RAM - Death
February 18, 2012, 12 years ago
(Metal Blade)
After a couple of overseas offerings, the Swedish act who spearheaded that country’s retro-revival are widely available, thanks to Metal Blade. The last album, Lightbringer, saw RAM moving away from the fertile ground they originally tilled (perhaps uncomfortable by the plethora of stylistic “squatters”). Said disc was met with all the anticipation of Montezuma’s Revenge and now the Swedish meatballs have cleansed their system and feeling normal. Opening with the proggy synth instrumental title track, it takes a while to get to the good stuff, namely the raw guitar NWOBHM styled ‘Comes From The Mouth Beyond’, a nod to the wild 70s guitar (ala Nugent?), in the form of ‘Release Me’. ‘Defiant’ might have been a B-side from countrymen Wolf, while a drum roll kicks off the rollicking ‘Under The Scythe’, think Metallica’s ‘Hit The Lights’ for a new age. The standout is an old school speedster, ‘Flame OF The Tyrants’, which owes much to JUDAS PRIEST. Elsewhere, there’s a grittier/heavier delivered, proto-thrash/death vox ‘I Am The End’, a plodding ‘Hypnos’, and the closing funeral dirge instrumental ‘1771’, all of which are less enjoyable than the catchy, aforementioned guitar driven melodies. Nice to see them (generally) back on the right path, just hope any damage can be rectified.
