear Factory with the likes of Korn, especially in Watch Out, and Type O Negative in The Devil, a European influence briefly sneaks in on the opener Join The Scene, that reminds one of Kreator's Renewal for a few short seconds before falling back into a heavily Fear Factory-influenced, albeit Scandinavian sound. The recently departed Lars Vognstrup doesn't help in strengthening the sound with his vocal delivery and the band tends to overuse that thoroughly non-energetic instrument, the keyboards. Anna Tergel
RAUNCHY - DEATH POP ROMANCE - LIFEFORCE
Why the good editor and knight of the towers, Metallian himself, has given me this disc to review is a topical question. More importantly for our readers though, what is this band doing being played back at Metallian Towers?
The Raunchy album is indeed Death Pop Romance. Let me explain.
'Death' refers to the demise of my brain cells after being exposed to this pathetic album filled with silly influences from Soilwork, In Flames and Fear Factory.
'Pop' refers to the many choruses reminiscent of the Back Street Boys. The vocal harmonies and danceable synthesizers are nothing if not fit for a discotheque. Never mind the mindless screaming, the samples or the triggered drums.
'Romance' refers to the labels that keep signing this band hoping for some lovely money. These companies are living the myth. It sounds commercial (see above), but which metal fan would touch this with a ten-foot pole? Pop fans are too busy with Cold Play, which rather leaves Raunchy in a tight spot. What is it, three albums on three labels so far?
This takes me to another point. There is little here that is raunchy. It certainly is not in the band’s music. It is time for a reality check, boys. - Anna Tergel
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