Razor
Malicious Intent

What are the "Evil Intentions" of this album? Just look at the front cover featuring a "Lady In Black" sharpening a razor on a grindstone ("Grindstone", the title of a song), undoubtedly resembling the workshop where Rock'n'Rolf welded on "Gates To Purgatory", the debut of Running Wild.

But let's not joke too much; after all, Razor deserves a bit of respect: this is the third Thrash album they've released within a year, and it comes out in the era of "Reign In Blood". Clone? Faded photocopy? Distant relative? None of these, unfortunately. All the characteristics of "Evil Invaders" are maintained except for the sound which is slightly less raw, to be particularly meticulous, but in compensation, the drummer's speed is more sustained, although serving unappealing riffs. What surprises are the outrageous screams of "Sheepdog" throughout the album, a mad siren delivering sly and wild lyrics in a jungle of clichés.

The opener "Tear Me To Pieces" starts with Stace McLaren's scream, leading to the usual drum speed and the ordinary hum of string instruments, although there are tiny variations noticeable with a magnifying glass: less tumultuous sound, short and uninspired solos, plus a few diversified drum rolls. "Rebel Onslaught" starts with a familiar riff and continues with force until the little masterpiece of the disc, the famous "A.O.D.", which stands for "Angel Of Death". And here it seems there’s something suspicious. Did they copy the American band, is it pure coincidence, or did the Californian band copy Razor? It seems the lyrics speak about the same person. Anyway, this track contains the two most digestible solos of the album and Stace's final scream is inhuman. "Challenge The Eagles" instead has such a despicable riff that it could even irritate a hibernating bear. There's room for the absurd lyrics of "Stand Before The Kings", a sort of weary homage to Judas Priest of "Steeler" in the central part of nocturnal guitars, and for another metal up your ass proclamation, titled "High Speed Metal" which adds to "Hot Metal" from the first LP, to "Thrashdance" from the second full-length along with "Speed Merchants", a mosaic of ad hoc titles to self-celebrate as true Thrashers.

We end with another acronym "K.M.A." which stands for Kiss My Ass, a phrase repeated by the whole group in chorus while M-BRO makes noise with all the cymbals of the drum kit. And here ends the adventure of Razor with the Attic label which will drop the band due to non-existent sales. What went wrong? Many things: from the poor composition to the too celebrated trashed image, from bland covers to fossilized sound. They will resurface a year later with the self-financed "Custom Killing", more complex in songwriting and oriented towards hardcore, but utterly disastrous.

I bend but I do not break. Reviewed for completeness.