Monolith to an Abandoned Past

Here we have the almighty Rampage, Vic’s own one-man doom-death black metal fury unleashed. MONOLITH TO AN ABANDONED PAST is a landmark for Rampage’s history, being a collection of early Rampage songs of classic heavy metal (The Abandoned Past), doom metal (The End of an Era), and a couple covers (In Memoriam).

Starting things off on “The Abandoned Past” section of the disc is “Doomsayer.” What a heavy slab this is! Heavy Sabbathy riffs thick with distortion as well as some dirty Celtic Frost influences (right down to the vox!). This track moves along at a good clip that is quite headbang-able, and the whole song carries several tons of momentum, compelling you to bang along. “Wanderlust” has got to be one of the fucking coolest power-thrash songs I have ever heard. Opening with a very doomy extended intro (Very melancholic, but, I admit, I was thinking, “get to the point already” the first time through), the guitars explode at around the 2:45 mark into a great lead. US Power Metal! Fucking! This shit is as good as anything Manilla Road or Warlord have done. We even get a little bit of what sounds to me like KISS-inspired power chords (weird as it sounds). The overall mood of this song is melancholic as the lyrics follow DANTE’S INFERNO, taking us deep into the frosty core of hell. My only complaint about this song is the drumming; with some more ballsy drumming, the intensity of this song could be compounded exponentially. The melodic interlude in the middle starting around 5:05 through 5:45 is especially nice, as are the big chords at 6:53. Fuck! If the entire album were in this style, I’d love an entire album in this style. “Doom Metal” is precisely that. Well over 8 minutes of the slowest, sludgiest doom metal Good stuff that is certain to depress even the happiest metalhead.

Moving along, “The End of an Era” section leads off with “Whitechapel,” the longest track on the disc at nearly sixteen minutes. This track is all about atmosphere, as everything comes together to create a bizarre doom-death piece. Quite creepy, really. “Cursed With Existence/Monolith…” is my second favourite song on the album. Bluesy Sabbath doom in its finest form, you’ll be hard-pressed to find this style done better.

Closing out the album is “In Memoriam,” including Sabbath “Wheels of Confusion/The Straightener,” Mayhem’s “Funeral Fog.” With 70 minutes of music, the covers are not needed, but they make for an interesting listen.

Besides having one of the best titles in all of Metal, MONOLITH TO AN ABANDONED PAST is an essential slab of blackened death-doom. My favourite part of the album are actually the first 3 tracks from Rampage’s demo days, as well as the masterpiece “Cursed With Existence/Monolith…” With UHR titles going for 5 bucks at BarbarianWrath-Vinland, , this title is well worth your money.

(originally written by me for www.metal-rules.com, December, 2003)

Artist: Rampage
Album Title: Monolith to an Abandoned Past
Label: Unsung Heroes

This will be the last release from Rampage before the band takes a new direction into Black Metal, and is meant as a bookend on Rampage's previous works (thus the title).

The first thing you'll notice about this release is that it is separated into three parts: "The Abandoned Past", "The End of an Era", and "In Memoriam". The first section consists of old stuff written near the beginning on Rampage's history, and the second features the remains of the aborted "Doom Metal" album. The third section consists of cover songs.

As you might expect, this lends the release a lot of variety. The first section is old-school METAL, as the rest of Rampage's early catalog suggests. While this isn't my favorite style of music, I must admit that these songs are well written. Fans of early 80's metal will probably worship these tracks, and others will at least find them enjoyable.

The second section alone is worth the price of the disc. "Whitechapel" is one of the more interesting doomy songs I've heard, and "Cursed with Existence/Monolith" is just as good. It's fortunate that Vic has decided to release these, rather than allow them to fade into the past.

The third section has a few cover songs - some Sabbath, Mayhem's "Funeral Fog", and a band I'm not familiar with, Disjecta Membra. The covers aren't essential (are cover songs ever essential?) Still, they're a good way to close out the album.

This is quite an enjoyable album. The mix of different styles isn't too jarring, and each is well executed. All in all, an excellent buy - more than 70 minutes of high-quality metal, available for just $6 from the label (US postage-paid).

Standout tracks: "Whitechapel", "Cursed with Existence/Monolith"

Review by Vorfeed: http://www.vorfeed.net

This CD is my second favorite Rampage outing and is among the coolest UG records ever recorded. Unlike the weaker production of Bellum Infinitum this record has a direct-input wallop with hammering bass tones, full guitars and a battering ram of drums.

The songs themselves are quite of the excellent variety as the old dogs like "Doomsayer" and the new epics like "Whitechapel" burn along with a vitriol previously unheard - as well as a maturity unheard. The vocals are still the same nasal "Tom G. Warriror in pain" deal that one may simply love or hate.

The resident classics on this record include the killer "Doomsayer", the burning "Funeral Fog" and the massive "deaths-epic" "Monolithe/Cursed...".

For fans of doom metal, slow thrash and death metal - this CD may very be the kind of thing you dig. As it also sums up some of those unheard demo tracks off the Vic-maligned "Satanic Symphonies" and turns those rough cuts into gems - this CD is a must have.

Good work Vic...I look forward to the next.