{"id":7618,"date":"2012-01-30T00:00:40","date_gmt":"2012-01-30T00:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=7618"},"modified":"2013-06-01T14:06:20","modified_gmt":"2013-06-01T14:06:20","slug":"album-review-ram-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-ram-death\/","title":{"rendered":"RAM – Death (2012) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

RAM
Death<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nMetal Blade (2012)<\/span>
Rating: 6.5\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Oh come on guys, it just sounds like a doomier Iron Maiden \/ Judas Priest hybrid at every gallop. \u2018Defiant\u2019 marches on that same melody that has made Maiden so huge, and at times so bloody dull. If this album had been released back in the 80s I may have had a different view, having not heard so many similar acts over the last God knows how many years.<\/p>\n

Sweden has been responsible for some good bands over the years, and those who wear their influences on their sleeve have done a pretty good job at bringing the old school style of metal back \u2013 especially sleaze bands Crash Diet and Crazy Lixx \u2013 but after a while this old school styling can really grate.<\/p>\n

This is RAM\u2019s third record, and it takes influence from the already mentioned Maiden as well as Priest, but turns it into bog standard music. It\u2019s very much a denim and leather affair with the typical screams of anguish and formulaic melody, only coming to life when the band inject a few horror style synths and up the tempo into Mercyful Fate and Satan mood. This is particularly evident on the opening combo of \u2018Death…\u2019 \/ \u2018…Comes From The Mouth Beyond\u2019, which features some impressive guitar work.<\/p>\n

I know little of this Gothenburg-based band, and of that I\u2019m glad, so as not to be influenced in my judgement, and I\u2019m sure that those of a beer-swilling, metal-up-your-ass nature will find this rather regressive experience all the more enlightening. However, for me this traditional style of metal has to have a certain quality to make it stand out from the rest, and considering just how many bands at the moment are attempting to bring back old school metal, the scene is becoming saturated.<\/p>\n

All I can really say is thank goodness the original bands are still going, because the last few Saxon releases, and the more recent Malice opus (New Breed Of Godz<\/em><\/a>), are far more accomplished and sincere than this. Oscar Carlquist\u2019s vocals are standard fare, Rob Halford-inspired venom, and the guitars of Harry Granroth and Daniel Johansson enable the band to slip into that NWOBHM feel, but there\u2019s nothing hear that jumps out and grabs me.<\/p>\n

My favourite track is \u2018I Am The End\u2019, with its simmering intro, although \u2018Flame Of The Tyrants,\u2019 which also milks the Priest gun, ups the ante and rages harder despite the fact it was accompanied by a cringe-worthy video to promote it. On this occasion Carlquist is more demonic Axl Rose, and the icy guitars begin to froth.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s pretty much beefcake metal, well produced and nicely executed, and its only aim is to head straight for the jugular. I guess in that respect the album succeeds, but call me old fashioned… I need something more.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RAMDeath Metal Blade (2012)Rating: 6.5\/10 Oh come on guys, it just sounds like a doomier Iron Maiden \/ Judas Priest hybrid at every gallop. \u2018Defiant\u2019 marches on that same melody that has made Maiden so huge, and at times so bloody dull. If this album had been released back in the 80s I may have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,412],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-ram"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7618"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7618\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11981,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7618\/revisions\/11981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}