Originating in Milton Keynes in the United Kingdom, RavenEye functioned as an English rock trio that fused garage rock with blues and blues-rock textures. Esteemed blues musician Oli Brown assembled the group after stepping away from his solo career to pursue a harder-edged rock & roll and garage rock direction still marked by familiar blues contours. Drawing from the early work of Black Sabbath and Queens of the Stone Age, Brown began sketching and tracking ideas on guitar, bass guitar, and drums in early 2014, laying down the initial versions of the band’s material himself. Though initially concerned that the direction was “too dark and heavy,” he continued and identified promise in one emerging piece that became “Breakin’ Out.” Bass guitarist Aaron Spiers and drummer Kev Hickman joined to supply the live rhythm section, rounding out the hard rock trio. Once formed, the band quickly took the songs on the road, supporting Joe Satriani and later co-headlining U.K. dates with Swedish rock band Blue Pills. By then “Breakin’ Out” had surpassed 100,000 SoundCloud plays in under a month, prompting a return to the studio. Brown enlisted guitarist and singer/songwriter Anders Osborne to produce the first official release; Osborne urged him to develop the ideas that sat further from his blues roots. The resulting Breakin’ Out EP appeared independently in late 2015 and earned warm praise along with widespread acclaim. RavenEye sustained momentum with live dates supporting Deep Purple and Slash in late 2015, followed by their own nationwide headline tour in early 2016. The remainder of the year was devoted to writing and recording the debut full-length album. Hickman departed that year, with Adam Breeze announced as the new drummer in August 2016. Frontiers Records issued the album Nova in September 2016, again to glowing reviews.
