"Lightbringer" CD by Ram

by Björn Thorsten Jaschinski (24.07.2009) Established 1999, these Swedish rams draw from two musical "gene pools": on the one hand, there are Nocturnal Rites, Hammerfall and Wolf, and on the other hand, youngsters Portrait, In Solitude, and Enforcer. After their 2005 debut album and a split EP with After All (both on micro labels) in the following year, the blokes took a break and honed their songwriting skills - the results convinced AFM-Records. In spite of the album title, the material is pretty gloomy ("The elixir"), reminding you sometimes of Mercyful Fate ("Awakening the chimaera"), but not as extremely and extensively as goes for above mentioned Portrait. Ram like their compositions epic and without sudden eruptions of tempo. Their truly traditional Metal is neither too flamboyant nor a bit progressive. Oscar Carlquist’s vocal versatility covers medium heights as well as the gremlin grumbling, but also a falsetto à la King Diamond and high-pitched Halford screams. Thumbs up.