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by Sebastian Kluth

Speed Metal Wrecking Ball Going Back to the Genre's Heyday - A Review of Razor's Cycle of Contempt

Razor - Cycle of Contempt (2022)

Razor is a legendary speed and thrash metal band from the beautiful city of Guelph in Canada that has been around for almost four decades. The influential veterans have released records at an impressive pace from the mid-eighties to the early nineties. When the band temporarily broke up in the challenging nineties, the group's momentum completely derailed. As a matter of fact, Cycle of Contempt is the band's first album in twenty-five years.

The album sounds as if the band were still stuck in its early years. This album features aggressive but one-dimensional guitar riffs. The excellent bass guitar play has been performed with playful and speedy swagger. The drum play is fast and loud but missing dynamics and feeling. The vocals certainly are an acquired taste. On the positive side, they sound absolutely unique, rough and aggressive which suits genre stylistics. However, the vocals are also absolutely shot as they sound invariable, hoarse and dry. They sound so painful that they almost make me want to take a few cough drops myself. The songwriting offers traditional speed metal by the numbers without any surprises. Genre fans will certainly appreciate this element since solid genre efforts are tough to come by these days while those who like more adventurous ideas will have trouble making it through the entire release without any breaks. The lyrics include quite a few swear words here and there and sound genuinely upset which suits the genre perfectly. One might however criticize the lack of variability leading to a certain juvenile predictability. The old-school production is unfiltered, straight and raw as it makes you think of a tape recorded in some dirty basement in the eighties. One thing one certainly can't criticize is that this band sounds absolutely authentic and true to its roots.

At the end of the day, Razor's Cycle of Contempt is an energetic speed metal album that sounds as if the band had never been split up or on hiatus and had recorded this output in the early nineties right after its other outputs. The twelve songs on here will make you travel back to the heyday of speed metal and offer forty-three minutes of relentless power. The final result might not be recommendable for those liking contemporary, differentiated and progressive sounds but if you are looking for energetic, retrospective and uncompromising speed metal, you will not only like this output but might even consider it album of the year material. Even though I'm not the biggest speed metal fan, I can't deny the amateurish charm of this output that grows with every tune and tears everything apart like a wrecking ball. The band manages to still sound convincing, ferocious and relevant forty years into its career. This is an honest accomplishment by a hungry band that shouldn't be underestimated.

Final Rating: 75%

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