Rampage
This End Up
[Unsung Heroes]
Quite possibly the finest Rampage release to date, "This End Up" is a
huge leap forward from the bands debut "Misogyny..." EP. Whereas the
first release ran the gamut of musical styles (and may have suffered
because of this in the opinion of some (although not mine)), "This End
Up" is firmly rooted in the old school proto-death/black/thrash vein.
An obvious point of reference would be Possessed's "Seven Churches"
(as should be clear to anyone who glances upon the artwork for this
release), but don't take this to be a parody or a copy-cat of the
above mentioned slab-o-death : Rampage have their own particularly
morbid take on the genre, and while infused with a healthy dose of
tongue-in-cheek humour, a parody this is most certainly NOT. From
the opening riff of "Bloody Leg" to the final seconds of "Eye of the
Hellstorm" (not counting the "secret" bonus tracks to be found on most
of the bands releases), Rampage manage to bring back the spirit of what
metal USED to be about before the hijacking of the style by numerous
baggy-pant wearing trendoids and their baseball cap brethren.
Remember when bright orange hair and plastic pants would be reason
enough for a severe beating ? You will. Remember when headbanging
and shoving "the horns" in the air at gigs were the norm ? You will.
Remember when how hard and fast a band played was more important than
what brand of mascara they wore ? You will. Rampage will take you
back to a glorious era when metal was still metal and very little else
mattered. I suppose I could go into a track by track breakdown, or
comment on the individual musical components which make "This End Up"
such a roller coaster ride of a listening experience, but as is the
case with many things worth their while, words could hardly do them
justice, and such isolation and emphasis on individual factors simply
can't convey the appropriate level of how it's the COHESION of all the
elements which make this such a great fucking album. Let me just say
this : in 10 years time when yet another nostalgic revival of the
glorious metal past comes around, this will be one of those albums that
will be whispered about with reverence if there's any sort of justice
in the world, and you would be a fool not to pick this up now while
it's still available instead of bitching and moaning about it's
unavailability in the future. You have been warned...
© 1999 chorazaim