Ramesses: Possessed By The Rise Of Magik

Combining their retro-doom with some more progressive tendencies, Ramesses have with their previous releases made a pretty impressive fist of putting a new twist on some well worn themes. Creating hypnotic vibes of dense, low slung guitar and ponderous, pounding drums Possessed By The Rise Of Magik continues that journey and while those intentions are to be applauded, it would be fair to suggest that it doesn't all quite come together as seamlessly as would be hoped. Never a genre to be wildly passionate about having the most eloquent of singers, the vocals on PBTROM are just far too out into left field for the music that they attempt to mesh with. Rather than a throaty growl, howling scream, or clean wail. Ramesses have chosen to bring the oddest sounds of vocal pain that leave you wondering if they were intended for the songs they ended up on. Add to that the fact that they are on occasion so deep in the mix that they could have been recorded outside the building where the rest of the session took place and the overall impression isn't exactly favourable. The effect can at times add to the atmosphere of dank despair, but it too often is a distraction that diverts your attention from the music itself.

The songs are solidly constructed and with slightly more variation than this genre often musters, reasonably captivating. The pace remains resolutely slow, but Ramesses do try not to follow the same paths as so many bands in this area of music do, with a hint of melody and guitar lines that aren't afraid to sit proudly, if harshly, out in front of the doom. In fact the long instrumental sections of this album are at times horrifically captivating, with a trance like vibe constantly drawing you back for more. However when the vocals kick back in the effect is completely ruined.

There's still much for Ramesses fans to hold on to here, but with the many and varying roads the band could have chosen to take with this album, the end results are rather disappointing.

Track Listing
1. Invisible Ritual
2. Towers Of Silence
3. Sol Nocivo
4. Plague Beak
5. Duel
6. Safety In Numbers
7. Possessed By The Rise Of Magik

Added: August 6th 2011
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Ramesses MySpace
Hits: 2449
Language: english

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