ALT BLK ERA – “Rave Immortal” album review

On the 24^th of January, Nottingham based nu-metal duo, ALT BLK ERA released their debut album through their hometown label, Earache Records. “Rave Immortal” was announced early last year and there has been a long wait for the record to arrive. Well, waiting’s over and we are sitting down to review it today. I waited a couple of days before penning our own piece as I wanted to see what the general music press had to say. For those who are eager to hear what we think about the album, I’m not going to keep you in the dark – “Rave Immortal” is an excellent debut, very radio friendly, very public pleasing, a fantastic milestone for two young ladies that are breaking all sorts of social barriers.

                         Album cover picture by Dean Chalkley

Official bio: ALT BLK ERA, are genre-smashing UK sister duo Nyrobi (20) and Chaya (17) who are redefining music by fusing Rock with Alt Pop, DnB, Rap and Electronic beats. Hailed as “Ones to Watch 2025” by BBC Introducing, these twice-MOBO Award nominated (2024 and 2025) artists have stormed the UK music scene with standout performances at iconic festivals that include Glastonbury, Download Festival, and Reading & Leeds. The sisters have also garnered rave reviews from the likes of NME, REVOLVER and Kerrang! Magazine. Their debut album Rave Immortal (Jan 2025) has already caught the attention of the Brit Awards and MTV who have featured them across their social platforms. Waterfalled tracks from the album have lit up UK TV, radio, and Spotify editorial playlists and the sisters boast a strong following across their music and social network. Beyond the music, they advocate for hidden disability awareness and inclusivity in the music industry, inspired by Nyrobi’s personal journey – a key theme of Rave Immortal.

Truth be told, “Rave Immortal” is an album that is going to cause a bit of division among fans. Not in a bad way, but I have a feeling that older music fans might not be as ecstatic as the younger generations. It is an album made by two very young girls, for their friends and peers, and it contains everything that Z Gen considers trendy: fast beats, fast tempo changes, multi-genre mash up, crazy hooks and radio friendliness for TikTok headbangers. Every song can be turned into a short dance routine and be live streamed.

When you look at the reviews, the generational divide quickly becomes visible. Gen X’ers tend to give “Rave Immortal” a disappointing 3.5 stars out of 5 on average, younger journalists are way more excited and welcoming, with the majority of their notes oscillating between 4 and 5 stars. There is also a matter of understanding of what ALT BLK ERA are all about, or where musically they come from. While younger writers generally refrain from any comparisons at all, older journalists erroneously link ALT BLK ERA to the likes of Billie Ellish, Ashnikko or even Sabrina Carpenter, despite the band having absolutely nothing in common with those artists. What’s worse, both Billie Ellish and Ashnikko have been accused of cultural appropriation in the past: Billie for copying black artists and Ashnikko (like Gwen Stefani before her) for borrowing from Japanese street asthethic.

                           Rave Immortal session by Dean Chalkley

The latter truly irritates me to no end. I will give you an example. Almost everyone agrees that drum and bass is a big influence on “Rave Immortal”, however, when inspirations are discussed, only white artists are mentioned. I have looked for any references to the drum and bass pioneers such as Goldie or Errol Francis but there are none. Influential women of colour from D&B and jungle scenes (Jenna G, MC Chickaboo for example) are also missing. Who is present? White dudes like Andy C or Adam Fenton. Somehow, a scene created and cultivated for decades by artists of colour suddenly became synonymous with American pop.

This is not my only complaint. While I’m truly happy to see that the band is finally covered by the mainstream music magazines (Clash, NME), the fact that they have ignored them for years previously is not diminishing my anger. If accomplishments are the only way of being featured on covers, as I’m constantly told, then why ALT BLK ERA haven’t been on there two years ago? They have millions of streams on Spotify, 355k monthly listeners, 120k followers on Instagram alone and nearly a million likes on TikTok? Why is it that rich and white acts with a fraction of the girls’ accomplishments were featured there before them, in certain cases, on multiple occasions?

Please excuse my irritation but the obstacles and lack of recognition for artists of colour is hurting our entire industry. This is not limited to music only, either. 16 years ago, David Harewood published an excellent article in the Guardian decrying that British minority actors are forced to immigrate to the US to be taken seriously. Things have improved since then of course, but at the pace of continental drift.

What we have been trying to do at Indieterria, is to give artists from all walks of life, of all ages, from different backgrounds, a platform that would shine a light on what they do. If they are not afraid to break moulds, travel unique paths, or blend genders, we will always feature them. I encourage you to scroll through our archives, ALT BLK ERA graced the pages of our blog many times and you can find valuable information about their beginnings. They are on the rise not because of money or connections, but because they are working hard and people are noticing it.

                                         ALT BLK ERA by Dean Chalkley

So, if you are still reading, thank you. Our articles are more than just reviews, we are trying to place them in a wilder cultural or socio-political context. “Rave Immortal” is a personal record, a diary of some sort describing the girls growing up, learning to make music, and experimenting while dealing with serious illness or alienation.

Where the journalists fail, the band succeeds in every measurable way. “Rave Immortal” is a great debut, probably the best I have heard since “Brutalism” by IDLES and “Dogrel” by Fontaines D.C. It consists of 10 tracks that amount to 31 minute and 30 seconds of music. 5 songs have been released as singles (“My Drummer’s Girlfriend”, “Straight To Heart”, “Come On Outside”, “Hunt You Down” and “Run Rabbit”), the other half are brand new compositions (“Crushing Parties”, “Upstairs Neighbours”, “Come Fight Me For It”, “Catch Me If You Can” and the title track “Rave Immortal”). I really like the 50 % known – 50% new split: it allows their fans to enjoy the tracks they are already familiar with, and pay closer attention to the songs they haven’t heard yet. Those, who are discovering the duo for the first time by listening to the album, you are in for a fantastic ride.

“Rave Immortal” is incredibly well balanced, I cannot point to the strongest or the weakest numbers at all, it’s always a cliche when writers say all killers and no fillers on the album, but in this case it’s simply the truth. Some tracks are standouts not because of a better quality but rather their radio friendliness which these days is greatly valued. The tracks that are super radio friendly were chosen as singles, especially the first one that announced the full album – “My Drummer’s Girlfriend”. The other one is “Rabbit Run”, probably my favourite song on this record, with beats like gold and insanely infectious chorus. “Come On Outside” gets better and better after you put it on repeat. It’s one of those songs that may get overlooked after first listen, but once you get a good look at the composition, it’s probably one of the best. Very layered, grungy, 90’s inspired, with crystal clear vocals and cracking guitars, absolute star of a song. I was a bit surprised that it was not the opening number, but it’s second on the track list so you get to hear it at the beginning, and it really sets the tone for the whole album. “Straight To Heart”, which actually opens “Rave Immortal” is slower, melodic, more electronic, almost dreamy, somewhat ethereal with background rhythm inspired by dreamscape and ambient. I encourage you to see the video to the song that adds more context to the very mature lyrics dealing with loneliness, shame and long term illness. Couple of years ago, Nyrobi was diagnosed with ME, a condition that also affected my husband, rendering him bedridden for 13 years in his teenage years. I know how elusive, devastating and misunderstood this illness can be. Chaya is bravely raising awareness, even becoming a speaker for Attitude is Everything, an organization fighting for better access and more resources for disabled artists.

Another song that I absolutely love is “Upstairs Neighbours”. Fast, gothic, hard hitting, with spoken vocals and bass that can level buildings. This one will be a fan favourite, I can imagine the crowd getting absolutely wild jumping on command. It reminds me a bit of Kris Kross x Willow Smith x Flowdan and it’s brilliant. The biggest surprise of the record? The title track has an euro dance flavour to it, a certain Members of Mayday vibe, especially Marusha. I honestly could sit here and type forever mentioning this and that but you get the picture – I’m completely and utterly in love with “Rave Immortal”.

In short: this record is our album of the month. 5 star rating and a big thank you to Chaya and Nyrobi for everything they do.

You actually brought my faith in the music business back.

Please follow the band online at:
https://www.altblkera.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ALTBLKERA
https://www.instagram.com/altblkera/
https://twitter.com/ALTBLKERA
https://altblkera.bandcamp.com/
https://www.tiktok.com/@altblkera
https://www.youtube.com/c/ALTBLKERA
https://soundcloud.com/altblkera
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4FNR2qdCVKGAep4alfgt25?si=_0Tjd9vtQv24g04ZJlMy8w

Further read:
https://www.nme.com/features/music-interviews/alt-blk-era-interview-rave-immortal-radar-3821123
https://getinherears.com/2025/01/28/interview-alt-blk-era-2/
https://www.noizze.co.uk/alt-blk-era-rave-immortal-album-review/ https://withjustahintofmayhem.blog/tag/alt-blk-era/

Rita Dabrowicz