Ramses have been around longer than most bands that are currently releasing music. Formed in Aalst, Belgium, back in July 1990 by guitarist Stefaan Lambrecht, the band put out their debut album “Faith in Rebirth” in 1993 through Pinball Records, went through the usual lineup shuffles, and eventually split in late 1997. A 2016 reissue of that first record through Lost Realm Records reignited interest, and by 2019 Ramses was back with a rebuilt lineup. “Desert Storm” is the lead single off a new album recorded at Rockstar Recording Studios in the summer of 2025, a twelve-track effort that apparently features a choir and a xylophone among its many moving parts. The full album is slated for 2026. Current lineup: Marc De Veirman on lead vocals, Stefaan Lambrecht and Frank Deroubaix on guitars, Michel Hautier on bass, and Quinten Van Den Abbeele on drums.
“Desert Storm” has a classic heavy metal feel to it, the kind that draws an obvious line back to Dio-era bombast. Big, clean guitar riffs, a vocalist going for drama and mostly landing it, and a sense that the song is trying to feel larger than it is. The Egyptian mythology angle gives the whole thing a bit of flair and thematic consistency, even if that territory has been well-trodden in metal going back decades. Worth noting: the music video is AI-generated visually, but the music itself is fully real, performed and recorded by the band.
For a band that’s been dormant for the better part of two decades and is now navigating a third-era lineup, “Desert Storm” is a reasonable statement of intent. It doesn’t reinvent anything, but it’s competently done and fits squarely into what Ramses has always been about. The album should give a clearer picture of how far they’ve pushed this direction, but as a first look, this one does its job.
