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Class 6(66)
Razor: Violent restitution
26/07/11 || Habakuk
Introduction
Some albums you just need to be pointed towards.I have a feeling Razor’s “Violent Restitution” is such an album. Fortunately, I was pointed at it quite a few years back, and in order to return the favor to the world with its representative You, here’s all you need to know about it, brought to you in good ole Class6(66) fashion. So, why does one need to be pointed towards this? First of all, because you can actually see it referenced until today. Insect Warfare for example, instant grind legends of the past few years, have called their demo compilation “Endless execution through violent restitution”, actually featuring a cover of “Behind bars” off this here album. What a coincidence! Another random encounter would be, I heard a track by somewhat hyped old school revivers Desaster some time back, which copied an entire section from a song off this album, the only difference being that Desaster came 17 years later. The other part of the reason is that despite little hints like those mentioned, you basically never see this mentioned. Ever seen somebody with a Razor shirt? Well, not me. Maybe because Razor were Canadians. Who knows…
Songwriting
8. So, what’s on the plate with these folks? Thrash and speed, and that’s pretty much clear from the get-go with instrumental opener “The marshall arts” kicking in full throttle and raising the shredded riffs bar to considerable heights already. A good thing, really, as this is pretty much a riff-driven album. The pedal is kept down firmly most of the time with the good old thrash beat being put to good use. What you will keep on first listen will probably be the few groovier, slow passages and thrash breaks, however with most songs below three minutes, there isn’t much time for fiddling around. What Razor condensed into the roundabout 40 minutes playing time is some pretty intense, frantic thrashing that still retains a sense of catchiness, but might not blow you away on first listen to some inaccessibilities. Anyway, the fact that the album features a chainsaw (not just on the cover) a couple of times, and that it actually works, should tell you enough.
Production
6. The main and classic inaccessibility here is – of course – the production job. It’s blatantly obvious this is from ’88, in a bad way. While the job technically sounds good and balanced as a whole, the overall level is just very weak and low, with especially the guitars lacking edge, grit and aggression. A shame, because the riffing is basically those three points combined from start to finish. Way to thin as they are, at least the guitars give some room for the bass. So if you really, really want to hear a good thrash album with a bit of bass, look no further. I doubt that this is a very strong argument, though.
Guitars
9 Whoops, now I’ve already given away a bit. It can’t be said often enough though, what guitarist Dave Carlo unleashes on “Violent restitution” is pretty high-class, stripped down shredding taking its influences from classic rock riffing but upping the ante a good couple of notches. A pity that his guitar tone is a bit thin, but hey, this was prior to everybody wanting to sound like Pantera. Every note is clearly discernible, and the guy is tight and knows how the shred the fuck out on six strings, incorporating some pretty bad-ass lead work just as well. One could probably argue that this lacks a second guitarist, but let’s just say a single thrash guitar performance doesn’t get much better.
Vocals
8 Luckily, no inaccessibility here. Obviously, shit vocals are the biggest deterrent from a lot of awesome old bands (hello, Vio-Lence!), but this album doesn’t sport ‘em. Stace McLaren’s pissed-off snarl fits the music like the proverbial glove and makes up for some of the guitar edge lost through production. He does get a bit high-pitched from time to time, but it’s nowhere near annoying and kind of suits the whole affair, actually. And of course let’s not forget the “Background vocals by the Carving Squad: Crazy Colin, Mental Mark, Destructor Dave & Black Metal” – the surefire method to make your album awesome. No seriously, gang shouts rule.
Bass
5 There is this dude who follows along what the guitar does and doesn’t stray away much. He is the bass player.
At least the sound’s quite clear and good.
Drums
8 It’s always a good thing when a thrash drummer does use double bass. Rob Mills doesn’t do it all too often, but at least he’s familiar with the concept. What he does do a lot is thrash beats, and quickly at that. And while there aren’t any spaced out super-rhythms, this album is packed with full-speed thrash, and that’s naturally also owed to the drumming. There’s never a glitch in flow or a part that doesn’t work. This guy meant business, and business was fast.
Lyrics
8 I lied when I said the first track was an instrumental: It’s actually got lyrics, says the booklet: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
My second favorite bit is probably
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
I’m gonna spread the pain around
Torture! Torture!
Killing’s the best thing I’ve found
Sure man. Nasty, angry , undirected aggression. All I need in my thrash.
Cover art
10. The Canadian way to say “Bad-ass”. A big, bloody chainsaw with some barbed wire and a razor dangling down from it. What else can you ask from a cover?
Logo
6. Maybe that’s why no-one wears Razor shirts? Arguably not the best logo I’ve seen, but I guess there are worse.
Booklet
7 One double page of ultra-small lyrics, but at least there was room for “A SPECIAL MESSAGE TO OUR FANS” (actually worth reading) and a “Razor use exclusively whatever the hell they want” endorsement message. Man, I want one of those.
Overall and ending rant
Punk’s way of not giving a fuck, thrash shredding, an angry screamer in front… in a way it makes sense that this was quoted by a grind band. No matter who or what quotes them today though, this still is full-on, honest 80s thrash deeply rooted in the genre and not branching out much. Consequently, it’s not so much the sound per se (great as it may be) that’s so relevant today, but it’s the 100 % conviction on display. To anyone into all things related to “Kill ‘em all” or early Exodus, this album goes highly recommended.
- Information
- Released: 1988
- Label: Steamhammer
- Website: http://come.to/the.razor.pages
- Band
- Stace McLaren: vocals, pain
- Dave Carlo: guitars, chainsaw
- Adam Carlo: bass, hatred
- Rob Mills: drums, quick snare
- Tracklist
- 01. The Marshall arts
- 02. Hypertension
- 03. Taste the floor
- 04. Behind bars
- 05. Below the belt
- 06. I’ll only say it once
- 07. Violent restitution
- 08. Out of the game
- 09. Edge of the razor
- 10. Discipline
- 11. Fed up
- 12. Soldier of fortune
