RAM - The Throne Within CD

In twenty years of activity and six full-length albums to their name, RAM hasn’t deviated all that far from their founding principles. The Swedes boast a core sound rooted in Judas Priest and Accept with occasional tinges of King Diamond, exerting a high octane take on traditional metal with subtle power metal inflections. Their latest album, The Throne Within, is essentially more of the same but there’s something about it that puts it above anything else they’ve done before.

Overall, The Throne Within isn’t out to deviate from RAM’s classic metal formula but rather to improve upon it. It isn’t the most revolutionary album out there and I doubt it’ll have much appeal beyond the genre’s niche audience, but anybody who had passed the band up before should consider this an opportunity for reevaluation. The stronger performances and memorable songwriting really go a long way in making this their most striking effort since 2009’s Lightbringer. It’s great to see RAM sounding so inspired at this stage in their career and I can only hope that they keep it up!