Razor - Violent Restitution (1988)

Violent Restitution is the thrash metal equivalent of being manacled to a batting cage and having each member of the Bad New Bears roster beat you in the ribs, liver, balls, and upside the skull a few times in succession; then to smirk and spit in your eye as they hand off the sporty bludgeon to their next teammate. It's just THAT fucking entertaining and abusive, and in my opinion, one of the most fun, frenetic and simply intense efforts of its kind in existence; certainly one of the most incendiary and memorable speed/thrash records of the 80s outside of Germany or California. I've gotten so much enjoyment from this album in the past quarter century, that despite having purchased the LP, cassette and CD versions, I feel like I owe Dave Carlo at least another $100 dollars and a six-pack.

You know the old saying 'they don't make 'em like they used to'? Well, this is the living, serrated proof of that statement's validity. Even though I'm annually inundated with countless, excellent examples of blackened thrash, death/thrash or hyperactive paeans to the 80s, many of which manage to successfully ape the visceral excitement of a record like this, there's nothing quite the same. Like a Reign in Blood, Darkness Descends or Zombie Attack, it fashions the most straightforward of intentions into a seamless bloodthirst. Fast drums, angry riffs hurtling past you at a mile a minute, and gruesome vocals that sound like they're coming from a man who was just stabbed in the face during some barroom altercation with a half-broken glass bottle. No riff seems out of place, no derelict tempo or stylistic diversion enters the frame to diminish its momentum. Violent Restitution never pretends to be what it's not, knows and respects its own boundaries, and offers you precisely what its cover implies: an escape into social unrest, serial killer b-flicks, and a repository for unchecked, unapologetic masculinity. So close to perfection that you can taste it. In fact, if I wasn't such a massive nerd for Voivod in their prime, this would prove my favorite Canadian metal record. Ever.

Like its chronological/national neighbor Dimension Hatröss, Violent Restitution is a concept album. But the theme here isn't rocket science or speculative microscopic adventure. No, this is about 14 ways to kick your ass so hard that you'll have to floss your colon after it comes up through your throat and breaks all your teeth. The riffing provides the central force, tireless escapades of rapid mute picking and barrages of chords, coiled in the potency of Carlo's chosen tone. The guitars have more punch than almost any other Razor record. Less reverberated and atmosphere than an Evil Invaders or Executioner's Song, but denser and more effective than an Open Hostility. While Dave is the epitome of the thrash rhythm guitarist, even more so than fellow Canadian Jeff Waters of Annihilator, he's also quite capable of unhinged leads ("Eve of the Storm", "I'll Only Say It Once") that offer the bluesy, burning wildness metal snagged from its hard rock ancestry; or brief, spurious runs up and down the higher strings which add an extra level of chaos and acceleration to the standard machine gunning rhythm matrix he radiates.

Everything else on this album is secondary to that guitar, but by no means does it go down without a fight. Rob Mills' drums slap along like empty buckets being strung along a dragster on the speedway, and while there's not a lot of variation in what he's playing, he amply fills the shoes of predecessor M-Bro. Adam Carlo, younger brother do Dave, is the other new member on bass; and though his lines do little more than to mimic the guitars and increase their depth, there's this natural, pluggy tone to his playing that pounds away at your eardrums like the pulse of a heroine addict who just realized he's out of supply. Overall though, the album's engineers and producer (Brian Taylor, who had also worked with other Canadian mainstays like Sacrifice) did a knockout job of presenting Razor in this pummeling, pungent sound that easily trumps the airy aesthetics of its predecessor Custom Killing, or the thinner mix of Malicious Intent.

I should mention that the chainsaw samples, which appear at several points on the album, are excellent, and fire up the loins of the album's pacing even further. Unlike the ass-backwards, terrible Southern hard rock band Jackyl, whose cut "The Lumberjack" featured a chainsaw 'solo' and helped buy their fame, the gimmick is a lot more fun here, since it's obvious influenced more directly by the slasher flicks of the 70s and 80s. Violent Restitution, after all, is a very violent album, so when that buzzsaw begins a buzzin', it forces the listener to want to kick all that much harder. Razor also perfects their instrumental thrash opus here with "The Marshall Arts", an aptly pun-titled piece of moshing resilience which features some of the explosive riffing on the album straight out the starting gate. I'd place this in the arena with just about any other track of its sort, certainly with S.O.D.'s "March of the S.O.D." which had become so famous through its stint as the intro to Headbanger's Ball.

Stace 'Sheepdog's' vocals here are a tinge dry, but he's using the same register as the previous albums, with a lot of puerile, irascible barking and slight screams that beautiful permeate the brash hostility of the instrumental foundation. Alongside Jeff Becera or Cronos, this guy had hands down one of the best voices in the business, grimy in all the right ways and places. Violent Restitution would prove his swan song with Razor, and the metal scene in general (he did a brief jaunt with Infernal Majesty this same year that never amounted to anything), and let me say this: the loss is ours. Unlike most of the newly birthed thrashers of the current era, he has an instant character to his inflection that never evades your memory. It's not 'trying' to amount to anything, it simply is, and it's a fucking bloodbath well-suited to the hilariously blunt lyrics, a non stop flood of expressions guaranteed to get your face (or someone else's) clubbed in an alleyway.

41 minutes. 14 tracks. Choosing favorites among them would be nearly impossible, since the quality is so taut and consistent. Obviously "Behind Bars" has received much attention through covers (like the great Cannibal Corpse version), but "Hypertension", "Taste the Floor", "Enforcer" and so many others belong on a highlight reel of the 80s' greatest thrash. I also loved the smutty "Discipline", or "I'll Only Say It Once", which hearken back to the molten speed-dirt of Executioner's Song; and "Out of the Game" with that amazing mid-paced riff that just pops along up until the verse erupts. Only a hand few fall shy of perfection, like the title track, but at worst it's only enough that I could graze off a few points to my overall score. Yes, just a marginal increase in depth would have netted this a 10 out of 10, 100%, but it's nevertheless one of the most essential purchases a thrasher could make. Even in a year of brilliant extremity like Blood Fire Death, Punishment for Decadence, Leprosy, South of Heaven, The Morning After, and Malleus Maleficarum, this still earns a spot at the dinner table, and sharpened utensils with which to carve you up. Prepare for evisceration. Prepare for impact.

Verdict: Epic Win [9.75/10] (hot blood runs cold)

http://come.to/the.razor.pages

Razor - Decibels (1997)

As lame as it looks (even compared to some of Razor's other cringe worthy cover images), Decibels continued the band's methodical devotion to destruction, a pure urban thrasher much in line with the albums before it. I must commend once more to the Canadians' unswerving flag waving for their genre. They really 'took that torch' and ran with it to the very end of the trash, making a mockery of all those better known acts who sold themselves down river through the 90s. Razor embraced thrash, personified thrash, and never compromised itself, even enduring the six year studio hiatus post-Open Hostility to emerge completely unscathed! A miracle after nu-metal and groove bullshit had begun to dominate the field.

That said, Decibels is sadly the worst of the band's albums for a number of reasons. One of them is that the riff patterns coursing through it were already seemingly redundant in 1991. There are a few bands out there who can press on with largely the same shtick for decades and still thrill the ear (Motörhead, for one), but alas, this album feels like an also-ran from the starting gates. There are a few modern tweaks, primarily in the meatier guitar tone (than the prior two records), and the use of effects for Bob Reid's vocals, which come across more distorted than they were in the early 90s. For example, in "Jimi the Fly", he sounds like he's doing an Alain Jourgensen (Ministry) impression, and it's distracting. They also try their hand at a melodic chorus or two, like the close of the title track, with its eerie, lower-ranged choir, or the backing harmony in the bonus "Instant Death". Not a bad touch, but unfortunately it just doesn't excuse the riff set beneath from being so bland. There are a few catchy leads strung through the album in tracks like "Jimi the Fly", but the rhythm tracks actually seem spotty and muddy at times, and a few sequences in songs that could have used better vocal placement are left dry.

In addition, several of these songs lope along like retarded circus elephants unaware of what they should stop upon, or where they should be stepping. "Great White Lie", for existence, with its banal muted plod; or "Nine Dead", which sounds like its just been stripped out of another Razor song and slightly re-arranged. If I totaled up every passable riff on this whole album, I might have one song. It's so underwhelming, that I have to ask myself, despite my earlier praise at the band's loyalty to its sound, whether some progression might have been necessary to keep the Canadians afloat for a more prolific body of work in the latter half of that decade, and the 21st century. As much as I love Executioner's Song, Evil Invaders and of course Violent Restitution, I don't think it would have hurt them to start thinking more technical, or using different guitar arrangements than just the first impulse which came naturally to Carlo's mind. Beyond this, I also felt like the drums on this album were too snappy and mechanical, I realize there's supposedly a live person doing this but they're nearly as calculated and uninteresting as on Open Hostility.

In the end, while it was great that Razor were re-affirming their existence after such a long break, Decibels just doesn't feel as if it needs to exist. It's like a bunch of b-sides for Open Hostility that weren't up to snuff then, but dowsed in a weak production with a few new ideas implemented. It's also not a strong note to 'end on'. I realize the band has continued to gig and appear sparsely through the years since, but they haven't exactly been productive enough to release anything since...strange, considering that with the newfound popularity of thrash nostalgia, many a label would have snapped them up in the 'oughts. Now, before you go crying about what an insensitive fuck I am, I do realize Dave Carlo has since been diagnosed with oral cancer in 2012, and I wish him all the best. I'll say flat out: he is one of the most consistent and influential guitarists in all the thrash genre, and I hope for a swift recovery, and maybe some unfinished business in the studio.

Verdict: Indifference [5.75/10] (you feel your head screamin')

http://come.to/the.razor.pages

Razor - Open Hostility (1991)

Though it's heavily front-loaded with all the best riffs and most exciting songs, Open Hostility is the best Razor album yet to feature Bob Reid on vocals, gelling for me more than Shotgun Justice did the year prior. In fact, in terms of sheer threat level and fun, I'd put the first four songs here in the ring with just about anything in the Canadians' mustered from 1986 on, including much of Violent Restitution. Unfortunately, there are a few flaws to this album which precluded it from ranking among their best works, not the least of which is the use of the drum machine. I don't often find this to be a problem with extreme metal recordings, where the emphasis is placed more on guitars or atmosphere, but for a thrash metal record in the 80s and 90s, it's tough love.

Perhaps I should qualify that it's not Dave Carlo's 'programming' of the drums here that often removes me from the experience, but their production. There's a particular, mechanical snap to the beats that just feels less authentic and organic than their older albums, and while I can respect the decision by any band to save itself some grief and run with computerized percussion, it still has to sound correct in context. Through Open Hostility, it's a fairly evident distraction, considering that so few bands of this type had ever really attempted it before. Beyond that, the rest of the album's mix also has a few problems, like the vocals being a fraction too low, their range forcing them to cling to the guitars a little more than I like. Considering the sheer grit and hostility inherent to Reid's delivery, I wish they had stood out just a level or so more, that I could soak in the violent subtleties being pitched around with the zany, angry lyrics, which are your typical Razor rallies against social injustice and a corrupt State. The guitars, while powerful, seem a little too arid, and though the bass is fluid, it too often gets lost among the considerable array of riffs Carlo is inundating the listener with.

Otherwise, Open Hostility is raucous and entertaining enough that it doesn't piss all over the Canadians' legacy, and in particular the first 15 minutes are barbaric and steadily engaging, with riffs that make you wanna don a hockey mask and stick and just club the fuck out of everyone in the pit. "In Protest", "Sucker for Punishment" and "Bad Vibrations" are all proof that Razor was running contrary to most of the sad thrashers evolving through the 90s. Rather than succumbing to some tepid groove modernization and catering to the 'alternative' crowd, these guys were becoming even more vicious, expletive jock thrash with lyrical ambitions that any street tough or frat boy could understand. Seriously, this isn't The Black Album or any other kowtowing downgrade to the faceless radio masses in a misguided attempt to remain 'relevant'. This is a fucking riot waiting to happen. Broken glass, screaming women in the streets shielding baby carriages, and Robocop-like law enforcement attempting to suppress the ensuing anarchy. Perhaps to some extent, Razor was such a small blip on the radar that they didn't feel selling out would matter, but I wish more of the mainliners in the speed/thrash field would have had the balls to follow this course.

If you can stomach the drums, and you're a connoisseur for street fighting of this magnitude, this is probably worth the effort to track drown. Carlo is still fast as fuck, even if a lot of the rhythms seem lifted and shifted around from their original patterns on Violent Restitution and Shotgun Justice. The further down the track list you go, the less impressive the riffs become, and the more redundant Reid's gravelly expressions, but in all seriousness, it's the last Razor record in over 20 years now which successfully delivered a bruising you might remember.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10] (we tell it like it is)

http://come.to/the.razor.pages

Razor - Custom Killing (1987)

Razor is about the last band on Earth I'd expect to tackle epic length song structures, but indeed that is one of the defining characteristics of their fourth LP Custom Killing, at least on two of the central pieces, "Survival of the Fittest" and "Last Rites", both of which are 11 minutes in duration. Kudos for the Canadians for trying something different, and in truth they do help break up the record, so as to not repeat the brash attack cycle of an Evil Invaders. But unfortunately, it turns out that the band doesn't work their best in such a format, since the endless parades of riffs Carlo is churning out in these thrash-whales seem as if they've all been played out on others songs, and nothing really interesting occurs as they bounce back and forth between stock speed metal and the upper momentum, with the possible exception of the more atmospheric, open riffing used in segments of both.

I'm also not into the frenzied "Russian Ballet" rock polka outro, so pretty much any fun I was going to have with this record was relegated to the other five tunes, which range from 4-5 minutes of livid, battering old school speed metal. Tunes like "Going Under" and "Forced Annihilation" are pretty standard Razor fare, with high velocity chords, palm mutes and even some darker tremolo passages in the latter that hinge on a death metal aesthetic. "White Noise" is generally more acrobatic and shifty in terms of its tempos, and "Snake Eyes", with an intro that most would consider pretty racist by today's standards, is pretty much what Possessed would have sounded like as a punk band, Sheepdog's menacing inflection barking out over a pretty basic procession of chords. Ultimately, I don't think there's a single song on this album that I'd place on a highlight reel of the band's discography, but they don't break character for much of the playtime, and there's nothing all that depressing if you've a hard on for Executioner's Song and Evil Invaders.

Custom Killing has a looser feel to its production than any of the previous albums, not nearly so spiffy and audible as Malicious Intent. The guitars are good and chuggy, especially when multi-tracked, but the bass here is extremely plump, and often the nuances of the leads and melodies get lost. Otherwise, it's workable and airy, but my least favorite mix they'd achieved to its day, even if it's not a far cry from its neighbors, and some of the murk of its tone would be transferred forward to the band's magnum carnage opus Violent Restitution. Sadly, while this doesn't break rank, there's also the retrospective burden of knowing just how damn excellent this record's successor would be, superior in every respect, Razor returning to the abusive speed and no-nonsense thrashing brawl that put them on the vests and jackets of generations of adoring fans in the first place. I used to enjoy Custom Killing more when I was younger, but it simply hasn't aged as well as the rest of their '84-88 material, and I rarely feel compelled to break it out of its own jacket. Along with 1997's Decibels, it's very much skippable.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10] (half-hearted lives we'll devour)

http://come.to/the.razor.pages

Razor - Malicious Intent (1986)

While it's not the best remembered of Razor's backlog, or approaching the cult status of its predecessor Evil Invaders, Malicious Intent does continue to propel the band forward to greater things at a rapid pace, with a sexy cover image nearly as memorable as anything Anvil used. This is more or less of a hybrid of the prior two albums, explosive and accelerated street thrash with some of the dirty molten speed metal of the debut providing a cheap hooker backwash that bleeds a little red light class. There are actually a handful of songs on this which I would place alongside the best of the rest of their career, but ultimately some inconsistency in the riffing and chorus quality knocks it down a couple pegs.

Some don't seem to dig the production of this record nearly so much as the prior output, and in truth there are some estimable differences. The guitars here are crisper and drier, and there's less of an atmospheric flush in the mix of the vocals, drums and leads. It's hands down cleaner than Evil Invaders, but that's not to say its polished to impotence. In fact, the popping intricacies of Carlo's melodic picking are brought more to the forefront on some of the album's most killer cuts like "Rebel Onslaught", where he's using some thrifty tremolo picked sequences interspersed throughout the verses. M-Bro's drums are loud and clapping, but you can pick out the snare and bass drum all too easily, the flooded lowlands of Mike Campagnolo's bass, and of course Sheepdog's garbled, violent prose. I'm a huge fan of Dave's speed metal techniques, lavish and incessant like Venom on amphetamines, balancing chords and single notes patterns efficiently, and can recall years of sitting in the basement learning to play this fast, well before death and black metal entered my life.

Malicious Intent does, to some extent, suffer some degree of monotony due to the similarity in momentum several of the songs take, and at times the note progressions can feel empty and uninteresting, aside from their sheer exercise value. We've heard the same general patterns on a number of their other records, and like Evil Invaders, it feels like a setup for Violent Restitution, which is measure for measure the best use of this band's unbridled testosterone and rage. However, a few of the tunes here are simply spectacular, like "Grindstone" with its intense and unforgettable hyper riffing and opening tremolo sequence which sounds like something Rigor Mortis might have included on their debut. I mentioned "Rebel Onslaught" earlier, and it's bristling with riffs across varied tempos, from the uppity mid-paced NWOBHM speed metal smackdown to the crazy, asphalt burning lead. "Challenge the Eagle" is another winner, its slicing riffs often reminiscent of a poor man's pre-"Thundersteel" taking its liquid lunch out of brown bag, and there's a fraction of charm even to the stupider songs like "K.M.A. (Kiss My Ass)" or the weird intro skit to "Stand Before Kings".

I've actually got the old vinyl for this one, so I've not heard the bonus track "Mosh", but all around I'd say this would be most worth acquiring if you're a diehard for Executioner's Song, Evil Invaders or Violent Restitution. I wouldn't recommend it as the best starting point in their discography, but for the most part it's as bad ass as you could expect from the Canadians, on par with what peers like Anvil and Piledriver were putting out in this era. The lyrics are actually pretty decent here, loads of dystopian and murderous images packed into a compact, clobbering presentation. Workmanlike, frenetic, and fun, Malicious Intent is not oft spoken of like it's next oldest sibling, but it's almost comparable in quality, so pop a beer cap, strap on your bandana, and settle in for a ride to rebellion.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10] (volcanic reverberations)

http://come.to/the.razor.pages

Razor - Evil Invaders (1985)

On its surface, 1985 might have seemed like a pretty bustling year for Canadian speedsters Razor, debuting not just one, but two full-length albums over the span of several months. However, there are some notable stylistic differences between the two which distinguish them from one another, and while my own personal preference runs towards their underrated speed metal opus Executioner's Song, it was Evil Invaders which would ultimately define the band's future path into a more ballistic squad of urban thrash commandos, abandoning some of the sheer speed and heavy metal dirt of the Armed and Dangerous EP to carve out a niche in the emergent thrash aggression; a course of development that was not merely an aping of the Bay Area and German sounds, but more of a brutal parallel.

Don't misunderstand me, the sheer velocity and the vocal inflection between the first two records were close enough that the band could easily interchange songs in any set list and satisfy the same crowd of followers, but unlike their countrymen Exciter, whose evolution never really veered away from the primal speed/power metal sphere, Razor made a quick career course correction which they continued to hone until their 'artistic' peak, 1988's unforgettable, chainsaw wielding Violent Restitution, a record so swollen with violent, ripping acceleration and pent up, everyman gallantry that it's one of the best in its entire field. Of course, while Evil Invaders is a much beloved record in the underground, due largely to its formative and 'cult' placement in the thrash pantheon, I constantly find myself comparing it to that later effort, and that has somewhat crippled my appreciation. For all its strengths, this sophomore feels like a foreshadowing of that stronger effort to come, and on a song to song basis, it also fell short of Executioner's Song. Tracks like "City of Damnation", "Fast and Loud", and "Take This Torch", among many others on the debut, have resonated with me for decades, whereas this song gets substantially less airplay beyond a handful of cuts.

Nonetheless, Evil Invaders is feral and fun, as any of the Razor albums with Stace 'Sheepgod' McLaren fronting Dave Carlo's monstrous riffing section. For me, it was this duo that really 'made' the band's style something special. While competent, and even consistent, the later records with the Bob Reid vocals have never had a fraction of the same charm. McLaren's delivery is basically a blunt barking (thus the nickname) in a low to mid-register, which occasionally veers off into screaming, like those nasty bits in the bridge of "Legacy of Doom". He's not incapable of carrying a melody, but the emphasis here is always on percussive intonation that brings the music straight to the butcher block. To the dingy city streets. Cigarette-smogged nightclubs.Vomit-strewn drunk tank jail cells. Paired with Carlo's blustering, chunky tone, which moves so quickly that the distortion almost feels like it can't catch up here, you've got a pretty destructive foundation for some flying axe handles, stage dives and body slams in the audience. Though the band's sheer dexterity was roughly on par with Exodus, Destruction, Slayer and other titans of the time, the inebriated grime of this record reminds me more of the first two Venom records, the Indestroy debut, Hallows Eve or fellow Canadian scum Piledriver.

"Evil Invaders" itself is one of tracks I most enjoy here, opening with a pretty filthy mid-paced stock speed metal riff before picking up frenzy with its splattered, thrashing verses that almost exhibit a modicum of crossover influence. "Iron Hammer" is the band's own "Iron Fist", or "Iron Dogs" (Exciter), or "Iron Gang" (Voivod), with some punk-injected bass lines setting up a frothing, vicious frenzy. Other favorites include the mighty "Cut Throat" and the excellent "Tortured Skull", both of which are loaded with the sorts of ferocious, adept riffing passages that would later dominate Violent Restitution. Carlo's speed picking is simply intense throughout, with pretty powerful muting skills, so I can imagine the guy must have had quite the crushing grip. The leads harbor that same wild-as-fuck aesthetic that bands like Slayer had helped pioneer, never all that memorable, but suited to the raucous songwriting; and drummer 'M-Bro' is likewise a beast, laying out the splashes and crashes with a raw, hardcore pileup fervor. The one instrument which doesn't always shine is the bass, since it often just sort of subsists on the guitar progressions, but there are points where he's given his time to stand alone.

There are a handful of weaker tracks throughout the album which definitely limited its value, not the least of which is the opening mosh instrumental "Nowhere Fast" (another strategy the band would refine for the far better Violent Restitution and its intro "The Marshall Arts"), or the closer "Thrashdance" which has a less interesting riff count than its neighbors. Ultimately, though, if you're looking for speed and abuse, I won't deny that this hits paydirt. Not my favorite of their works, clearly, but strong enough that I'd place only its predecessor and Violent Restitution above it. Razor makes the slight, but successful transition here to a more lethal level of muscle and hostility, providing a burlier atmosphere than Execution's Song, but to some degree losing some of those killer choruses that lashed themselves to your ears. A damn good record for the 80s thrasher to cherish, with its Terminator-inspired cover, but not nearly as amazing as its high cult status might lead one to believe.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10] (death deception in the night)

http://come.to/the.razor.pages

Razor - Armed and Dangerous EP (1984)

Though it's far from a representation of Razor at their best, I have a particular sentimental attachment to the Armed and Dangerous EP which I've never been able to shake off. For one, the cover art to this record is absolutely iconic, my favorite of their entire catalog. I managed to land a t-shirt of this some time ago (most likely a boot), and I've been wearing it sever since. I also bought the guitar, or at least a damn similar one. Plus who couldn't love the image of a razorblade being used as a proxy for a proper guitar pick? Fortunately, the actual sound of the seven songs here is just as dirty as the record looks, all spikes and cruelty and driving, molten metal with no apologies and no subtlety.

Granted, five of the seven tunes were also recorded for the debut, Executioner's Song, and those remain my preferred versions, since they've got far more of an atmosphere running than the rather dry mix given to what is essentially a glorified second demo. The guitars are on this are crisp and punchy, with a good bass tone for support and some poppy, snappy drums, but they don't possess the same level of resonance that fried their later brethren into my brain forever. Also, the vocals in cuts like "Killer Instinct" sound pretty sloppy when they vault into the sustained notes and screams, and overall there's a modicum of clutter to the performance which doesn't feel as fast, refreshing and violent as later incarnations. Of the two tracks which were unique to this at the time, "Armed and Dangerous" itself is the better, with some solid mid-paced mute guitars evoking melody, and lots of dynamic rush like a snare cadence and some flanged axe lines that help set up the thrust of the central verses. The chorus itself is not all that intense, however, and the best songs are "Take This Torch", "Fast and Loud", "Ball and Chain" etc which all appear again with more pep.

Those who first got into the later, more pavement chewing and chainsaw soaked speed/thrash records might also be a fraction turned off by the Canadians' earlier style, which was borne more of pure trad/speed metal circa Venom, Motörhead, and the darker side of Judas Priest. This was Razor at its most base. Simple. Unformed. For 1984, Dave Carlo was no slouch on his guitar, but the riffing has nowhere near the same level of intensity and velocity that many recognize on a Violent Restitution or Shotgun Justice. It's really just the setup for Executioner's Song, an album I happen to love a great deal, and one of the finest of that early Canadian scene that brought us Metal on Metal, Heavy Metal Maniacs, Metal Inquisition, or War and Pain. The vocals here carry straight through to the debut full-length, with the less interesting songs abandoned, and a better overall mix of timeless tension, steel and spikes. Armed and Dangerous was an adequate introduction to the band's no prisoners, leather and lust aesthetic, and I've got some obvious nostalgia for it, but its lasting value was substantially curtailed by the following album.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10] (we don't need any weapons)

http://come.to/the.razor.pages

Razor - Shotgun Justice (1990)

I was a huge fan of Razor's original vocalist Stace 'Sheepdog' McLaren, who fronted the band for the Armed and Dangerous EP and the five full-length albums which made up the prime of the band's career. From the dirty, candle melting speed metal of Executioner's Song to the more violent, late 80s thrashing of Violent Restitution, this had been the voice of Canada's premier chainsaw wielding metal band, and when I had learned that he would not be continuing on with the band into the next decade, I felt a little crushed inside. How could the band capture that wonderful atmosphere again, without Sheepdog's brutal intonations?

The answer is that they wouldn't, ever again. But damn it, they were going to try, and so they recruited a little known frontman Bob Reid and gave it another go. Shotgun Justice, the band's 6th album, is musically quite similar to Violent Restitution, though that album had been so god damned great that I must have been burnt out on the style by the time 1990 came about. Explosive, urban, violent thrash metal with lyrics both cheesy and relevant to the issues of Western Civilization in those years. Now, Reid may not have been the equal of McLaren, but he had a more torn sound to his throat which still matched well enough to the manic riffs of Dave Carlo, and if anything, Razor was sounding even more hostile. Just like its predecessor, Shotgun Justice is comprised of 14 tracks, most of which do not break the 3 minute mark and simply do not need to.

The band excels most when they're racing along with abandon, as in the opening track "Miami", which decries one of our 'beloved', filthy metropolises here in the States. The song is worthy of what that city needed in the 80s, if television stereotypes were anything to be believed...a haven of smugglers, drugs, and endless partying in the year-round heat of bodies and sun. I'll admit, the riffs here did not hook me as much as anything on Violent Restitution, and they in fact felt like a recycling. But it's not bad, and runs level with most of the faster fare on this album, like "Cranial Storm", "Stabbed in the Back", and "Violence Condoned". However, there are a few standouts like "Electric Torture", "United by Hatred" and "Concussion" which are of better quality, with riffing on the level of the previous release. And the slower songs like "Brass Knuckles" and "The Pugilist", almost all of which involve fist fighting, are suitably entertaining. Carlo still writes in the Bay Area vein, but set to hyperspeed, with as much thrust as he can spin into his palm, and some of the faster mutes between California and Germany. And since he's the star of the show (Reid's vocals are solid but rather monotonous), a certain level of manic aerobicism is needed to keep the listener violently thrashing his or her neck.

I didn't get much out of the album when it first released, thinking of it as Violent Restitution II: More Violent Than Before, But Not As Good. Nothing here can rival the classics like "Taste the Floor", "Enforcer", "Behind Bars", or the instrumental "Marshal Law". Bob Reid was an adequate replacement, with a suitably intense and disgusting register, but I can't help but wonder if Sheepdog's presence may have livened up the tunes here. At any rate, this album is at least superior to the ones that would follow, with some truly ripping rhythms and leads that feel worthy of the band's name. If you were into Violent Restitution, Malicious Intent or Custom Killing, this is more of the same. Whether or not that floats your boat is really up to the individual. I don't often find myself reaching for this above the older material, but I don't hold any negative feelings for it.

Highlights: Electric Torture, The Pugilist, United by Hatred, Concussion

Verdict: Win [7.25/10] (reach out and weigh in the evil)

http://come.to/the.razor.pages

Razor - Executioner's Song (1985)

Many fans consider Razor's other 1985 album, Evil Invaders to be their true cult masterpiece. Others consider their more punchy, frenetic, and violent later work like Violent Restitution to be their best. While I fall in the latter category, there is no question in my mind that Executioner's Song is not only their most overlooked album, but one of the greatest Canadian heavy metal albums ever conceived.

At its roots its a dirty NWOBHM-inspired record like something you'd have heard from their countrymen Exciter, but more aggressive and certainly contains hints toward their later direction. All the songs are excellent and inspirational. Stace Sheepdog's vocals are gritty and awesome, and Dave Carlo is one of the best riff writers ever. "Take This Torch" is a speed metal anthem of energetic, distinct chords and a great chorus (love that bass):

Bright lights, now you can see where you are
Far, out in the universe
Now, you, try to escape from this spot
Hot, ready or not
Take this torch

I don't quite get it either and I don't care, my previous band Extinction Agenda used to cover this song at our rehearsals and my only regret is that we never performed it live. Amazing track, and not the only one on the record. "Fast and Loud" is your typical metal party song but this was no Mötley Crüe, it was far more aggressive and you could totally envision yourself doing a circle mosh and impaling some fool in the head with a spiked gauntlet. "City of Damnation" is simply one of the most amazing and filthy raw speed metal tracks ever written on Earth. If you don't like that chorus part then you don't fucking like real metal. "Escape the Fire" also thrills with its catchy melodic muted riff erupting into the speed and chords and glory. And there are so many more, the molten rocking riffs of "Distant Thunder". The blazing "Hot Metal". The sun-hot "Time Bomb".

If you can't already tell this album burns to the touch. I can feel the sweat on my skin just thinking about it. It makes me want to get a leather mask and a whip, some 80s metal chicks with big hair and then make them dance for me in a cage while I wear a cock ring and suspend my testicles over a candle for the sensation. This is the world I live in.

Maybe I have said too much...

Verdict: Epic Win [9.5/10] (chains, spikes, volume!)

http://come.to/the.razor.pages