Review RAM “Against”

Some metalheads may have started wondering whether RAM had quietly disappeared into the Swedish wilderness. After all, The Throne Within landed back in 2019, and seven years is a pretty long time to leave the amps switched off. But now the five Swedes are back, and they have brought a new album with them.

Against is an appropriately defiant title for a record built around eleven tracks of unapologetic heavy metal. Three songs have already escaped into the wild — “Ghost Emperor,” “Abattoir,” and “Night Blade” — and they make those seven years without new RAM material rather easy to forgive.

Because make no mistake: denim-and-leather metal is alive and kicking here. The studded belt can stay exactly where it belongs, and those wristbands in the bottom drawer might finally get another outing.

This is denim-and-leather metal in capital letters, and the studded belt is clearly not some forgotten relic from another era. “Ghost Emperor” fired the opening shot in August and immediately showed what RAM had packed into the new record. Traditional heavy metal, scorching screams and hooks built for shouting along to make this an obvious headbanging affair. Time to dig those studded wristbands out of the drawer — the metal party is back on.

“Night Blade” takes a different route without leaving familiar territory. The tempo drops, the groove gets heavier, and RAM put more weight behind the riffs. It has that unmistakable old-school feel where a solid riff and a pounding rhythm section are all you really need. Fans of Judas Priest and similar heavy-metal institutions should have little trouble finding something to enjoy here.

Abattoir” puts the pedal back down. Comparisons to Rob Halford and his Priest legacy are hardly surprising, as RAM charge ahead at full speed. It sounds as if the Swedes have used the last few years for a serious recharge, and there are moments when the sheer velocity even brings Exodus to mind. This speed-metal-leaning attack simply bulldozes everything in its way. The galloping “Out of Control” creates a similar impression, although it keeps things closer to mid-tempo territory.

RAM also prove that they don’t need to run at full throttle all the time. The slower, slightly doom-tinged “Leaving” spends five minutes grinding its way into your ears, eventually opening up into an atmospheric chorus. Placing this track right in the middle of the album was a smart move, breaking up the full-speed approach that surfaces more than once elsewhere on the record.

Dio’s influence is never far away on “Rising Again,” while “1984” takes its inspiration from George Orwell and turns it into a proper metal anthem. RAM pull back the tempo once again, but the intensity remains firmly in place. And a line like “not a future we should fear, but a present we should confront” feels particularly relevant in 2026.

Epic and dark, “The Final Hour” closes the album on a fitting note. RAM build the track around a pounding metal rhythm that practically demands headbanging, once again showing that they still have a few creative cards up their sleeves.

It took the Swedes a while to get their new album across the finish line, but the wait was worth it. Against delivers well-crafted heavy metal rooted firmly in the ’80s, yet produced with enough weight and punch to sound right at home in 2026. This is an album that doesn’t need to reinvent the genre to make its point. It simply knows exactly what heavy metal is supposed to feel like — loud, direct, riff-driven and ready to raise some hell.

Horny up.