This is were we will place feedback from various Fanzines etc. We will put both positive and negative feeback on here, as to give you a good gauge of our sound from many different perspectives. None of them have been edited either, so what you see is what you (and we:) get.

Martin Popoff (Brave Words, Guitar World, Metal Shop, Chart, Lollipop...)
regarding The Arrival Demo and Bio.

Sign my name to it as well if you want, something I usually don't say BUT CAN IN THIS CASE BECAUSE I STAND BY EVERY WORD - YOU DON'T SUCK!!!!

Thanks man and good luck. You guys are damn talented.

Once the full-length comes to fruition, the Rampage will be in full, unstoppable force.

review by Adrian Bromley of UNRESTRAINED Magazine (Canada)
(8 out of 10)

There has been a resurgence of hard/rock heavy metal in today's music scene over the last few years and it is good to see there are a few bands in my homeland defending the valour and honour of heavy metal. One of those bands is Rampage, a talented quintet that has one of the most professional sounding albums I have heard in recent memory. I'll start off by saying this, and I know it sounds cliche, but the band is on a 'rampage' from the get-go and it isn't long before the band is delivering thunderous blows with their music. Strong vocals come from Patrick Mulock (who also fronts another great Canadian act: Eidolon), a versatile singer who can sing with a fierce intensity ("Bloodline" and "In The Name Of"), but also be able to slow things down and work the song ("Dirty Work" and my personal fave "The Drowning Man"). And the guitar work of this band? Wow! Tyson Emanuel and Rick Reid are on fire for most of this album, firing off memorable solos here and there, as well as keeping the flow of the record hard and direct. If you call yourselves a heavy metal fan, then you know it is your duty to find out more about Rampage and pick up this CD. Rock on, my metal brothers!

review by Andrew Tsekrekos of Metal Centre
(9 out of 10)

Congratulations guys! Bands like Rampage from Canada are still here to remind us that heavy metal is still strong and the underground flames are still burning. Labels should get rid of all these nine days' wonder bands they have signed and search the underground for bands like Rampage. These guys play a style of music with many influences but also very easy to describe…HEAVY METAL!!! Listening to their songs you will find influences from Judas Priest, Helloween, Metallica and many other bands.

They are all very good musicians and the singer is tremendous. Furthermore, their mcd has a great production which helps a lot. 6 songs that will satisfy every metalhead no matter what style they prefer. I am into more extreme bands too but I really like Rampage's music. And do you want to know what is this that I appreciate most? The passion in a band's music. Trust Rampage and listen to their music. You won't regret it!

review by Vincent of Tartarean Desire (Sweden)
(7 out of 10)

Rampage is a band that hails from Canada, a country which is surprisingly enough not very known for its metal scene except for a few noteworthy exceptions such as Voivod, Exciter, Annihilator and Anvil. The Arrival is a demo recording in the meaning that it is not released with the support of a label but it holds the sound quality of a professional release. Rampage is also a very professional band who wants nothing but a serious record deal. They have also had their biography re-written by the metal icon Martin Popoff who in my opinion has failed when doing this. A biography should not be a long novel, it should be a short and simple text telling the history of the band.

Anyway, his biography is not up for review here, only the music of Rampage. This disc contains about 35 minutes of music divided into six songs of which all are very good. The music is basically North American styled heavy / power metal similar to what bands like Jag Panzer, Tad Morose, Lefay and Jacobs Dream are doing. Yes, I do know that two of the bands I mentioned are Swedish but this way of playing and singing first appeared on the other side of the big puddle that separates us from them. Sometimes it sounds a little bit like older Queensrÿche but they show the most resemblance with Jacobs Dream I must say. Plenty of nice and fluent guitar solos bear witness of the vast amount of skill and talent that lives and breathes within the band and I am pretty sure that they will receive a decent offer from a label very soon, perhaps Metal Blade would be interested. Why did I pick Metal Blade? Well, the vocalist of the band is no other than Patrick Mulock,
the vocalist of Metal Blade recording artists Eidolon who have already released three albums through the label. He is doing a great job on this disc and he seems to be the most important factor in the success of the recording. His finest moments are in the song "Bloodline" where his voice is set free for real. That is also the best song on this recording.

In short, an impressive demo from a band that anyone into the American school of heavy / power metal should appreciate.

review by Stoned of Strictly Heavy Management

Not bad, pretty crunchy sound, vocals are good. A nice mix of harmonies, to growls, and screams. Clearly, melody driven hard rock. The overall sound does have some 80's rock influence it seems. Three of the five songs are fairly slow, which most rock acts cant write good slow songs. And this band is no different, unfortunately. They do make a good attempt to make the songs catchy, but Im not seeing this band having a career that I want to develop so far. They seem caught in another time. Ages? Influences? This has all been done before, and my 14 year old would not buy this music, nor his friends. It lacks something modern, but the band has a good grip on the basics. Perhaps if I knew when the songs were written..... New songs and a live performance could raise this band's score. 

review by 1heavymetal
(5 out of 6)

Featuring Eidolon’s Pat Mulock on lead vocals, Rampage is Canadian metal band that explores a variety of styles within the genre that results in an inability to pigeon-hole the band to one particular sound.

Lead track “Reagan’s Dream” finds Mulock’s vocals wondering up into King Diamond territory.  On the power metal styled “In The Name Of” his vocals sounded similar to James Rivera from Helstar.  ”Dirty Work” unfortunately wonders off into modern metal territory and results in being the weakest track on the CD.  ”The Drowning Man” possesses a doomy, Black Sabbath vibe throughout.  Closing track “Heaven” starts out as a mellow ballad than evolves into a solid metal track to finish out the disc on a positive note.

5 out of 6 solid songs on the disc indicates a promising future for Rampage.  Reworked, “Dirty Work” could become a solid metal track as well.  Fans of Eidolon will appreciate Mulock’s vocal ability on this release as the band presents a diverse ability to create various types of songs ala Annihilator.

review by Dave Attrill of Metalliville (UK)
(8.5 out of 10)

On first being introduced to this newly conceived Canadian act, I couldn't help from noticing their name but have this strong assumption that they might be fronted by none other than Randy Rampage, the original voice of thrash legends Annihilator. So it turned out not to be so, but that doesn't prevent similarities between this and the produce of Jeff Waters and pals from occurring.

They keep it eighties all the way, even through to the sleeve cover design but record with a very fresh modern day-ish output and keep the material understandable all the way through. So their stuff, does in the main tend to tread on familiar ground, but when they keep their head out of the sand, and work knowing the ropes, what more should we ask.

Solos and good old-fashioned trad metal melodies are a plenty and songs like
'Bloodline', 'Reagan's Dream' and in particular 'Heaven' serve the style loyally. There is one familiar name amongst the credits, bassist Stan Miczek having played for the likes of Honeymoon Suite and 24K over recent years, and I'm sure the whole name Rampage will be on people's lips if they maintain this potentially increasing performance. Good stuff.

review by Waspman of Metal-Rules
(4.5 out of 5)

Man, I love reviewing bands from Canada. Not only is it cool for me to help promote fellow countrymen, but generally the quality of the music is damn good. That being said, allow me to introduce Mississauga Ontario’s Rampage. Together for about a decade now, Rampage has released one full-length album (97’s FEAR INSIDE MY HEAD), which I confess I’ve never had the pleasure of hearing. It seems that they’ve been largely silent since then, but have now returned to the fold with this six-song disc. The band is currently seeking a recording/distribution deal, and will hopefully secure one soon.

Rampage’s music is very much traditional metal, with traces of European gothic power metal (think Tad Morose and maybe some classic Yngwie thrown in), and a huge heaping dose of Jag Panzer (well, I think so anyway, especially in the vocals). Having been together for so long now, the band’s sound is very accomplished and professional, despite the lack of recorded output. Indeed, vocalist Pat Mulock (you’ve heard of him recently, he’s part of another, more widely known Canadian band) is a torrid force on the mic. Like I said, I hear a lot of Jag Panzer’s Harry Conklin in his vocals, but there’s also traces of Halford, both of Fates Warning’s vocalists, and Messiah Marcolin. The rest of the band are no slouches either, ably keeping up with their vocalist with tightly played music.

Though Rampage’s music is firmly rooted in traditional metal, they imbue each song with a feel all it’s own. No two songs sound alike with these guys, yet the songs work as a collective whole. If I was forced to choose favorites, I’d go with the opening and closing tracks, “Reagan’s Dream” and “Heaven”, the fastest and most emotional respectively.

Rampage is a band that is definitely on the way up. Their music is too good to not be released, and I foresee some record label snapping them up shortly. Go ahead and contact the band to pick up a copy of this disc. Then you’ll be able to say that you listened to them “way back when”.


review by Vic Tzougrakis and Manos Fountoulakis of Metal Guide
(5 out of 5 and 5 out of 10)

Rampage is a band that comes from Canada, and this is their latest work. The band is playing Classic Heavy Metal, and they do it in a very interesting way. The band is incorporating enough melodies into their music, although no keyboards are used, and this is making their sound even close to the Classic Metal sound. The vocals though sound a bit familiar to me, and after a small search in their website, I found out that the singer of Rampage is also the singer of Eidolon, a band that also comes from Canada. This is something expected since the singer is no less than excellent, and maybe one of the most positive things in the band. Another thing that worth mentioning is the excellent rhythm section, and, of course, the twin guitar players who also are very talented, and this is obvious in all the songs. Unfortunately, this album is small enough, not exactly a full length since it contains only six songs and is about 35 minutes long. Of course this doesn't mean anything than the fact that we would like it bigger and with more songs, just for our listening pleasure. The band has also done a very good job in the arrangements, which are well written and contain enough interesting ideas. Also a very good work has been done in the production area, which comes to complete the album in the best possible way. It might be a demo, but it's something that you should check out, specially if you are into Classic Heavy Metal. Check their website at: www.rampageworld.com

review by Emalaith of Metal Storm (USA)
(9 out of 10)

    It is my great pleasure to introduce to you...Rampage! With The Arrival, an EP that is closer to a short-length album, these 5 guys from Canada are proving that they are here to stay.

The Arrival begins with 'Reagans Dream' and a pleasant punch in the stomach: an amazing Thrash intro that sets the tone for what’s to come. This first song shows off the talent of all musicians: angry guitar riffs, a throbbing bass, and absolutely astounding drums. And of course, Patrick’s voice, which is powerful and clear. Rampage’s Thrash style is reminiscent of Nevermore, mixing melodic passages with pure power. The song is complex, with a fantastic guitar solo and several rhythm changes before going back to the verse, bridge, and chorus. 'Reagans Dream' is the perfect way to start off and definitely one of the best songs on the album.

After the forceful opener, 'Bloodline' takes us into Power Metal of the Tad Morose kind. On this song, Chris’ drumming includes double bass passages, the guitars are both low-strung and piercing, and Patrick’s voice is all over the place as he goes from low growls to intense screams. Stan’s bass guitar has a great part in this song and there is a melodic passage with keyboards that is wonderfully developed, building up tension as the music goes back into the chorus. Very nice, indeed.

With the song 'Dirty Work', Rampage take a little trip into the Nu Metal world with a sound that reminds me a bit of the Deftones. All the “Nu” elements are here, from the hypnotic guitar riffs in the intro and chorus, the varied drums, and the verses where the guitars are moved into the background and Patrick sings mostly over the bassline. Not a Nu Metal fan myself [except for the Deftones], I still enjoy this song for its diversity and because it gives the album a nice break.

'In the Name of...' has one of the coolest intros made up of bass and percussion I have ever heard. As the guitars set in, they pick up the bassline from the intro – very cool. Patrick is singing at his best on this song and the combination of music and his voice reminds me of Judas Priest. There are again lots of Thrash elements in this song as well as awesome guitar solos.

'The Drowning Man' begins like an Iron Maiden song and Rampage manage to maintain that Maiden-esque feeling throughout the track, with a very prominent bass, melancholic guitars, and a melodic chorus.

Finally, my favorite song on the album is 'Heaven'. Although it is probably also the “softest” song, it seems to be the most thoroughly developed track. The song begins with beautiful Spanish guitars, supported by a bassline and supplying the perfect foundation for Patrick’s lyrics about mortality. This continues for about 2 minutes and just when you’re sitting there, eyes half-closed and convinced the song will stay sweet and gentle, the drums and guitars kick in, taking the song into a chorus that will stay in your head. Absolutely awesome.

Overall, Rampage sounds like no other band. They seem to borrow a bit from Thrash [Nevermore], Power [Tad Morose], and classic Heavy Metal [Iron Maiden and Judas Priest] and combine all these elements into their own unique Rampage sound. The most pleasant surprise on this album for me was the fact that none of their songs sound the same but that Rampage made each one into a distinctive piece.

In summary, Rampage is not a flash-in-the-pan phenomenon but a skilled band that will attract loyal fans. These guys are experts on their instruments, every single one of them. The songwriting is solid, varied, and honest. Thus, it is very surprising to me that they have not been signed yet, but I have no doubt that this will come to pass in the near future. Do yourself a favor and get this album, these guys deserve to be heard. The EP is available on Rampage’s website in the Merchandise section.

Good luck to Rampage!!!


review by UROTSUKIDOJI's (Canada)
(7.5 our of 10)

Rampage, is a Metal band in the truest sense of the term. No trendy fads, makeup, rapping, costumes, or obscure sub genres for these guys. (So you won't be seeing them on Ozzfest in the near future.) They play Metal in its purest form. The band bio, lists bands like Evergrey, Lefay, Nocturnal Rites and Tad Morose their contemporaries, but for most listeners, I think what you're gonna compare them to are two of the big boys, namely Judas Priest, and to a lesser extent Iron Maiden. For starters, it's interesting to note that the band features vocalist Patrick Mulock, who also happens to sing for "Eidolon".

Pat, and the rest of the band, Rick Reid : Lead Guitars, Keyboard, Tyson Emanuel : Lead Guitars, Chris Lewis : Drums, Percussion, and Stan Miczek: Bass, call the city of Mississauga in Ontario Canada home, (which also happens to be my current stomping grounds). They had a full-length release back in '97, but have remained fairly silent for the last six years, that is, until now. Their new demo EP, "The Arrival" only consists of six songs, but still manages to clock in at over 35 minutes, so you do get some bang for your buck. The songs range from full, balls-out, up tempo, head-bangin' anthems such as "Reagans Dream", to more melodic pieces like "Heaven", that bring to mind early Priest, or the lengthy "ballads" of mid era Maiden.

These guys are total professionals, solid playing, excellent Halford-esque vocals, and slick production. In a nutshell, this disc kicks the last Priest offering (Jugulator) all to hell, but still has a ways to go before they can match the current out put of Halford or Maiden. If you're fed up with all the trends, and can't stand a lot of the so-called "Power-Metal" coming out of Europe these days, then you'd do well to check these boys out. This disc simply drips with integrity. It's been a long while since I've heard a new-ish band, do this type of Metal, this well. For more into on these true metal warriors, you can check them out at rampageworld.com.

review by Aaron Small of Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles (Canada)
(7.5 out of 10)

Not to be confused with the German or American bands from the '80's that used the name Rampage, this Rampage is Canadian and features Patrick Mulock from Eidolon on lead vocals. Broad in scope, the metal performed by these masters of their craft is calculated, progressive and full of syncopation. The unfolding of each song is quite dramatic. 'Reagan's Dream' starts it off with chugging guitars. 'Bloodline' (which the band has filmed a video for) thrives on bruising virtuosity. Awaken from the slumber of tiresome musical tirades and enjoy a band that knows when to be gritty, when to shine, and when to elegantly outplay the competition. With six multifaceted compositions, with another six on the way, Rampage is running wild.

review by PAPOUTSAKIS D. PERIKLIS of Metal Eagle
(7.5 out of 10)

Rampage, a band from Ontario of Canada is releasing a six track CD following the dark paths of Doom and Heavy Metal. Rampage have done really good job not only in the song writing section but the whole production deserves congratulations. At first the album opens with the crunchy, but riffy, "Regans Dream" and then follows 5 more tracks in a quite different style. Almost all tracks have interesting doomy riffs, dark melodies creating a dark, foggy atmosphere. Sometimes a bit weird, sometimes a bit noisy, but all times. Pure non Contaminated Metal. I really enjoyed all tracks but I have to confess that I have listened to "Bloodline" and "In the name of..." couple of times. Catchy solos, stomping drum patterns and rhythm guitars combined with the wide voice range of Patric are offering a painful, bloody album. Some obvious inspirations like "Candlemass" and "Nevermore" are welcome and vital.

review by Bergson Freire (Brazil)

When listening EP " Arrival " first chords, of the Canadian quintet Rampage, I thought that it was a thrash band, due to the weight and the speed. But did the vocal enter the soon her Judas Priest and did it beat that doubt, will it be that is a thrash band with vocal melodic?

Really, just when listening the 6 music of this CD is that one can say that this group mixes a little of everything: melody, weight, speed and much more of the good and pure metal. The first sound, " Reagans Dream ", already defined as a thrash of vocal melodic, being this the fastest and heavy song. Monday, "Bloodline", follows the style. Being dragged and full of good riffs. A Black Sabbath with touches of Metallica. " Dirty work " is the third. It possesses an entered super heavy and later a part slow type Alice in Chains, and going been alternated like this until the end.

Continuing with " In the name of...", that has an entrance tribal type Sepultura in Roots, followed by a lot of weight, but with accentuated characteristics of traditional metal. Then at time of the melodic and excellent " The drowning man ". very pragmatic and dense music, with a great riff. And for closing, a type of heavy ballad, "Heaven". I would say it is the hit of the band, in spite of the weight. In some moments it is possible to remember of Iron Maiden. Besides, I cannot stop mentioning vocalist Patrick Mulock's incredible versatility and of the all the musicians' competence in this whole mixture, accentuated by the great production.

Summarizing, Rampage plays a metal of the good ones, with a lot of
influences and variations, but making everything perfectly and full of
personal touches!


review by Tombstone (Greece)
(8 out of 10)

A demo by a Canadian band that has the potential to make an impact on the scene. Their music has influences from classic metal and thrash metal plus some elements from Annihilator. The musicianship is great and they have a pretty talented singer and excellent guitar players. But what’s more important is that the songs are very good. They are not copycats, they are not typical and they have a sound and a style of their own. There’s some pretty good heavy stuff in their demo CD and surprisingly enough the production is very good for a self financed album. The demo features six songs and they all leave promises for a great future. These guys deserve to be on a label and they deserve to see their music published and become available to the masses. They stand out of the tons of new bands around with a demo that surprised as. Mark their name because we are certain that we will hear more from them in the near future.

review by Bleeding Chaos (Greece)
(9 out of 10)

Congratulation guys! Bands like Rampage from Canada are still here to remind us that heavy metal is still strong and the underground flames are still burning. Labels should get rid of all these nine days’ wonder bands they have signed and search the underground for bands like Rampage. These guys play a style of music with many influences but also very easy to describe…HEAVY METAL!!! Listening to their songs you will find influences from Judas Priest, Helloween, Metallica and many other bands. They are all very good musicians and the singer is tremendous. Furthermore, their mcd has a great production which helps a lot. 6 songs that will satisfy every metalhead no matter what style they prefer. I am into more extreme bands too but I really like Rampage’s music. And do you want to know what is this that I appreciate most? The passion in a band’s music. Trust Rampage and listen to their music. You won’t regret it!

review by Marina (Metal Heart)

Not to be confused with the US and German bands from the 80's of the same name! This Rampage comes from Mississauga, Ontario (Canada) and consists of Patrick Mulock (also singer of Eidolon), Rick Reid (guitars & keyboards), Tyson Emanuel (guitars), Chris Lewis (drums) and Stan Miczeck (bass). The band was formed about a decade ago and released one full-length album in 1997 called "Fear Inside My Head". Since then, they have remained silent... until now.

The guys are back with a Demo EP called "The Arrival", consisting of six songs, with a playing time over 35 minutes. The first thing you'll notice is the strong production and the professional sound of the songs. Really nice! The music is pretty much traditional metal, influenced by bands such as Judas Priest or Iron Maiden, with traces of dark power metal (Nevermore, Lefay, Tad Morose). Most of the songs are mid-tempo and have a slightly doom-ish feel to them.

Particularly impressive are Pat's Halford-esque vocals. With strong and clear vocals, he has the ability to move from low growls to high-pitched screams to soft balladry with ease. The songwriting is solid and varied. Every song has its own unique sound, and is filled with several rhythm changes, awesome guitar solos and dark riffs. My favorite cut on the CD is the last track, "Heaven", which reminds me of early Judas Priest. This slow to mid-tempo semi-ballad opens with acoustic guitar, but after the first two minutes it turns into a powerhouse (pretty much in the vein of "Beyond The Realms Of Death" by Priest). The guitar work towards the end of the song is particularly impressive and the way Pat sings the chorus is great.

The band is currently seeking a record deal so that their music can reach listeners beyond the limits of their independent self-promotion. For more info, or to pick up a copy of this CD, check out their website at www.rampageworld.com

review by Blind (Metal Judgement - U.S.A)
(4 out of 5 skulls)

What a bunch of cheap bastards. Rampage sends me a CD lacking a press kit, a legit jeweled case, and a back cover... just kidding, guys. As a struggling musician myself, I understand how hard-hitting giving away free shit can be.

Rampage is a thrash/power metal act from Canada to whom I can compare to the likes of early (Peace Sells... and Rust in Peace) Megadeth. You won't find Mustaine's signature growl here, though. The vocals are more for power metal heads. However, do not fear--the high-pitched twanging is kept to a minimum.
Elements of the music:

Production: very well. You could easily mistake this for a professional disc. The drums boom, the lead guitars crunch, and you can actually hear the bass guitar!
Vocals: as I've said, I can't think of anyone off the top of my head with whom to compare them. They are quite average for the genre, but they do fit well with the music.

Accessibility: well shit... Rampage, on their web site, claims that they've created music that's breaking down boundaries, defying the status quo, etc. etc. ad nauseum. But a quick listen to the track "Dirty Work" proves otherwise. The vocals sound a hell of a lot like the late Lane Staley, and the song structure is quite nu-metalish. (It's a good song, but c'mon, guys... don't try to bullshit me.)
Other comparisons: "In the Name of..." reminds me of something Nevermore might put together.

All in all, Rampage combined some excellent songwriting with competent vocals to create a very enjoyable demo. I see big things for this band in the future.
Let's just hope some record company somewhere agrees with me... and that Rampage doesn't forget my broke ass when that happens. ;)

review by Michel Renaud (Metal Crypt - Canada)
(3.75 out of 5)

I have some mixed feelings about this release by Toronto-based Rampage (not to be confused with the US band of the same name - or a few others for that matter. ;)) Essentially what we have here is what I usually call "modern heavy metal", obviously rooted in the early metal bands but without sounding like them, rather mixing a more 90s influence - at times some passages remind me of grunge (not a good thing as far as I'm concerned), and of course with modern production. Throw in some progressive elements that elevate the musicianship a notch.

There's a slight lack of direction on the album, the songs don't seem to belong together much, but then again this is a demo so that can be overlooked. ;) The vocals are interesting, especially on the last track "Heaven" which in my opinion is the best of the six tracks presented here. I'm usually into the more rocking stuff, but this slow to mid-paced "semi-ballad" is one very good display of talent, both at the musical and vocal levels.

There are some riffs that remind me of stuff from more popular bands, like a passage in "Bloodline" that reminds me of Iced Earth every time I listen to it. Same for the vocal melodies which often remind me of long-forgotten songs (i.e. don't ask me which ones ;)). The third song, "Dirty Work" has the unfortunate feature of reminding me of grunge - it's not grunge but damn it, that's what I think of when I hear it. argh! OK I'm done. Overall the CD has a slightly doom-ish, slightly depressing vibe to it, broken only by a couple of more entertaining songs.

There's so much going on here that it's really difficult to keep the review short, so I'll just stop here and urge you to check out their sound samples. A more focused full-length is definitely something I'd like to hear from these fellow Canadians. I think these guys really have something going here and this will not be the last we hear from them... Stay tuned.

review by Ferdi (Lords of Metal - Netherlands)

A demo full of Machine Head-ish metal, with a lot of Judas Priest-influences. An interesting combination in itself: the old meeting the new, the British meeting the Americans.

Fortunately, the Canadian band Rampage has put enough thought into their music to make those two styles blend together seamlessly, instead of coming up with a demo that’s ventures back and forth between two remotely related styles.
The person in the band responsible for most Priest-comparisons, is singer Patrick Mulock. He does a really fine job at resembling everybody’s favourite queer singer is even the highest notes – a unique skill that also got him a job as a singer for Metal Blade recording artists Eidolon.

The music itself is quite heavy, comparable to the wave of thrash metalbands from the nineties that appeared in the wake of Machine Head and Pantera. Fortunately this band hasn’t fallen into the trap of using too much groove and hardcore-vocals, and instead they’ve chosen to play metal that’s as clear as Dutch tapwater.
And that purity prevails throughout the six songs on this demo.

The tracks are well-structured, and the good thrash riffs are all over the place. The sound could’ve been a bit better, but this is a demo after all. One thing’s for sure, it’ll be interesting what somebody like Andy Sneap could do with this band. All in all, Rampage is one band to keep an eye on.

review by Scott Alisoglu (Live 4 Metal)
(no rating )

The Arrival EP by Canada’s Rampage is modernized traditional metal with an attack that mixes melodic song structures, a dense sound, and a heavy mid-tempo punch. At various points throughout the album I heard 70s-era Judas Priest, vintage Queensryche, and Fates Warning. There are definitively some progressive metal flourishes, but not the overkill variety.

The voice of the band is none other than Patrick Mulock of Canada’s Eidolon. In addition to some strong guitar work by Tyson Emanuel and Rick Reid, a highlight of the album is Mulock’s impressive combination of mid-range Halford and high-end Geoff Tate. The musicianship on display here is top notch, but the musical vibe doesn’t always excite, instead leaving me wondering what is missing. It may be that the pressure on these six tracks builds but doesn’t quite explode, owing largely to a pensive delivery.

“Reagan’s Dream” is a decent track to get things started, with its thick guitar groove, solid drumming and crisp soloing. The middle of the song features some cool bass rumbling with churning riffs, giving the piece a rather epic feel, before moving back to chug mode. This is a perfect example of a song I found to be solid, just not stellar. “Bloodline” features some Egyptian (i.e., Nile…kind of) guitar runs and more slow to mid-tempo grooves. Stan Miczeck’s bass kills and the Priest vocals are in full effect. Variety comes by way of spoken word vocals in the middle part of the song, coupled with ethereal six-string passages and a chugging rhythm guitar. Unfortunately, I got rather bored by the end of this one. If it weren’t for a cheesy chorus of, “do that dirty work,” I would have really enjoyed the tough bass groove and low-end riffing of “Dirty Work.” Granted, the lyrics have more depth than the title would imply and it sounded better with repeat listens, but something still bugged me about it. “In the Name of…” and “The Drowning Man” feature everything from non-traditional guitar work to fat layers of sound and (as always) quality vocal work. Unfortunately, I didn’t care for the choruses in either song. While I thought both tunes were solid, neither was captivating. The closing track, “Heaven,” brought to mind the acoustic beauty of Judas Priest’s “Here Come the Tears” (think Priest meets Queensryche) before some effective guitar wails and riff stutters. The dual guitar work toward the end was also rather satisfying. It just isn’t my thing at all.

I found myself appreciating the effort but doing so with a yawn. In a nutshell, The Arrival has a good deal of depth and skillful playing. In my mind, the issue is one of stylistic preference rather than sub par performance. I just felt like I had been taken to the ledge without being pushed off.

review by Vasillis "Ravenlord" K of Heavy Metal Mania (Greece)
(6.5 out of 10)

This is a self-financed CD of the Canadian band Rampage. It comes in a nice
Helloween-ish cover, however with no bio or any other info. Their music
is a mix of modern and traditional heavy/power elements. They reminded me of
the bad moments of Crimson Glory's "Astronomica" or the latter works of
Vicious Rumors. In general, from their six compositions I really liked two of
them: "Dirty Work" and "Heaven" and especially the second I consider as a
marvelous song. In this one, Rampage have got rid of the modern elements and
the result brings in mind beautiful memories from the past metal scene
of the U.S. The other compositions didn't say much to me and I really
can't understand why they put first "Reagan's Dream", I think it's the worst song
of the six. Anyway, they seem to have the capabilities to achieve many things, but they have to work harder. I' d really prefer them if they followed the path "Heaven" shows them...

review by Chris "Rose City" O'Toole of Bedlam Society
(5.0 out of 10)

So here’s the scenario; you are given a compact disc by a band called Rampage and are asked to review it for an online web-zine. You throw it in your stereo and adjust the volume to play fairly loud, as you’re certain by the artwork that it is going to be a metal album. Once it has started you listen attentively and try to type wonderfully descriptive words to make people lust for the album when they eventually read the finished review. The only problem being that you are side lined with a barrage of thoughts clouding your mind from it’s current task and taking you back to early adolescent childhood, to a time when you recall metal being played by people who didn’t look like they shopped at the Gap and without funny ear piercing. You then go on a magical metal journey reminiscing about albums you listed to at that time by Anthrax, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and Megadeth.

You awaken out of your daze in an hour or so only to realize that you haven’t written a thing and are no longer in the mood to, as you’re drained from the mental journey. You deicide to throw on some Testament instead while leafing through some old Metal Edge magazines, and ProSet Super Stars trading cards.

Days and then weeks pass by as the same situation keeps happening. Once you put the music on you continue to get lost in the blistering solos, operatic vocals and the majesty of metal ballads. It brings you back to a time when things were simple, long-hairs were cool and Metallica was actually good. The blaring sounds remind you of when pre-grunge bands like Alice In Chains revelled in metal and it was Power Hour, not Power 30. You then come to terms with the fact that the sounds don’t move you quite as much as they would have back then, but the effort in our times of modern shallow-music is strongly appreciated.

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