Ram And Portrait Cover Each Other For Split Release

Swedish heavy metal titans Ram and Portrait have joined forces for a split album entitled "Under Command," due to be released the 8th of December via Metal Blade Records. The spit will see new songs, as well as the band's covering each other's material. The track listing is:

Side A
Ram
1. Savage Machine (new song)
2. Welcome To My Funeral (originally performed by Portrait)
3. Creatures Of The Night (originally performed by KISS)

Side B
Portrait
1. Martial Lead (new song)
2. Blessed To Be Cursed (originally performed by RAM)
3. Aggressor (originally performed by Exciter)

Portrait just released a cover of Ram's "Blessed To Be Cursed," which can be heard below, along with Ram's cover of "Welcome To My Funeral" by Portrait. Pre-order info is available at this location.

Comments Ram: "Why a split with Portrait? Well after long nights drinking beers and raising hell with several members of Portrait through the years it has become quite obvious where both bands stand when it comes to the question of what real metal is. When we started the band we could count our true supporters on the fingers of two hands because nobody was playing or listening to traditional heavy metal at the time. But Christian of Portrait was one of the first people to ever get a RAM demo in his hands and we knew that he understood what we were about. Over the years both bands have progressed but that die hard attitude regarding heavy metal has never changed this split is a testament to that."

Comments Portrait: "For us it feels great to do a split EP with Ram as they have been around since before we started out and they have inspired us since the very beginning. They are one of very few contemporary bands that we feel connected to in any way, and we share the same view on what Heavy Metal is and what it can become. The material on this EP shows in a good way the vastness of this most elevated genre, from Kiss to Exciter and to our own original material - it should be evident to the listener that the roots of Heavy metal are still expanding, within and through our bands."