Ram - Against (2026)

Catching the new wave of traditional heavy metal, Sweden’s Ram has constantly been delivering high octane releases filled with nostalgia alongside a clean and modern sound. In their first release in seven years, the band returns with eleven superbly crafted and engaging songs filled with razor sharp guitars, soaring vocals and all kinds of attitude. For over 42-minutes, “Against” showcases a very talented band belting out epic songs that are both catchy and powerful.

After setting the mood with the opening instrumental, the band goes balls-to-the-wall with the epic “Ghost Emperor” and its intoxicating nature. Perfectly balancing potent guitars with crafty drumming and Oscar Carlquist signature vocals, this song brings back some memories. The band’s fast pace unleashes hell on pieces like “One Vs All”, “Abattoir”, and the superbly catchy “Out of Control”. Filled with an old-school attitude, the band’s sound is timeliness and very effective as they crush the delivery and incite frantic headbanging.

With the album title track serving as the most high-octane piece in this release, the band manages to continue to deliver true Heavy Metal as “Night Blade”, “Rising Again”, and “1984” continue exploring different tempos and, at times, darker and more restrained approaches. We particularly enjoyed that the band is not afraid of using old-school cheesyness on tracks like the epic “Rise Again” and its timeliness chorus section.

As a whole, “Against” is a killer Heavy Metal album that reminds the listener that not only the few surviving greats can make such engaging and explosive music. Ram means business and with the music in this release showcase their caliber, as all songs are explosive, catchy, and very varied, making this release have huge replay value. While spinning this release, we usually lost track of time thanks to how good the music is and how enjoyable the experience was, so make sure to not miss out if you are a fan of the genre.

Rating: 94/100