{"id":95665,"date":"2022-09-23T00:00:51","date_gmt":"2022-09-22T23:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=95665"},"modified":"2022-09-28T12:16:48","modified_gmt":"2022-09-28T11:16:48","slug":"album-review-razor-cycle-of-contempt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-razor-cycle-of-contempt\/","title":{"rendered":"RAZOR – Cycle Of Contempt (2022) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

RAZOR
Cycle Of Contempt<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nRelapse (2022)<\/span>
Rating: 8.5\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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So here it is, one of the most long awaited returns in metal, alongside Vio-lence, only this time it\u2019s Razor. The last time this classic Canadian thrash act recorded an album was in 1997 (Decibels<\/em>), but that was a period when the metal genre was in a rather confused state of emergency help. And it could be argued that the last great Razor album emerged in 1991 with Open Hostility<\/em>, which somewhat signalled the end of a prolific run of hazardous waste which trickled out in the mid-80s and become devastatingly deadly by its close.<\/p>\n

Razor, in spite of being one of the fastest and best bands within the genre, are still overlooked and so for them to return with original members Dave Carlo (guitar) and Mike Campagnolo (bass) is a joy to behold. It\u2019s also great that vocalist Bob Reid, who first joined in 1989, is back in the fold, while drummer Rider Johnson completes the current line-up.<\/p>\n

Cycle Of Contempt<\/em> is one of those albums I was nervous about reviewing. Anyone with a passion for such a band, especially seeing them grow through the late 80s, knows that those halcyon days can never be repeated and so I had several questions rattling around my skull, such as would they try to sound like they did back then? or would they succumb to modern day techniques and reveal a rather mechanical, watered down and generic opus? Well, thankfully Razor still kicks arse and most importantly, while remaining fresh and vociferous, they\u2019ve maintained that vintage guitar sound.<\/p>\n

Reid\u2019s vocals do exactly what you want them to and blast your ears with their gritty, choppy edge, while Carlo\u2019s axe work is just sublime in its execution; sharp in technique and unrelenting. Opening track \u2018Flames Of Hatred\u2019 just has that nostalgic roar; zipping profusely like a crazed, razor-wielding criminal slashing at all who comes near. The drums and bass are on point, rampantly jabbing and striking into the depths of \u2018Jabroni\u2019 and the manic outbursts of \u2018Off My Meds\u2019.<\/p>\n

At times there is a distinctive crossover feel and nary a time when the speed relents. \u2018A Bitter Pill\u2019 flashes towards Slayer<\/a>, classic in its battering, while the axe work of \u2018Crossed\u2019 acts as a jagged blade ripping through flesh and sawing into bone. It\u2019s the Razor album you wanted, a spiteful, scheming and fizzing expression spouting grit and spitting blades as \u2018Setup\u2019 and \u2018Punch Your Face In\u2019 explode like aural fireworks. The latter provides more mid-tempo crunch than a majority of other tracks on offer, where again the bass and drums clank with a vigorous attitude and vindictiveness.<\/p>\n

The big-hitters are set up like hefty weapons of mass destruction, whether it\u2019s the chugging \u2018First Rate Hate\u2019 with its sneering vocal, or the title track with its metallic melodious groove and malicious lyrical spurts. But there\u2019s so much thrash on offer here that it\u2019s hard not to trash the house and unload the garbage cans on the neighbour\u2019s lawn. \u2018King Shit\u2019 is rampant, \u2018All Fist Fighting\u2019 is maniacally bass-driven and \u2018Darkness Falls\u2019 screams with a deadly axe hook to the tandem of percussive slaps, and then we\u2019re in the whirlwind again, whipped into a frenzy and spat out, bloodied, battered and tattered.<\/p>\n

My only criticism here is the goofy artwork, all too symbolic of today\u2019s sub-standard thrash goons, so why Razor adhered to such art is beyond me? However, Cycle Of Contempt<\/em> achieves its aim\u2026 the big question is can you handle the return of such violent restitution?<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RAZORCycle Of Contempt Relapse (2022)Rating: 8.5\/10 So here it is, one of the most long awaited returns in metal, alongside Vio-lence, only this time it\u2019s Razor. The last time this classic Canadian thrash act recorded an album was in 1997 (Decibels), but that was a period when the metal genre was in a rather confused […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-razor"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95665"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95665\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":95666,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95665\/revisions\/95666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}