It's the second time around for RAMESSES, this time with great cover art. One of these songs was on the split CD with NEGATIVE REACTION I reviewed a while ago. Perhaps they took my comments to heart, because this is a marked improvement over the last one. They seem intent on being more melodic this go-round and I like it. The tunes include lots of cool harmonics, and great heavy grooves with nice hooks you can sink your teeth into. Plus, Billy Anderson did some production work on it so you know what that means. I have to say this is the best doom record I've heard in a really long time. Gone are the long drones that made them barely listenable, and in their place are these mammoth expansive soundscapes of near epic proportions. We're talking raw nerve guitars, hornet's nest bass, heavy and pounding drums done with flare, vocals closer to black metal than doom, etc. If this sounds good it's because it is. They even manage to create a few choice moments of creeping sludge that would make the heaviest of heavy blush.

You can't even imagine the raw power this disc contains. The recording has the best blown-out speaker sound ever. It just sounds like everything pushed into the red all at once. A track like "Witchhampton" should be a blueprint for all aspiring contenders. It takes every great moment you could put into this type of music and rolls it into one tight compact ball. I don't recall "Master (Your Demons)" being this heavy and good but damn it is! Maybe it was a crappy recording that weighed them down, but boy this is the shit! It makes me want to throw out 90% of the crap I got that was sludge this past year for review and keep this one. The only thing that's kinda rough is the blast beats (shoulda left them out). I'm at a loss to explain the guitar work. It's almost psychedelic, with that tinny guitar harmonic and a heavy bottom end. The sweet sound brings you in close and then the bottom end smacks you in the face. It's just really exciting to hear a band do this music this way. This appears to be an older release that didn't see the light until some time in 2004. What a shame!

Regardless, all 4 tracks are rippers. Each one heavy as hell and filled with nasty, rockin riffs. You don't deserve this record but I guess they'll give it to you. Maybe you'll learn a thing or two about how to make good music. This is sure to spawn a wave of imitators - all great bands do. Sure, they aren't that original either but for every band that knows how to glean from their influences rather than steal from them there's 100 gomers with guitars ready to sign up to steal from the former. Even a non-believer will have to admit that this is excellent. Buy a copy for everyone you know today.

- Two Tub Tony

OFFICIAL SITE: myspace.com/ramesses666

MP3 SOUND SCRAP: Master Your Demon

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