Ramleh (band)

History

Mundy started Ramleh in 1982, placing the band within the same power electronics scene as Whitehouse and Sutcliffe Jugend. That year saw the release of the cassette 21/5/62/82, whose title pointed to the date of Adolf Eichmann's execution. Four more cassettes followed in 1982: Onslaught, Live to Theresienstadt, Live New Force, and Live Phenol. The next year brought the Live McCarthy, Live at Moden Tower 12/10/1983, and Live at Prossneck 1/10/83 releases, plus the A Return to Slavery and The Hand of Glory EPs, along with more cassettes.

Ramleh split up in 1984, though Mundy's Broken Flag label kept putting out Ramleh material. After the Hole in the Heart cassette and a few records in 1987, Mundy revived the band in 1989 with Philip Best, issuing the Grudge for Life LP that same year. Drawing from Mundy's other project Skullflower, Ramleh started weaving rock elements into its sound, beginning with Blowhole in 1991. The lineup expanded to include Skullflower members Anthony di Franco on bass and Stuart Dennison on drums, and the group released Homeless in 1994.

Rock-oriented records continued through the late 1990s, including Adieu, All You Judges and Be Careful What You Wish For in 1995, and Works III in 1996. After Boeing, Mundy disbanded Ramleh again. In 2009, Mundy and di Franco reformed the band with drummer Martyn Watts, putting out the Valediction LP that year. Stuart Dennison returned on drums in 2015 and played on the US west coast tour in January 2016.

Musical style and imagery

In the 1990s the band began experimenting with traditional rock structures, and these works were commonly labeled noise rock. Frances Morgan of The Quietus described the band's music during this era as a brutal, abject strand of dark psychedelic rock, while albums such as Works III and Boeing were labeled heavy psych-noise rock. Skullflower and Butthole Surfers were influences on these works.

The first album after the 2009 reunion revived the original power electronics genre and was compared to Japanese noise musician Merzbow, though the band retained rock instrumentation and performed in both genres. In its early days, Ramleh used Nazi and fascist imagery for shock value, as did other industrial music scene bands. Mundy and Best later discontinued this practice and disavowed it, denying any affiliations with hate groups.