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R.A.M - Efficient Chips [Nexus]
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Acidhive
IsraTrance Full Member
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2014
Posted : Feb 17, 2005 11:37
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Not bad. But it could've been better. Most tracks are a lot alike and there's little originality in all of this. Still, it's listenable enough. Not a bad release all in all.
  "Subconscious unravels at the point of death, and all time it has known erupts into a moment. As death extinguishes us, so we become it."
[Esoteric: Subconscious Dissolution Into The Continuum] |
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Basilisk
IsraTrance Full Member
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Posted : Feb 21, 2005 21:44
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RAM - Efficient Chips [Nexus Media 2004] CD
Hash Brown
Coming Back
Retard
Onion Rings
Beer Nuts
Deadly Nightshade
Dreamcatcher
Sausage & Mashup
RAM Dub
Rampant Angry Men or RAM is a collaborative project of Scorb and Neural Rectifier Syndrome, both of whom have debut albums out now. NRS is Paul Wright, formerly a part of Deviant Species which continues as a solo project. The fusion of styles heard on this album results in hard and heavy banging tunes with a kooky atmosphere. The cover art is nice work from Scorb himself, with a circuit board theme with raucously amusing madness spiralling around the CD tray. 65 minutes of music can be found on the CD itself, though much of it is rather similar.
Hash Brown opens the album in signature style with a stomping hollow beat that transitions to one of greater strength and depth. No distinct melodies emerge at any time but plenty of small sounds swirl to create a very lost atmosphere of depravity and disorder. A bent voice asks in a short lull "is there an afterparty?" really showing just what this is about - going hard all night and then dancing through the day in a total zombie state. The focus here is just pounding beats with edgy hooks - hard music for the mechanical maniac.
Coming Back runs through at a stronger pace with more rolling bass lines and a precision-oriented percussion, banging away for several minutes while expressing the angry vibes. Strange distorted vocal samples flood in to heighten the bizarre atmosphere, giving way to a set of somewhat more distinct melodies that scurry across the high-end with phrenetic abandon. A breakdown introduces some harsh industrial sounds and a casual breakbeat, which returns the song to the flow with another pounding run with flanged percussion, never developing too far beyond the sparse audio canvas before meeting a timely end.
Retard continues the pattern with hard and heavy beats laced with disturbed acid hooks that frantically attack the senses. Messed up vocals are manipulated into bizarre forms as sweeping siren sounds go flying past. Something about this arrangement reminds me of Penta, which is a good thing. The energetic pulsations persist, adeptly creating a sensation that borders on mental illness. This third track benefits from a higher level of activity across the spectrum, making the pounding rhythms more engaging.
Onion Rings cracks open with some choral samples that inspire a dark mood. The beat that enters is a sharp and staggered rhythm ideal for a stomp. Small sounds once again make a mild impression, leading into the first breakdown. Caustic sounds ponderously meander before the beat kicks back in, this time with a spooky layer of atmosphere on top. More pounding, and then the song reaches another messed up breakdown, scattering a melody into a digitalized haze of distorted sound particles. On the return it's more of the same with electrical effects and thumping rhythms. Solid stuff but not much of a change from the first three.
Beer Nuts is no surprise with hard pumping beats and edgy percussion. A few distinct atmospheres are heard for short seconds in some breakdowns before the song jumps back into the psychotic high-energy rhythms. The repetative effects inspire a relation to a few of the acid techno influenced pieces on the recent Lemurians album. Anytime a really engaging lead comes in it will soon be smashed to bits so that the beat can kick it in standard style with a few aggravating mental noises to persist in expounding the deranged angry feelings heard all over the album. Effective on the big rigs, and it fits well in context, but probably won't make it to my play list.
Deadly Nightshade is a sick creature frantically pulsing at a rapid pace with rough repetative rhythms. Jittery effects clash with ripping synthetic stabs throughout the duration of the song. An angry distorted voice provides atmosphere at a few key transitions as the beats pile up to go rushing into the next sequence. Spooky sounds flare up from time to time as the throbbing underbelly pumps away. This is pretty much as hard as it gets, no mercy for the dancefloors.
Dreamcatcher finally provides what I had been seeking from this album all along: hard beats combined with engaging dark melodies. The song opens with a music box melody and a set of very lush cinematic strings that decompose into the requisite hard beats after nearly two minutes of introduction. With the mood set the song starts to churn through a series of industrial and digital contortions on the percussive levels, and in time the atmosphere is slowly developed. Slow and ponderous orchestral sequences are nicely contrasted by the energetic kicks and tightly wound bass lines. Unfortunatly the last sequence in the song abandons all the fine tension that has been developed to frantically spew out jumpy electric lines straight through to the end, but despite that the song is the gem of the album.
Sausage & Mashup is a study in contrasts, with a drifting atmosphere serving as the distinct lead. The pounding rhythms roll instead of blister, integrating with mechanical rhythms that cycle and clank in a precise arrangement. Previewed in the introduction, a spacious cinematic atmosphere rises up from the depths after the half-way point. With spiraling background noises and a few crispy digital sounds stabbing in for emphasis, the result is a cosmic mood that nicely brings the album's energy down a notch while providing a good feeling after all the relentless pounding throughout the body of the album.
Ram Dub closes is off with a predictable sound, one that is so unsurprising in fact that I don't see any sense in writing much about it.
RAM had the potential to be a bit more than a set of pounding dancefloor monsters. I had picked this up after enjoying the debut album from Scorb so much, but there are barely any dark melodies shining through on this album. The theme is hard beats that go boom, fused with some admittedly diabolical work with techno rhythms, all spiced with a deranged atmosphere. As it turns out, most of the material here isn't really engaging beyond the dancefloor - and even then, I don't see why one would want to hear all that much of this. With the focus on floor burners with few attempts at depth or originality the duo have failed to create an album that will hold appeal beyond the DJ crowd, and it doesn't seem likely that Efficient Chips will be a lasting classic. However, considered in the moment, it is clearly one of the hardest and most relentless albums on the market right now, and will surely appeal to some fans of that end of the spectrum. The recent third album from Deviant Species dives further into the techno side with better results thanks to a deeper approach to the hard style of psytrance. NRS & Scorb both have solo albums out right now, and there are several compilations that are essentially selections from these three artists. It makes one think that the RAM project could have done with having most of these songs split off for compilation appearances, rather than attempting a full album. In any case, there are at least a few decent tunes to be heard here, with Dreamcatcher being the most notable. Among the first six on the album it's a case of pick your favourite - they aren't all that different and it is probable that only one or two will end up standing out for any listener. In conclusion - it isn't a bad album, but has very limited uses, and there are better releases to check out if you're interested in the hard and dark side of psytrance.
Faves: 3, 7(!), 8
Rating: 5/10
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azatoth
Started Topics :
0
Posts :
8
Posted : Feb 22, 2005 00:01
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Isn't Scorb Ady Connor, atleast that's what the Ambivalent Records webpage says. Who is Yod Onsen? Am I missing something here? |
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shift
Shift
Started Topics :
38
Posts :
319
Posted : Feb 22, 2005 13:14
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haha,, perhaps,,,
and then who's Lek Balck? |
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MonasticSquid
MonasticSquid
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359
Posted : Feb 22, 2005 16:39
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(Isnt Lek Black the brother of the actor Jack Black)  Hoo Haha
didnt Lek Black used to do a side project with that dodgy, shifty geezer called Max Broadbent?!?!?!... wasnt that NRS (Nueral Rectifyer Syndrome) - but I heard it stands for "Not Really Serious" from one guy and another told me it stands for "Nice Round Scrotum"  .....who knows..... i reckon Yod Onsen will know the truth 
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www.myspace.com/mtheoryuk
www.myspace.com/monasticsquid
www.alchemyrecords.co.uk |
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shift
Shift
Started Topics :
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Posts :
319
Posted : Feb 22, 2005 23:58
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indeed bob,, he may  |
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Dj Chris Planet
IsraTrance Junior Member
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336
Posted : Feb 23, 2005 18:33
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Rob
Lek Black is actually the son of Cilla Black 
Let us take you on a journey, that will take you from are small world stage and orbit you beyond our fragile planet...... |
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psyreviews
IsraTrance Full Member
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Posted : Feb 24, 2005 01:12
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true
and he's done a lorra, lorra tunes |
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MonasticSquid
MonasticSquid
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Posted : Feb 24, 2005 10:57
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darkgnome
Started Topics :
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128
Posted : Aug 23, 2005 11:02
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Oh, this CD is too good to be true! Been listening to it for a long time now (when thinking it's psytrance). |
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Mat N
IsraTrance Senior Member
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1211
Posted : Oct 14, 2005 02:05
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i agree with u darkgnome, i find this album one of the best releases ever! i always get back to it, and play it regullary on sets. waiting for the next one...
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DJSarasin
IsraTrance Junior Member
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789
Posted : Oct 18, 2005 16:33
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DJSarasin
IsraTrance Junior Member
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Posted : Oct 18, 2005 16:36
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shellbound
IsraTrance Junior Member
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Posted : May 24, 2009 06:00
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a3k
IsraTrance Team
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Posted : May 24, 2009 17:04
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dreamcatcher is my fav of this album!
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