Like manifestations of Lucifer’s messengers, Ramesses have been delivering their hellish hymns of characteristic cult retro heavy doom rock for nearly a decade now. Their last album Take The Curse spawned a more expansive amount of interest and intrigue than ever before, and introduced them to greater audiences. This year, Mark Greening (drums), Tim Bagshaw (guitar) and Adam Richardson (bass, vox) return with two releases, the first of which a 12” vinyl and digital release Chrome Pineal, which is due out on Ritual Productions on 16 May. The 12” features three brand new studio recordings and three live tracks, recorded in 2007, Denmark, plus brilliant artwork by the unsung French surrealist Clovis Trouille.
With the new material, Ramesses have conjured some of the more experimental tendencies that they offered on Take The Curse. On the title track, ‘Chrome Pineal’, alongside their well-honed mournful riffs and spine-tingling harmonies are hypnotic 60-style psychedelic grooves led by superbly timed drums that instantly reel you in. Other new tracks, ‘Blazoned Fauna’ and ‘Men Of Horror’ are grim concoctions of viscous vocals, swarms of doom drone guitar riffs and blackened filth. But Ramesses are none more dark than on their live tracks which fans will instantly recognise, reminding us that they still remain that incurable wound amongst their contemporaries.
Chrome Pineal is a mind expanding alchemic experiment that towers majestically amongst Ramesses’ catalogue. This is the missing link in the band’s evolution into Possessed by The Rise of Magik, the second full length Ramesses release this year!