THE RAMPTON RELEASE DATE
"2 Shovels 1 Hole" demo

We received this new demo from METAL-i stalwarts The Rampton Release Date a lil while ago but due to circumstances beyond Canine Control only just got around to reviewing it. This is the 4th demo piece from this Midlands, UK, based buncha nutters. The sound is exactly what we've come to expect from The Ramptons, hard-edged psychotic grindy metal in their trademark style. The Rampton Release Date live up to their name, and if they were busking this stuff in the street you'd expect them to be sectioned.

Ray's vocals as always are distorted, screamed out as if he's fighting for his life and chained to a padded cell in the asylum, and the band keep up the pace with frenetic riffs and grinds. There's something missing here tho', can't quite put a finger on it, while this demo is good it doesn't match their previous effort "This Suicide Is Costing Me Money". This is by no means bad tho', just sounds like it would probably work better live, with bodies flying through the air in a moshpit.

Here's the judgement, track by track:
"I Am The Bullet" is a frenetic assault by a rogue state armed with a nuclear-tipped moshpit, Ray tearing his vocal chords apart through a loud-hailer once more, again it's reminiscent of Scissorfight in style but we'd rate this higher than them. 3.5/5

"Go Home Leave" tunes it down a notch, almost becoming a speedier version of sludge-rock in the style of Nashville Pussy. Ray drops the distortion on the vocals here and goes with screaming like a mental patient hollering to be let outta solitary so he can go smash the other inmates with a bedpan. Good sludgy melody here, tho' it makes me wanna hear Ray's trademark loud-hailer style vocals instead. 3/5

"2 Shovels 1 Hole", the title track of this demo, and easily the standout track of this demo, this is TRRD doing what TRRD do best, deep chaotic chords on the guitars, thundering drums and distortion on the vocals. This shoves Jane's Addiction down the throat of Scissorfight, and stabs Nashville Pussy with the carcass, that's the style of this track. It'll have you bouncin like a rocket-propelled rabbit when you hear it. 5/5

Final track "My Ball and Chain" is back to the early-days sound of TRRD, a little too similar to the less-pro tracks used on the initial two demos, out of place here by comparison to far superior tracks like "2 Shovels..". It irritates a bit when the sound shifts for little or no reason between left and right speakers or just becomes muffled - while that may have looked a good idea on paper, it doesn't work for us as a gimmick when played, and it was a big part of what didn't work on the first demo. 2.5/5

Over all, like anything these nutters put out, it's well worth a listen, and while still superior to their first two demos, it lacks that newfound edge debuted on "This Suicide". We like these guys, and we'll continue to support them, but we know they can do better.

METAL-i RATED:(3.5/5)