I don't know a whole lot about previous Razor albums or all the circumstances around this release other than the band had serious financial issues and after drummer Rob Mills was injured in a car accident he was unable to participate on the recording. Therefore, instead of finding a replacement band leader Dave Carlo used a drum machine, which amazingly doesn't sound entirely fake or cheap at all, but rather it added an additional bit of heaviness and overall brutality to the album. This works well since Razor plays a style of frantic relentless stomping thrash metal with throaty aggressive vocals about anti-societal issues, sarcasm and violence mingled with catchy and headbangable riffs and cut-throat face peeling guitar solos.
For just a bit over thirty seven minutes Razor utterly devastates the listener through twelve songs with intense thrash that simply never lets up or shows any mercy along the way. The songs don't seem to immediately have their own identity, but after a few solid listens and a bit more attention they really stand to stick out. The lyrics to, 'Sucker For Punishment' in particular really hits home with me, likewise, 'Cheers' is just a great drinking song, which I hope I can share with my friends someday soon. 'Red Money,' a song about a lone shark is amusing, as well, 'I Disagree' is about critics complaining and bashing Razor's music and, 'Psychopath' is pretty damn good too. The production is also fairly clean with the guitars and vocals always being heard, audible bass and the drum machine doesn't drown out much, though the overall volume of the recording is a bit low, but that's sort of expected.
I'm not a 100% sure, but it seems Razor may have disbanded or at least went on a long hiatus since the next and then final album, 'Decibels' didn't appear until '97, but Razor continues onwards today, though as just an occasional touring band. In fact, my friend I mentioned earlier is semi-planning a 900+ mile trip to Montreal to see the band play sometime soon, because he's that big of a fan. As for myself, I'll probably bow out of that monstrous journey and just get my hands on more Razor albums, because I like these guys a lot!
Razor has always been excellent and it has been ages since I last played this particular album, but it is quite good and underrated, just like a lot of their releases. As far as their other albums go, they are all excellent and consistent. Razor are indeed still together and play a few shows a year. On my radio show late last year, I reported that they are getting around to working on a new album, but there was no time table on when it will be released.
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