RANGER – Risen From The Ruins
Reduced to two original members and a few guests in order to keep the name alive, the Finnish sprinters, who last rocked with 2016’s Speed & Violence (Spinefarm), release eight new songs, played in two different languages (Finnish/English). While the last show was unashamed, straightforward / primitive speed metal, this time Ranger chose a slightly more versatile approach: for better or for worse.
Focusing only on the anglicized versions of the songs, they begin with the noisy, reverberating title track, ending with a bisexual chorus shouting nonsensical statements. I can tell it’s Dimi Pontiac’s wail on “Revolution”, which was played pretty straight forward, albeit with a slight punk element and weird sound effects/backwards recordings that appear between each song. The most experimental is the rumbling, three-minute “Worms,” featuring female backing vocals. The haunting 90s era Tiamat comes to mind. The recurring high-pitched phrase: “serving the master” features much of “Servant” as it rampages through this old-school-sounding Ranger song. A snare wall of sonic chaos (like previous outings) greets “Pigs”. A bit of drums at first, and finally joined by Buzz saw guitar and an overpowering double-tracked/yet echoing lyricist on “Guerrilla”. Full speed ahead under reduced production standards. Before tearing into Sonic Armageddon, there’s a mid-tempo romp to kick off the album-closing “Insurgency,” which otherwise has a sly demo “quality” in sound. A police siren can be heard in the background as the title barks out a four-syllable word and the hiss, pop, swirls end with an alien voice repeatedly yelling the same word.
Hardly necessary, but for those wondering “What ever happened…” here’s an (unfortunately) unsatisfying answer.