Ramlord

Hailing from New Hampshire, Ramlord have combined blackened powerviolence, d-beat and crusty sludge into a bitter, bloody record entitled Crippled Minds, Sundered Wisdom. There isn't a great deal of optimism on this album — the opening track is entitled "Nihill Fucking Lifeblood" and lyrics include a call to "consume hard drugs and mutilate yourself." A violent rejection of the intellectual emptiness and moral bankruptcy of contemporary life, all of Crippled Minds can be read as a feral lashing out in existential pain. There's an innate sense of imbalance to the record, from the unconventional song structures that constantly teeter on the brink of collapse to the pacing, which varies between merciless blast beats and sludgy melancholy. Though apologetically cynical and as smeared with blood, viscera and filth as the floor of an abattoir, Crippled Minds is a breath of fresh, if foul, air.