Rampage
Misogyny, Thy Name Is Woman
[Unsung Heroes]
One never knows quite what to expect when picking up a Rampage CD -
Lord Vic and company run the veritable gauntlet of metal, producing
everything from rock'n'roll romper stompers to death metal ditties and
just about anything in between. In fact, the only real constant with
Rampage is that you're always guaranteed an abundance of both humour
and quality...
"Misogyny..." is the debut Rampage mCD, and is also the bands most
"light hearted" release musically, which is in stark contrast to the
subject material being dealt with here. On the surface, this screams
"BAN ME!!!" with it's over-the-top cover art (a woman writhing in agony
as she's being choked to death), over-the-top song titles ("Kill Ya
Tonight", "Cocksucker", etc), and *WAY* over-the-top linear notes.
But of course with Rampage, nothing is ever as it seems, and anyone
who bothers to scratch under the surface will see that most of this is
done in a "sick comedic twist of relief" fashion.
The mCD starts off with "The Wigglesnake Blues" (I'll let you guess
what "wigglesnake" is a euphemism for), an up-tempo bluesy rocker that
makes me think "Hey, this is what The Cramps would sound like if they
didn't suck so much these days". "Kill Ya Tonight" is the second
track offered up, and is an 80s styled stadium/anthem rock number,
complete with a "wo oh, yeah yeah" singalong - I'm sure this would
make most of you out there cringe, but as cheesy 80s metal was
something I grew up with (before the advent of Black Metal), I've a
soft spot for this kind of thing. "Dead Rot" is next, and is nowhere
close to the first two tracks. Out goes the "party-time rock and
roll" vibe, and in comes the "semi-brutal old school death metal" that
sounds a lot like (long forgotten early 80s Florida proto-death metal
band) HellWitch, except that Rampage can actually play and manage to
stay in time...a solid track. "The Round Mound Of Rebound" follows,
and it's back into rock (well, metal actually) territory we go...for
some reason, it reminds me of early ("Kill 'Em All") Metallica, but
with none of the "thrash" element...perhaps it's the stuttering
drum pattern played in the chorus ? Regardless, it's a catchy enough
number, but I find it to be the weakest of the non-death metal(ish)
tracks here. "Cocksucker" is the last "listed" (more on that in a
second) track, and the low point in my opinion - a 27 second blast
beat death metal number - does absolutely *nothing* for me. Now for
the "hidden" tracks on the CD - you see, almost every Rampage release
comes with a couple of extra non-listed tracks (usually covers) on
them, and to further add to the confusion, exactly which tracks you
get differs from run to run. Anyway, my copy of "Misogyny..." has
"Death Crush" (yes, the Mayhem classic) and "Bloody Leg". The Mayhem
cover is pretty faithful to the original, although I *think* I detected
some lyrical differences/changes. "Bloody Leg" is, in my opinion,
the best track on this mCD - a VERY catchy, completely old school
mid-paced death/thrash number, and a prelude to the direction Rampage
were about to take on their "This End Up" full length. Classic...
Recommended ? Well - yes and no. You see, as great as I believe
Rampage to be, there's no denying that they are NOT for everyone, and
"Misogyny..." is the bands most "difficult" to digest release in the
sense that it's probably far too diverse for your average metal fan -
BUT, if you happen to be a fan of metal first and foremost (versus a
fan of any one specific genre), this is definitely something to pick
up....
© 1999 chorazaim