Part of a new breed of progressive/industrial music that is permeating throughout Scandinavia at the moment, Ram-Zet create a big sound for even bigger goals, in what turns out to be one of the stranger, harder to define albums of late 2000/early 2001. Right away, a swift mechanical aura can be detected with the electronic samples, loops, razor sharp crunch of the guitars, cold machine-like drumming, and over-processed, pitch shifted snarling vocals. Albeit musically competent, the first track doesn't strike one as that particularly interesting, probably due to Zet's screaming, which grates on the nerves, and lack of proper focus. Sure it is impressive that the band can employ such a full arsenal of sounds and techniques, but to what end? There is something lacking in the compositional cohesion of several of songs, bringing to mind (most of) progressive metal's inability to grab the listener through virtuosity. However, finer elements take root in track two, "King," with the addition of female vocals and chugging catchy guitar, all carefully layered with well-placed electronic programming. The song shifts gears with a fret dancing, prog-metal solo, before lush female vocals give way to beautifully grinding industrial riffing. "For the Sake of Mankind" energetically springs forth with Dream Theater-like six-string shredding, melding into a mechanical grind that hammers away at the listener and shatters at their senses with adept musicianship. Songs like "Eternal Void" and "Through the Eyes of the Children" have moments of brilliance but also some wasteful moments, which makes the album a tough listen at times. This can mostly be attributed to the headache inducing vocals, which if it weren't for the brilliant female vocals that are interspersed, would cause Pure Therapy to become pure hell. What they need to do is find a vocal replacement, use more female vocals, and develop a more concise musical focus that will bring forth all the brilliant elements of the music (of which there are several), using them wiser. That way a masterful piece of music such as "Sense" can be listened to in enjoyment, instead of with a scowl.
© Jason Hundey /TiVo