Ramesses – Chrome Pineal

Whilst their hard work since their inception has to be admired, what has always served Ramesses the most is how timeless their music is. With cast-iron riffs and an aesthetic that veers sharply towards the region inhabited by Hammer Horror, their roots definitely lie in 70’s England, but there’s a malevolent edge to Adam Richardson’s vocals that harkens to the starkness of early black metal.

The three new tracks here accurately reflect the development of Ramesses’ career to date. Chrome Pineal offers up a heady dose of mesmerising psych-doom, Blazoned Fauna opts for a course that takes in the sounds of Electric Wizard and, appropriately enough, Vincent Price, and Men of Horror brims over with an occult spite through liberal use of demonic mantras. Couple in three live tracks that capture the band at their most formidable in crystal clarity and this is one of the doom releases of the year.