Ram-Zet

Ram-Zet
Origin	Norway
Genres	Extreme metal, avant-garde metal
Years active	1998–present
Labels	Spikefarm Records Century Media Tabu Records Ascendance Records
Associated acts	Mortal Love Solefald Unexpect The Kovenant Ride the Sky
Website	Official page Official Myspace
Members
Zet Sfinx Küth Lanius KA
Past members
Solem Jon Daniel Magnus Østvang Sareeta

Ram-Zet is an extreme metal/avant-garde metal band formed in Norway in 1998. It began as a one-man project by singer and guitarist Zet, which later evolved into a full-grown band with the arrival of Küth (drums) and Solem (bass), leading to the release of Ram-Zet's debut album Pure Therapy in September 2000.^[1]

Genre classification

Ram-Zet's music is very diverse ranging from black metal to thrash metal. It has industrial sounds, progressive structures, and traditional instruments forming a style which some people, including band mastermind Zet, have called "schizo-metal".^[1] Their music contains lots of rare time signatures, unconventional harmonies, and unusual violin parts. They can be regarded as an avant-garde metal band, because of the wide range of genres influencing them.

Ram-Zet's lyrics are strongly linked to a schizophrenia theme. The lyrics of Pure Therapy, Escape, and Intra all revolve around this mental disorder. Forming a story which runs through all three albums, they feature two main characters: a schizophrenic patient in a dubious mental institution (sung by Zet), and a nurse trying to help him evade (sung by Sfinx).

The Acoustic Version

In October 2008 the band took 10 of their songs and re-arranged them for an acoustic concert in their home town of Hamar. Approximately 200 people got to see this one time event. The concert was filmed and is expected to be released on DVD in February/March 2010.

The Fourth Album

On March 17, 2007, in the official Ram-Zet forum, Sfinx stated that Ram-Zet is working on new material and would be performing live soon.^[2] Later that month it was confirmed further on the official news section of the Ram-Zet website. The news stated that the band has been rehearsing six new songs and working on many more.^[3][4] It was rumored that the album would be coming out sometime in late 2007 but was put on hold when Zet went on tour with Ride the Sky as guest keyboardist/guitarist.^[5] According the band's official MySpace, recording of the new album began on March 1, 2008. It was also stated that the new album would be heavier and slower than previous albums, but still would retain some faster moments in their music.

Discography

• Pure Therapy CD (2000, Spikefarm/Century Media Records)
• Escape CD (2002, Spikefarm)
• Intra CD (2005, Tabu Records)
• Neutralized (2009, Ascendance Records)^[6]
• "5th (working title)" CD (TBA 2011) ^[7]

Members

Current members

• Zet - Vocals, Guitar, (Ride the Sky)
• Sfinx - Vocals,(For My Pain, Eternal Tears of Sorrow)
• Küth - Drums, Percussion, (The Kovenant)
• Lanius - Bass, Didgeridoo (joined during the post Intra period)
• KA - Keyboards, Backing vocals (joined during recording of Neutralized)

Former members

• Solem - bass (on Pure Therapy and Escape) 2000-2003
• Daniel - bass (on Intra) 2003-2006
• Magnus - keyboards, (Return) (left after Intra)2001-2008
• Sareeta - Violin, Backing vocals (Ásmegin, Solefald) 2001-2009 ^[8]

Related bands

• Zet went on tour with Ride the Sky replacing Kaspar Dahlqvist on keyboard and rhythm guitar in 2007
• Küth is the current session drummer for black metal/industrial metal band The Kovenant,where he replaced Jan Axel Blomberg (Hellhammer/Von Blomberg) just after the release of the 4th album SETI in 2003
• Sareeta was also the violinist for folk metal band Ásmegin.
• Sareeta played violin for black progressive metal band In Lingua Mortua and for avant-garde metal band Solefald on their albums Red for Fire and Black for Death.
• Sfinx made some guest vocals for Fallen the album of the Finnish superband For My Pain and for the melodic death metal band Eternal Tears of Sorrow on their albums Before the Bleeding Sun and Children of the Dark Waters.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Interview with Ram-Zet, Enslaved By Metal. Retrieved 2 January 2008.
2. ^ News from the asylum, Global Domination Forums. Retrieved 2 January 2008.
3. ^ 21.03.07 RAM-ZET update, Ram-Zet.com News. Retrieved 2 January 2008.
4. ^ 26.07.07 RAM-ZET update, Ram-Zet.com News. Retrieved 2 January 2008.
5. ^ - 17.09.07 -, RideTheSky.eu News. Retrieved 2 January 2008.
6. ^ Ascendance Records. Retrieved 4 June 2009
7. ^ Official Ram-Zet myspace blog. Album is referenced to as 5th.
8. ^ Official Website. Members and former members found onder the About tab

External links

• Official site
• Official MySpace