Rod is the fifth full length studio release from Gothenburg's classic heavy metal veterans Ram (get it, Ram-Rod?), and once again sees the band delivering some mighty fine music that will take you back to the glorious early '80s when the US, Scandinavian, and British scenes were really thriving. The current line-up for Rod consists of:
Oscar Carlquist: Vocals
Morgan Pettersson: Drums
Harry Granroth: Guitar
Martin Jonsson: Guitar
Tobias Petterson: Bass
With a highly capable twin guitar team, powerful rhythms, and the soaring vocals of Carlquist, Ram bust out of the gate here with "Declaration of Independence", a potent opener with riffs aplenty that result in a pure headbangers delight. Powerful drum barrages drive the raging "On Wings of No Return", complete with sizzling lead guitar work, which is followed by the melodic, galloping sounds of "Gulag", the second of two 7+ minute songs on the album. After the pummeling, near thrash attack of "A Throne at Midnight" comes the six part epic "Ramrod the Destroyer", and it's here where Ram pulls out all the stops and lets some of their progressive nature come out of hiding. If you loved the early work of Fates Warning, you'll really enjoy this multi-part suite, which goes from moody & atmospheric to pulverizing cascades of complex riffs and earth shattering vocal displays.
Easily the most mature and fully realized recording of their career, Rod is an absolute winner from Ram and a CD that should be on every classic metal fans radar here as we close out 2017.
Track Listing
- Declaration of Independence 7:12
- On Wings of No Return 3:55
- Gulag 7:20
- A Throne at Midnight 4:42
- Ramrod the Destroyer, Pt. 1: Anno Infinitus 2:11
- Ramrod the Destroyer, Pt. 2: Ignitor 7:47
- Ramrod the Destroyer, Pt. 3: The Cease to Be 5:51
- Ramrod the Destroyer, Pt. 4: Voices of Death 1:13
- Ramrod the Destroyer, Pt. 5: Incinerating Storms 4:33
- Ramrod the Destroyer, Pt. 6: Ashes 2:11
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