The Ram Trilogy project and the Molten Beats album was a meeting of the minds. The minds being Ant Miles, Andy C and Shimon. Having already been following and impacting the evolution of rave sounds from hardcore days in the early 90s thru jungle's emergence and rapidly changing stages of drum & bass styles they had all appeared solo and as duos on some of Ram's releases and compilation albums. In recent years Ram's sound had started to really hone in on a distinct drum & bass flavour featuring heavy sub-bass, stepping beats, and sci-fi edges. Ram Trilogy was what came from the a-ha moments the three had while collaborating in the studio. In a rapidly moving culture where getting to the next fresh tunes and sound was paramount they took a step to build the sound further and the combination was striking. Ant's raw punk ethos and gritty, hard-hitting drumwork. Andy's bass-focused rave energy and wisdom in the art of dancefloor grooves. Shimon's ability to bring a strong funk to tunes. With production levels all firing at their top the result was tunes that banged drums, twisted distorted electronics and were driven by large, relentless basslines. This was drum & bass not just following the late-90s techy trends of the underground but raising the bar to their own unique level. With recent developments including the mutated techstep sounds of neurofunk spreading and the rising popularity of drum & bass sounds locally and globally the Ram trio managed to raise the temperature themselves at the turn of the millennium melting parties with their Molten funk template and directing Ram into new eras of success.

The Mix #

On the anniversary of its release a good way to revisit the milestone album is by listening to a selection of the tunes in the mix. The CD version came with a mixed second disc that incorporates the album’s tunes and a few of the extra chapter hits from earlier. It represents the sound well as you’d hear many of the chapter tunes and dubplates in the months leading up to the album dropping. Not just because of the Molten Beats selections all being pretty firing but also Andy C established as a top rated DJ in the game being a natural choice to present them. Alongside the Molten selections catch some of the vinyl-only Ram Trilogy tunes and an extra special remix cameo from Ed Rush & Optical in the mix. Let ‘The Executioner’ tear down the place and get into the relentless bass-driven energy and raw molten funk of the landmark release! Made to meet the moment at the time and push things further, bringing the Ram trio’s strengths together to find a unique sound and contribute to drum & bass history, it’s a classic!

Tracklist #

1. Time Chamber
2. Mindscan (Ed Rush & Optical Remix)
3. Snake Bite
4. Evolution
5. Flip The Traps
6. Terminal 2
7. Both Worlds
8. Mind Overload
9. Iron Lung
10. Gridlock
11. Human Future
12. System Error (Y2K)
13. Chase Scene

Cover photo: Promotional launch poster for Molten Beats with release date of 15th November 1999.