– October 13th, 2026 –

Album Of The Same Name Out Now On Metal Blade Records

Watch/Stream RAM’s “Against” HERE

Today, Swedish heavy metal goliaths RAM present their video for “Against,” the title track of their latest full-length, out now on Metal Blade Records.

The title track was written in a burst of inspiration, driven by a personal sense of facing overwhelming opposition; a David And Goliath scenario. This intense emotional energy fueled a rapid writing process, resulting in one of the album’s most direct and powerful statements.

Comments vocalist Oscar Carlquist, “‘Against’ is a real belter of a track, super old school. This is not your fresh 2026 MacBook metal; this is straight from the gutter. The lyrics are pure defiance, a tale about not backing down.”

Photo by Sanna Bäckström

Watch RAM‘s “Against” video HERE

Watch RAM‘s previously released video for “Abattoir” HERE, “Ghost Emperor” HERE, and “Night Blade” HERE

While RAM‘s previously released The Throne Within full-length was defined by its spiritual and metaphysical themes, Against takes a more grounded approach, focusing on the experience of being pushed beyond reasonable limits and refusing to comply. The album captures that moment of resistance, “that fire of defiance, which ultimately defines its title and message,” as the band collectively states.

Musically, guitarists Harry Granroth and Martin Jonsson continue to favor bridge pickups, maintaining a sharp and aggressive tone. The equipment used on Against reflects a classic approach, contributing to a sound that feels both timeless and direct. Sonically, Against was conceived as a return to classic recording philosophies. Drawing inspiration from the early works of Dio, MSG, and Sweet, the goal was to create an honest and unpolished sound. In a music landscape increasingly divided into countless subgenres, the band positions itself deliberately outside of categorization.

One of the most noticeable aspects of Against is its concise songwriting. Where earlier work may have leaned toward complexity, this album embraces clarity and precision. This evolution reflects a broader maturation, with the Swedes recognizing that restraint and focus can be more impactful than technical display.

Ultimately, Against stands as a statement of intent, a reaffirmation of identity and purpose. Or, as they put it themselves: “Fear the return of the Heavy Metal Tyranny!“

RAM‘s Against full-length is out now on CD and digital formats as well as vinyl in the following color variants:

180g Black
Clear Lilac Marbled
Purple Melt (Ltd. 300)
Crystal Clear Blackdust (Ltd. 300)
Silver Black Splatter (Ltd. 250)

Order at: metalblade.com/ram

RAM Live:
12/04/2026 Spectrum – Murcia, ES
12/05/2026 Peter Rock – Valencia, ES
12/06/2026 Upload – Barcelona, ES
12/07/2026 Urban – Vitoria, ES
3/12-13/2027 Heavy Metal Thunder Fest – Pisek, CZ
4/08/2027 Don’t Panic – Essen, DE
5/20-22/2027 Iron Fest – Ohmbachsee, DE

Against Track Listing:
01. Obsession
02. Ghost Emperor
03. One Vs. All
04. Abattoir
05. Out of Control
06. Leaving
07. Against
08. Night Blade
09. Rising Again
10. 1984
11. The Final Hour

“After all these years, RAM still perfectly embodies what real metal must be; passionate, Luciferian, antagonistic, and musically overpowering. Oscar’s vocals are some of the best in the genre; fearless and full of intent. A heavy metal soundtrack for the twilight of the world.” – Erik Danielsson, Watain

“Just when you thought it was safe to be dead, RAM resurrects you only to kill you again. I have loved this band since the very start, and Against contains some of their strongest material to date, in terms of both lyrics and music. This is thinking man’s metal of the highest order!” – Christian Lindell, Portrait

“There’s only one band in Sweden making classic heavy metal without it sounding like a pastiche or tribute act to the old days. Oscar is Sweden’s best and most charismatic singer and frontman. Why isn’t this one of the leading bands in the genre? Probably because they are completely uncompromising and refuse to bend the knee or kiss the asses required to reach the biggest stages. Against is every bit as good as everything else they’ve done. Elite!” – Sebastian Ramstedt, Necrophobic/Nifelheim

“After seven years, RAM are finally back with another anthem-fueled album. While remaining true to their roots, they are opening their sound and manage to show a few new angles to their classic heavy metal. Can’t wait to bang my head to ‘Night Blade’ at a show of one of the best live bands of our times!” – S. Castevet, Vulture

“Pure heavy metal, raw and unfiltered. Just my cup of tea!” – Niklas Stålvind, Wolf

“The Gothenburg-based outfit continues to craft stunningly beautiful, traditional anthems… It is a mystery why RAM aren’t already playing on bigger stages. Anyone with a heart for honestly forged heavy metal who hasn’t yet checked out this band really ought to do so immediately. It doesn’t get much better than this.” – Metal Hammer

“It offers everything one could want from classic heavy metal: catchy, high-energy hooks, driving twin-guitar harmonies, defiant lyrics, and-of course-riffs, riffs, riffs. What’s more, Against is anything but monotonous: there are songs for an adventurous highway drive, tracks for rocking out and letting loose, and-in the ballad-like ‘Leaving”-something that speaks to the heart. Held together by Johan Reiven’s organic production, this is heavy metal through and through.” – Rock Hard

“…arguably the best RAM album since Svbversvm… Anyone into real heavy metal won’t want to miss this record.” – Powermetal.de

“…this record oozes with a fun, sleazy, raw and fiercely energetic spirit that makes it nearly impossible not to immediately gravitate toward. This is the exact type of old-school album that makes me wish I still had a shitty old-school boombox to blow the speakers out while smoking cigarettes and drinking a cold 40 oz on my front porch. Crank that glorious noise up.” – The Metal List

“…a metal album that sounds exactly the way a metal album should: powerful, positive, and anthemic. Guys, you nailed it.” – Rock It

“As always, the musical craftsmanship is beyond reproach, and with this release, RAM once again proves itself to be a high-quality standard-bearer for the New Wave of Swedish Heavy Metal.” – Rock Tribune

“RAM stays confidently within the genre they have mastered so convincingly, ensuring that classic heavy metal is alive and well.” – Metalized

“RAM means business and with the music in this release showcase their caliber, as all songs are explosive, catchy, and very varied, making this release have huge replay value.” – Infernal Masquerade

RAM Recording Lineup:
Oscar Carlquist – vocals
Morgan Pettersson – drums
Harry Granroth – guitar
Martin Jonsson – guitar
Tobias Petterson – bass

RAM Live Lineup:
Oscar Carlquist – vocals
Morgan Pettersson – drums
Harry Granroth – guitar
Martin Jonsson – guitar
Desekrator – bass

Find Online:
https://ram-metal.com
https://www.facebook.com/RAMheavymetal
https://www.instagram.com/RAMheavymetal

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Black Sabbath legend Tony Iommi has admitted that the death of his bandmate Ozzy Osbourne has made him reflect on his own mortality.

In a new interview with The Telegraph, the guitarist is asked whether his friend’s death has served to remind him of his own mortality, to which he responds, “Yes, it does. A lot.

“I’ve had a few friends go now,” he says, “and you think: Blimey, hang on, I’m 78, how much longer? You do. [Queen guitarist] Brian May and myself have this conversation. He’s more dismal than me. Bloody hell.”

In the interview, Iommi also recalls his final conversation with Osbourne, on July 21 last year, the day before the singer died.

“Ozzy said, ‘I’m really tired. I’m absolutely shattered,” Iommi recalls. “I said, Well, it’s been a tough few weeks. You’re bound to be.”

The guitarist remembers telling his friend to take it easy and get some rest.

“He went, ‘Yeah, I’ll try to do that.’ And that was it. Then I heard the next day that he’d gone. And that was… weird.”

“He was a part of my life for 60 years. I do miss him.”

Recently, producer Andrew Watt claimed that Iommi, Osbourne and Geezer Butler wanted to make one more album with the group’s original line-up in the early 2020s, but that the idea never got off the ground because drummer Bill Ward couldn’t commit to the idea. Iommi’s recollection of this is somewhat different.

“I’d met Andrew Watt when he was producing Ozzy,” Iommi recalled to Classic Rock. “He was very keen and a bit too excited. He also didn’t know what it was like working with the original Sabbath, working with Bill. Also, we’d done 13, and I didn’t like the idea of: ‘Now here’s another album’.”

Iommi is set to release a solo album, From the Dark on October 23 on BMG. The guitarist has previewed the album with the release of singles World Alone and Stormwatcher.

In 2015 Prog argued that Wilco’s fourth album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, was a much more progressive album than many people have ever realised – made more so by its confused backstory.

Traditionally at least, there’s very little about alt country that can rightfully be considered prog. But then Wilco have never been your average roots band.

By 2001 they’d issued three albums of country-ish rock with nods to The Replacements, Big Star and Uncle Tupelo, the latter being the former vehicle of Wilco chief Jeff Tweedy. These were records that bled freely into soul, R&B and hard rock, each one an incremental shift from its predecessor in terms of ambition.

Yet no one was quite prepared for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot: a dizzying confection of avant-garde flourishes, arty prog and weird noise, wrapped in just enough melodic know-how to make it utterly palatable.

Such a record warranted its own creation myth. And boy did it have one. Initially due on September 11 – a portent in itself – Reprise pulled the release, citing what they considered a lack of commercial appeal. The upshot was that Wilco acquired the rights and streamed it free on their website.

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot finally found a home on Nonesuch, who released it in April 2002. The great irony was that both Nonesuch and Reprise were imprints of AOL Time Warner – in effect, the parent company had bought the album twice.

Relations within the band were equally confused. Drummer Ken Coomer (at Tweedy’s side since Uncle Tupelo) was ousted in favour of the more flexible Glenn Kotche, deemed a better choice to carry off the album’s percussive tics and rhythms.

Co-songwriter Jay Bennett was fired on the project’s completion, after much conflict over Tweedy’s decision to bring in leftfield producer Jim O’Rourke as mixer/engineer.

The greatest irony of it all was that Yankee Hotel Foxtrot – as suggested by its title – was an album about communication. Or, more pertinently, our struggle to do so on both a personal and global level. This disconnect was echoed by Tweedy’s use of transmitter static as a recurring motif amid songs that swapped moods as if governed by a random dial.

Distorted guitars elide into experimental jazz on War On War; dissonant art-rock flirts with musique concrète on the epic I Am Trying To Break Your Heart; samples from shortwave stations seep into Poor Places, rife with electronic effects and semi-classical tones.

Complex, adventurous and often very beautiful indeed, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is progressive in the truest sense. And, in light of the fact that it remains Wilco’s biggest seller by some distance – proof that populism and daring need not be mutually exclusive.

Posted on October 13th 2026, 4:00pm

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