RAMESSES - Possessed by the Rise of Magik CD review

RAMESSES - Possessed by the Rise of Magik CD
Ritual Productions
Genre: Doom
Rating: 5/5

The more I listen to RAMESSES the more I look at drummer Mark Greening and guitarist's Tim Bagshaw's former band, ELECTRIC WIZARD, as boring especially if you consider that turd from 2010 Black Masses. Last year's Take the Curse full length proved without a doubt (unless you're a hipster tool) that RAMESSES were the better act of the two. I wasn't expecting anything from them this soon except for their Chrome Pineal EP which came out a little while back. Possessed by the Rise of Magik is not one for simple head bobbing stoners to rock in their over-stuffed easy chairs too. This is a bad acid nightmare which will have you feeling like a psychotic giant is crushing you with it's size 113 inch boots all the while mocking in delight. The earlier mentioned duo plus Adam Richardson, bass and vocals, have pushed themselves out of the doom well to a more experimental level. First thing you notice on here is how on some cuts Richardson howls and croons like he's David Yow on a methadone bender. If you're into the band's previous works then this might throw you for a loop especially if death growls is all you favor. Personally in my not so humble opinion I liked it from the onset. It's just another of many more musical dynamics employed on here that adds a new dimension to RAMESSES which if you payed attention to their previous works you knew they had coming.

The opener "Invisible Ritual" crushes for the most part with some exceedingly aggressive sounding riffs by Bagshaw which then takes on an atmospheric tone as the solo carries you along. Richardson's vocals echo in and out of it like a maniac off his meds. "Towers of Silence" is an ominous doom epic with Richardson's painful sounding echo vocals and then blackened harsh shrieks start bouncing off walls of monolithic guitar crunch. The sound of a air raid siren starts "Sol Nocivo" off only to succumb to a dirgey guitar driven crawl with Greening sounding like he's included pots and pans to bang on. The cut has a depressive black metal ambiance to it. If you crank this one up it's as if Richardson is in the next room dying, for nine long minutes to boot. "Plague Beak" is like a summoning of some sort of beastly entity which harking back to previous RAMESSES works. The song drones on till mid-point when Bagshaw starts torturing his guitar in order to achieve the exact painful notes. Richardson ends things with a spoken word recital like a priestly figure giving the final commencement. "Duel" slowly builds from a haunting dirge to gothic horror and finally reinforced into a death doom nightmare. The next cut "Safety in Numbness" follows a similar vein as "Duel" in that the gothic tones return but in a more post punk atmospheric vibe. This lasts for the majority of it until the closing when Bagshaw breaks out the heavy chords.

The title cut which closes this release is the only casualty of all on here. The over eleven minute cut is haunting early on with an almost BAUHAUS approach running throughout but ends up in complete destruction. Possessed by the Rise of Magik is definitely a huge experiment for these Brits. I can see some people not getting it at all. The gothic post punk influences alone will tear at some traditionalists but hey I can say the same for when some acts go all hippie or progressive. You won't be knocked over like you were with last year's Take The Curse or their 2007 debut Misanthropic Alchemy. But then that's the way it should be some of the time. It's not like RAMESSES is departing from their sonic audio barrage nor is it like when PARADISE LOST turned into DEPECHE MODE for a few releases. The bottom line is that this release drags you down into a pit of unforgiving doom which some losers will be lucky to escape from. Thankfully I can dance around the edges while this blasts away. Enjoy it at the risk that you just might understand whatafuck is going on. Besides since when is doom suppose to make you happy.

Label: http://www.ritualproductions.net/

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/ramesses666