Ramallah is a band that I knew nothing of until recently. I picked this CD up after hearing this eerie, socio-political metal/hardcore hybrid song called “Days Of Revenge” on a Music Choice TV channel. As it turns out Ramallah is a one-man side-project by Rob Lind (aka “White Trash Rob”), guitarist/vocalist of Boston’s now defunct Blood For Blood—one of my favorite hardcore bands (so much for me being a music expert…hmph!)—and Saints & Sinners. Kill A Celebrity is Ramallah’s first full-length album following a 6-song EP called But A Whimper that was released in 2002. So let me put this right out in the open, make no mistake, this is a hardcore album, but it isn’t your every day hardcore album. There’s something unique here.

What first grabbed my attention on the song “Days Of Revenge” is the use of keyboards and piano. I can’t recall another hardcore band that has used these instruments to such perfection. “Days Of Revenge” isn’t the only song where this is present, either. Throughout the album the keyboards and piano add some real dark elements to the music, creating an atmosphere not found on most in-your-face-type hardcore albums, sometimes even reminiscent of the Halloween movie theme music. The foundation of the music is of the old school, brutal hardcore nature. The lyrical content does not cover the usual hardcore bravado: I’ll-kick-your-ass-because-I’m-hardcore-and-[insert vegan, straightedge, Amish, et al., here], etc….The words here are a verbal onslaught directed at pop-culture and the political and social depravity of the world. Lind says it best, “We live in terrible times. People should be terrified and horrified and disgusted at what's going on in this world and in their name every single day. Ramallah is here to shove it all right down their throats.” And he does just that. After the opening intro track, “The Other Side”, creates an atmosphere of impending doom, Lind breaks the silence with a vocal-only roar at the beginning of the next track, “Kill A Celebrity,” and he leaves nothing open to question: “I’d love to detonate a car bomb / At the doors of your precious MTV / And put some sarin gas in the central A.C.” This isn’t your everyday Hatebreed.

Musically, like I said, this is a hardcore album with a lot of power chord “chugga-chugging,” staccato and stop/start riffs aplenty, some punk-like moments and some “galloping” nods to the more metal side of the spectrum, but Ramalla never sound like part of the current Cash Cow that is metalcore. Unfortunately, there are some songs like “Brother Malcolm” that just don’t work too well, they lack the emotion and catch-quality that most of the songs on Kill A Celebrity have. A few others like “If I Die Today” and “Heart Full Of Love” are simply by-the-numbers hardcore tracks and sort of take away from the flow of the album, but they're definitely good by hardcore standards. This is a bit tragic, though, as there are 16 tracks that could have easily been cut down to 12 or 13 and you’d have one killer album.

Hardcore music in general has always been a genre that seems to be boxed in—much like punk music—where most bands never seem to stray far from the beaten path. Occasionally a band comes along and tries to create something unique in a cookie-cutter world, to create a new path, and occasionally it actually works. For the most part, Ramallah has made it work. They’re not groundbreaking by any means, but they’re not riding the ragged, overcrowded coattails of other hardcore bands, past and present. If you’re into brutal hardcore, and are interested in a band that takes it to another level, then give Ramallah a try. You may find something unexpected.

AUDIO: If I Die Today (not representative of my praise in this review)

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