As their website states, RAM-ZET is most definitely "music for the experienced listener". Their mix of thundering industrial metal riffs and screeching black metal vocals - coupled with a constant feeling of "psychosis" in the music - not to mention the heady use of Keyboards, Cello's and Violins, and also haunting female vocal accompaniment - makes for some of the most interesting sounds you are ever likely to hear. Their brand of music is not the most instantly accessible of course, but definitely reaps rewards aplenty for those that are persistent. With third full length album "Intra" RAM-ZET have pretty much kept to the above formula, but unlike a lot of bands that try to stick their own formula because it's uniquely "them", RAM-ZET seem to go from strength to strength with each release.

Noticeably on "Intra" the speed and intensity of the music is now a lot faster than on previous efforts. The guitar work is so fast at times it's reminiscent of latter day Emperor at their most experimental, all the while still managing to feature enough of that industrial "crunch" that would make Rammstein green with envy. The actual sound of the guitars is fantastic, mainly due the excellent production by famous Swedish producer Daniel Bergstrand (Meshuggah, In Flames, Strapping Young Lad) who seems to have injected Zet's guitar work with an almost buzzsaw-like crunch. The sorrowful and off-kilter violins are still present to give the music that distinctly unhinged feeling, and Zet's crazed black metal shrieks seem more evil than ever. Also, this time around female vocalist Sfinx is given much more room to shine - featuring fairly frequently and showing a much larger vocal range than ever before - going from soaring chorus anthems to high pitched operatics. This never overtakes the music - rather instead it perfectly compliments it without ever turning the band into "yet more ladymetal".

"Intra", whilst keeping the lyrical and musical themes of psychosis, paranoia and distorted reality that RAM-ZET lean towards, is actually a fairly song based album - unlike previous 2002 release "Escape" (a full concept record telling the story of a man locked away in a lunatic asylum, plagued by visions of the dead girlfriend he himself murdered).

Opener "The Final Thrill" starts off sounding a bit like Soilwork would sound had they decided to play music along the lines of Mayhem-styled black metal, and doesn't seem to really know where it's going until the very last section of the song where everything slots into place with Sfinx's vocal section stating "This Final Thrill Within Me, In terms of war I call for!". Proceedings really start to get going with "Left Behind as Pieces" - which kicks off with some high speed black metal widdling - and eventually comes to some of the heaviest, gut rumbling downtuned riffing that I've ever encountered on CD. The tracks "Enchanted" and "Ballet" - two inter-connecting songs - are undeniably the highlight of the album. "Enchanted" jerks from here to there with often dizzying guitar and vocal changes, ending with the undeniable sing-along chorus of the album with Sfinx's soaring voice taking centre stage. This then melds into "Ballet" - featuring a high speed violin and guitar hook that goes like a bullet, and also some impressive keyboard work. (This song's violin section and indeed entire basis has rather cleverly been developed from a very small keyboard section in one of the band's earlier songs "Sense").

Things take a little bit of a down-turn in the middle of the album, with supposed single cut "...And Innocence" actually being quite dull in comparison to all that has preceded it, and featuring a rather lumbering repetitive riff. Things soon pick up again with "Born", featuring Zet's most venomous, rasping vocal work, before building up to "Lullaby for the Dying" - the audio equivalent of a room full of nutters going on a killing spree. Sheer musical bliss.

"Closing a Memory" calms down a little bit for the album closer, and instead opts for a slow build up, peaking at Sfinx's uplifting high pitched vocals and some brief classical piano work that wouldn't sound out of place on Muse's last album - it doesn't quite reach the intensity of songs before it, but ends things in a suitably eerie fashion, leaving the listener craving just a little bit more.

RAM-ZET is never going to be an instant grab kind of band, and even though I was already familiar with their music - it has taken me many weeks of listening to get my head round the tracks on this album - but it has been more than worth it. I've come to the conclusion this album is one of the most uniquely brilliant things my ears have experienced in a long long time, and all expectations have been surpassed ten-fold. Make your life better and give this album the time it deserves. (And with play.com selling it for £10.99, there's no excuse!)

Standout Tracks:  Lullaby for the Dying, Ballet, Enchanted.

Overall Score:   9 /10