Ramming SpeedBoston's Ramming Speed is a new band which formed in 2007 but in that short time that have been able to play over 130 shows and have even appeared on that Beach Patrol show that's on Tru TV while also finding time to put out the "Full Speed Ahead" 7" and time to record their debut full length. Pretty impressive.
Of course you know that thrash metal has seen a revival over the last couple of years (no shit right?) but it is a shame a lot of bands get brushed to their side for their lack of originality but fuck man if you can play the style good it shouldn't matter. While it is obvious that these guys love the shit out of Napalm Death (which you could easily tell by the homage they pay to Shane Embury, bassist of Napalm Death in "Shane Embury Is The Brad Pitt of Grindcore"), COC, Testament, DRI, Cryptic Slaughter, etc., it also becomes apparent that these guys get down with a lot of shit like Tragedy, His Hero Is Gone, and Poison Idea. So throughout the CD you get a good sampling of straight thrash, crust, grind and punk.
While shredding through the 13 tracks the guys implement various techniques of the aforementioned genres. The first two songs "Speed Trials" & "The Threat" are something you would've expected to hear come out of the Bay Area in '83. Napalm Death would be proud listening to the :56 seconds that is "Shane Embury Is The Brad Pitt of Grindcore" which sees the Ramming Speed dudes taking on the style of the grind genre. "Heavy Metal Thunder" sounds like it would fit right in at a Diamond Head show in Britain in the late 70's. And tucked throughout several parts of the album are various crust punk elements.
While I love the nonsensical lyrical approach of many of the so called thrash revival bands I do like to see a metal band touch on some more serious topics now and then and surprisingly these guys are able to have a serious thought while still being able to maintain their sense of humor and love for beer and circle pits. Alongside a hilarious track like "Lazer Assault" which is about a lawyer that slays zombies with his razor sharp documents are songs about the racism that persists in this country despite the fact that equality is preached ("Bogus Facade"), the ignorant attitude of many Americans towards our brothers in the South ("Immigrant Song") and trying to reach out to their metal brothers to let them know they can thrash and party and still be involved with things like politics and world affairs ("Political Party")
The album comes housed in a slick and glossy 6 panel digipack that has both eye catching colors and illustrations. The neon green text over the black is sure easy on the eyes that's for sure. And you definitely won't have any problems picking this out of your CD collection.
Rating: 4/5
Songs Worthy of Replay: "The Facade," "Shane Embury Is The Brad Pitt of Grindcore," & "Immigrant Song"
Synopsis: If you enjoy the classic acts that were mentioned in this review and shit like Municipal Waste and Cross Examination odds are you will enjoy Ramming Speed's debut full length immensely. Packed into a slick glossy digipack are all kinds of sweet metal sub genres as well as a variety of lyrical goodness. Get into it.
Ramming Speed MySpace
Teenage Disco Bloodbath Records Website