Ramon Zarate - Monkey
The preachers of the holy riff have struck again and the Belgian bull is back!
This time Ramon Zarate is riding on his back pointing yet another nine sharpened knives at you...duck or you will be cut in half!
The new album ‘Oyster’ by Ramon Zarate hailing from Liége in Belgium offers you a swarm of non bull-shitting fist that grabs you by your genitals and squeezes till your eyes pop out! The new effort picks up where the last left off, and the Belgians continue their fight without inhibitions. If you are looking for some dynamite you have come to the right joint, because TNT is exactly what Ramon Zarate is about.
‘Oyster’ begins with the somewhat crazy ‘Monkey’ that leaves no senses untouched, and before you know it the roller coaster ride is rolling. A deadly swarm of heavy fuzz guitars tickles my ears and every beat gets the desert sand to swirl. I’m in heaven; it just can’t get much better than this! Riff by riff, and beat by beat Ramon Z. cuts “himself” towards the podium, and nothing can stop it from happen. This fuzzadelic “ape” is bigger than King Kong and won’t stop until you bleeeeeeed! Ramon Zarate rumbles on with ‘Burning Bob’ and once again these animals rip the ears of your skull, this time you get megatons of super heavy monster riffs sharp as shark teeth and on top of that a Spaniard who makes the earth shake. This gem is reminiscent of a thoroughbred mix of Kyuss and Motorhead.
The title track is a dusty ride on the holy Kyuss trails that leads to timelessness.
There is nothing much more to say than that the engine is running hot even here and you are treated to a delicious menu of fuzz magic. Worth mentioning is also the two giants, ‘Losing Grace’ and ‘Shiteaters’ which together offer a steel barrier of solid rock. On these tracks Ramon Zarate gives you miles of enchantment together with a huge bucket of heavy fuzz rock. Words like grandeur and masterful fits in even here.
Is this how accurate you get from eating shit I will join the shiteater’s club right away!
The whole album is like having a stake driven right through your ears and there are no bad things to say about Oyster except for; when will you guys put out your next album? ;-) Ramon Zarate is one of the wet dreams in the stoner genre that hopefully will entertain us for many years to come. Senor Zarate, I salute you!
Reviewed by Tobias Beament
Myspace
Poison Tree Records
Track List
01 Monkey
02 Burning Bob
03 Oyster
04 Eightball
05 Losing Grace
06 Cryptic Invaders
07 Shiteaters
08 Sun
