Ramesses - Baptism of the Walking Dead EP (2009)

The fraternity of Electric Wizard alumni strikes yet again with a quality short player sure to darken your afternoon, three tracks of torturous sludge/doom with very grim bluesy guitar tweaks that drive deep and hard into the mutilated womb of that bitch called Hope.

"Baptism of the Walking Dead" itself leads off the charge with a grinding crawl below some of those dark, minimal leads. Adam Richardson's vocals can shift from a rasp to a rumble and back again with no downtime, and the riffs here are truly destructive, on par with anything off Misanthropic Alchemy. They can pull off a level of depressive on par with the Paradise Lost debut many years ago. "Another Skeleton" is more of a down-stoner piece, opening with acoustics over some subtle, creepy vocal chants. It 'picks up' into a painful sludge segment with some more of those old doom metal leads, while Richardson's vocals become more akin to the New Orleans sludge style. The third and final track "Khali Mist" is crepitating doom which descends into minimal, horrific acoustics with more of the distorted whispers and chants. The EP ends just below 20 minutes.

As usual of this outfit, the tones here are perfectly crunch and evoke a stark, bleak atmosphere from which there is no escape once you've let it swallow your soul. This is one of those bands who truly represent the 'blues' of the modern day era, none of that traditional bullshit but blues that are actually HEAVY on both the heart and mind. I shudder to think of anyone who could some positive output from a recording like this, but Ramesses prove yet again they are one of the best in this category, more than worthy of their alma mater. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need a drink. And some pills. At the same time.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

http://www.hcp-industries.demon.co.uk/ramesses