Ramallah - Kill a Celebrity review - Thorp and Sailor's Grave Board

Ramallah - Kill a Celebrity review

Monkey_Julius_BoWaffle - 8-7-2005 at 10:27 PM

Ok - the copy I have doesn't have track titles so, other than the three tracks that have been posted online, I don't know the track titles - but here goes:

track 01 - intro track, at the end you hear the "I'd love to detonate......." verse from the title track with just Rob's voice (no music behind it)

track 02 - Kill a Celebrity - everyone should already know this one

track 03 - Fantastic song - keyboards, yet heavy - chorus takes the lyrics from "Sleep" from the EP ("just take a look at the papers....")

track 04 - Heavy song - song about terrorism - anti-government. Favorite line "the little sticker of a flag on your car means nothing"

track 05 - Up-tempo track - not really much to say about it, just pure straight up Ramallah

track 06 - Like an interlude track basically - heavy guitar riff - short

track 07 - Really fierce lyrics - great guitar riff - up-tempo - once again, pure straight up Ramallah

track 08 - Ramallah title track - was much better on the EP in my opinion

track 09 - Al-Shifa from EP with a few diff. lines - I think instead of Al-Shifa it's now "Shock & Awe" - I much prefer the "kill my mother, kill my father" part on the EP

track 10 - Beatles cover - A Day in the Life with some slightly different lyrics - this song is absolute catchy bliss - Sinners & Saints fans are gonna LOVE this

track 11 - basically starts out with a catchy vocal melody and then goes back to "A Day in the Life" for the last verse (awesome lyrics) - Once again, pure catchy bliss

track 12 - Life Goes On - everyone's prob. heard this one

track 13 - If I Die Today - everyone's prob. heard this one too

track 14 - starts out with a dark keyboard melody - then gets kinda heavy yet retains the keyboards and melody - kinda like a mix of S&S and Ramallah in one - very good

track 15 - prob. my favorite track right now - this song samples some of the most classic Blood For Blood lyrics and makes them into a whole new song - the chorus starts out with "I don't need nobody to save me" but by the end of the song it changes to "I need somebody to save me" - musically, the verses are chanting/tribally in the backdrop, heavy guitar, shouting Rob vox - chorus is total Sinners & Saints ear-candy - has a fantastic break-down before the last chorus part. Everyone is gonna love this one

track 16 - starts out with keyboard - very poppy/melodic vox - guitar kicks in and we have another Sinners & Saints-ish track. This song reminds me of something off of Motley Crue's "Generation Swine" record (seriously - that record isn't bad at all and this song sounds SO much like a song off that record).

track 17 - this is the opening intro again (track 01) - everythings a little louder this time, lyrics are "Here I am, here I stand, I'll see you all on the other side, the other side" with a keyboard playing in the background

track 18 - Opening riff is like a melodic Slayer "Seasons In the Abyss-ish" kinda riff - dark - has chants in the background throughout "whoa-oh-uh" - haunting, emotional lyrics - very very catchy song - not really like Sinners & Saints - just kinda has it's own sound but it's just as catchy - best line: "this can't be hell, it's much too cold - I'm shivering"

track 19 - sounds like someone holding down the rewind button on one of those hand held cassette recorders

track 20 - "sugar plum fairy, sugar plum fairy"

Fantastic album - I really hope this thing comes out on vinyl as well. I know I'll be buying CD/vinyl of this and believe me (not that anyone needs to take my word on it) this thing is WELLLLL worth the price of admission. This is one of those albums you won't be able to drag out of your player for a long long time. There's so many textures and sounds and emotions. You just wanna keep listening to it over and over. Basically it's like 5 or 6 albums tightly wrapped into one - like a roller coaster ride, it never gets boring and when you get off all you think about it getting back on.

my rating: 200 out of 100

GabeTexasGAMC - 8-7-2005 at 10:50 PM

Rub it in please.

Monkey_Julius_BoWaffle - 8-7-2005 at 11:36 PM

GabeTexasGAMC - 8-8-2005 at 12:37 AM

hahahah!

XnMeX - 8-8-2005 at 12:36 PM

HOLY FUCKING HELL!!!!

This has to be the BEST fucking album I have ever heard. I will buy this the second it comes up on the thorp site for sale.

Rob is a fucking musical genius and thats ALL there is to it!
NOTHING can touch this cd.

BDx13 - 8-8-2005 at 12:42 PM

at first i was kinda bummed it got out so early, but what's circulating is pretty different from the final, and really, it's so damn good, it's worth the purchase.

GabeTexasGAMC - 8-8-2005 at 01:05 PM

yeah i just found like 7 of the songs on limewire.
Wow.
Seriously... WOW!
I need to make some banners or somthing to fill up paypal and buy me some sheet!

Ben-G - 8-8-2005 at 01:12 PM

so it has 20 songs??

XnMeX - 8-8-2005 at 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BIG DUANE
but what's circulating is pretty different from the final

I like hearing that! Somthing to look forward to. Even if it was exactly the same, I would buy it the second it comes out. Can't wait for this, as I have said before. SOLID

Shane - 8-8-2005 at 01:33 PM

As Duane mentioned, this is far from the finished product. This record hasn't even existed out of CDR and master CD form yet. We just got the mastered copy a couple weeks ago and let me tell you, it sounds light years better than the unmastered version, which by no means was anything to scoff at. We promise the wait for this disc will be worth it. We're about as anxious to have a finished copy in our hands as much as you guys are.

brooklyn - 8-8-2005 at 01:45 PM

the wait is oh so painful

washed-up fuck - 8-8-2005 at 01:52 PM

Quote:

As Duane mentioned, this is far from the finished product. This record hasn't even existed out of CDR and master CD form yet. We just got the mastered copy a couple weeks ago and let me tell you, it sounds light years better than the unmastered version, which by no means was anything to scoff at. We promise the wait for this disc will be worth it. We're about as anxious to have a finished copy in our hands as much as you guys are.

I downloaded it as well, because i can't wait for it while i know the blueprints are there for the take (or the steal, however you want to put it) That doesn't mean i'm not gonna buy this anymore, cause it's just one hell of an album. At least i got a glimpse of what the album is gonna sound like. If it's that much better than what i heared so far, it's gonna be the album of the year for me.

XHonusWagnerX - 8-8-2005 at 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by XnMeX

Rob is a fucking musical genius and thats ALL there is to it!

well said! I cant wait for this record either, but I do hope there is more Blood for Blood & Sinners and Saints somewhere down the road!

BDx13 - 8-8-2005 at 02:22 PM

i don't usually concern myself with this (unless i'm the one doing it!), but the artwork is really nice, too.

also, honus, i can't comment on s&s, but i know b4b has not broken up, so there will very likely be another release from them.

XnMeX - 8-8-2005 at 02:38 PM

I want ANY new shit from Rob. He has never dissapointed me with the music he makes. A new S&S would be fucking excelent and I know both Lind brothers have it in them to do another great S&S album. A new Blood for Blood album needs to be done as well. I need some new stuff with Buddah singing. Best voice in hardcore.

I may sound like a cock ass, nut ridding fan but it's just my honest opinion so fuck it!

Discipline - 8-8-2005 at 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by XnMeX
I want ANY new shit from Rob. He has never dissapointed me with the music he makes. A new S&S would be fucking excelent and I know both Lind brothers have it in them to do another great S&S album. A new Blood for Blood album needs to be done as well. I need some new stuff with Buddah singing. Best voice in hardcore.

I may sound like a cock ass, nut ridding fan but it's just my honest opinion so fuck it!

godabandonedme - 8-8-2005 at 04:47 PM

I just got life goes on. Awsome song. I don't care if i get all them I'll just use them for my comp I'm still buying the cd.

Murk - 8-8-2005 at 06:30 PM

Cool review. 20 songs?! Can't wait!!!

crazyfists28 - 8-8-2005 at 08:27 PM

really cool to hear how much more content is on this one than but a whimper...and from what we've heard and read this sounds like its some of robs most intense and thought provoking stuff...good deal...how about you guys get it in house two months early, that would be nice...

Mark Lind - 8-8-2005 at 08:28 PM

"track 18 - Opening riff is like a melodic Slayer "Seasons In the Abyss-ish" kinda riff - dark - has chants in the background throughout "whoa-oh-uh" - haunting, emotional lyrics - very very catchy song - not really like Sinners & Saints - just kinda has it's own sound but it's just as catchy - best line: "this can't be hell, it's much too cold - I'm shivering""

That's the best song in my opinion. Sinners and Saints played it a few times but it was a lot different.

Thorp should be able to track who they sent copies of this to at this point - and then go knock the person's teeth out..... unless Thorp leaked it deliberately Hatebreed style to create buzz. This CD, more than any CD I've ever heard on an underground level, deserves to be heard as it was intended by Rob complete with artwork and all. I shan't download it until it is for sale on the Thorp Store.

Andy, if you got these back from the plant then I want one, motherfucker!

Monkey_Julius_BoWaffle - 8-8-2005 at 09:24 PM

In this day and time it's next to impossible to keep stuff from leaking early. All it takes is one person from the label or one member of the band to make a friend a copy and that's it - it's everywhere within days. I'm all for downloading, totally for it - but if the album gives you your moneys worth you should buy the damn thing. If you feel like it's only "half good" at least buy the songs you do like from an Itunes store or something.

It's cool that this version is "undone" - it's still fantastic. Are the songs just beefed up production wise/level wise or are the songs actually totally different in places?

Monkey_Julius_BoWaffle - 8-8-2005 at 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BIG DUANE
at first i was kinda bummed it got out so early, but what's circulating is pretty different from the final, and really, it's so damn good, it's worth the purchase.

Yes - not to mention you've been getting to enjoy this slab of genuis for WEEKS now!

Lucky you

Murk - 8-8-2005 at 09:31 PM

Holy shit!

Just found this.

About to go listen to it.

FYI, I always buy stuff I like and always always buy whatever Rob puts out.

The leaking thing isn't as bad as most people spin it. Just think, Ramallah could never get on regular radio rotation, so this is kind of like the alternative to it. By the time this comes out SO MANY people will have heard it and be aware of it as opposed to if it didn't leak.

AND Thorp/Ramallah doesn't have to pay a dime for ANY of this type of promotion. Leaking the unmastered copy is genius. By the time the retail CD is available, the net will be flooded with this version. The playing field is levelling.

Murk - 8-8-2005 at 10:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ben-G
so it has 20 songs??

There's about 15 "full" songs, or in other words, above the 60 second mark.

GabeTexasGAMC - 8-8-2005 at 10:50 PM

its great!

BDx13 - 8-8-2005 at 11:32 PM

assuming the copy that is making the rounds is tha same thing we've had for MONTHS now (sorry, M_J_BoWaffle!), there are 20 tracks, but a few are incomplete intros, samples, etc. probably works out to 15 or 17 actual songs.

there are definitely a few different styles on this album, and the nice thing is, they all work and they're all good. it's not like with some albums when a different sounding song comes on, and you're like "woah, what the hell is that doing here?". totally works.

track 18 is a good example. tracks 10 & 11 are the most mellow, and, surprisingly, may be my favorites. kill a celebrity (track 2), brother malcolm (track 5), and heart full of love (track 7) are expertly written. oh yeah, track 15, just walk away, also superb.

i doubt andy intentionally put this album out there. actually, he wouldn't even know how to do that. but you gotta figure, for as long as this version has been available, and the number of people that have been involved, it's just a matter of one friend of a friend getting it and putting it online. this and the new starkweather are seriously locked up in my house! but mark's right, this album does deserve every bit of attention it gets. it's just so tight.

Murk - 8-9-2005 at 12:25 AM

FUCK!

It's like you can't stop listening to it...

BDx13 - 8-9-2005 at 12:34 AM

you ain't lyin, brother! i listen to this album everyday.

godabandonedme - 8-9-2005 at 01:58 AM

wow, I got the 20 and hope there all on the mastered version. There is absolutely no other band in hardcore that could mix styles like this and make it respectable let alone fucking genius like this. The piano's? Fucking amazing again. Creepy but it's like it was meant for rob an Ramallah. Probablly the best cd I've bought in years if ever.

Shane - 8-9-2005 at 02:27 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by BIG DUANE
actually, he wouldn't even know how to do that.

Hahahaha.

XnMeX - 8-12-2005 at 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Murk
FUCK!

It's like you can't stop listening to it...

This is the only album I have listened to since this thread was put up and I will probably stop listening to these mp3's on October 11th and thats about it.

You really CAN'T stop listening to it!

Frank N - 8-12-2005 at 10:41 PM

does anyone know where i can get someof the songs off the album? i triedsoulseek but im not having any luck. thanks

Murk - 8-13-2005 at 03:51 AM

Quote:

i triedsoulseek but im not having any luck.

Just keep trying. You'll get it.

Murk - 8-13-2005 at 03:53 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by XnMeX

Quote:

Originally posted by Murk
FUCK!

It's like you can't stop listening to it...

This is the only album I have listened to since this thread was put up and I will probably stop listening to these mp3's on October 11th and thats about it.

You really CAN'T stop listening to it!

Yeah man. It's like mind control or something...

Monkey_Julius_BoWaffle - 8-13-2005 at 05:53 AM

Ok, I'm coming clean - Rob told me personally the secret - he has injected subliminal messages within the album. DONT EVEN listen to tracks 19 and 20 or the subliminal messages will really penetrate your mind!

DeathByForce - 8-14-2005 at 04:39 AM

i've got the album on soulseek

it's amazing!

I was surprised i got so soon.. I can't wait to hear the finished copy though.

xamevol - 8-25-2005 at 12:17 PM

PLEASE!! could you send me the tracklist ???

Quote:

Originally posted by BIG DUANE
assuming the copy that is making the rounds is tha same thing we've had for MONTHS now (sorry, M_J_BoWaffle!), there are 20 tracks, but a few are incomplete intros, samples, etc. probably works out to 15 or 17 actual songs.

there are definitely a few different styles on this album, and the nice thing is, they all work and they're all good. it's not like with some albums when a different sounding song comes on, and you're like "woah, what the hell is that doing here?". totally works.

track 18 is a good example. tracks 10 & 11 are the most mellow, and, surprisingly, may be my favorites. kill a celebrity (track 2), brother malcolm (track 5), and heart full of love (track 7) are expertly written. oh yeah, track 15, just walk away, also superb.

i doubt andy intentionally put this album out there. actually, he wouldn't even know how to do that. but you gotta figure, for as long as this version has been available, and the number of people that have been involved, it's just a matter of one friend of a friend getting it and putting it online. this and the new starkweather are seriously locked up in my house! but mark's right, this album does deserve every bit of attention it gets. it's just so tight.