A simple way to describe a band or record to somebody in a few words is to compare them to another, maybe more well-known band. As I am not that well travelled in the lands of punk and hardcore, I would describe Razor Sharp Death Blizzard (whom I will call RSDB from here on out for brevity’s sake) like this: “Think hardcore in the style of Terror, but a bit uglier on purpose, a bit more noisy, but just as angry and filled with punk attitude”. Checking RSDB’s Facebook page, I find their own definition of their genre: “Punk ethos, metal riffs, satans balls” – that screams confidence, and it screams it right into my face. What a fitting summary of RSDB’s latest output The World is Fucked. A perfect elevator pitch for a hardcore record if I ever heard one.
To summarize it very quickly: the record is probably just what you would expect and hope for after this introduction. It starts with the title track The World is Fucked that showcases chuggy, filthy guitar work by Daz McSwell and a groovy and relentless rhythm section (Ross Corbett on bass and Liam Roberts on drums) that lay the foundation for Jamie Clark on vocals to scream his heart out. The track transitions neatly into the punchy and more up-beat 2-minute track Fascist, which is destined to lead to moshing and circle pits in any live situation.
RSDB continue to alternate groovy and chuggy parts with more up-tempo punk-style riffs, all the while keeping the songwriting simple yet very effective. The vocals are overall catchy, and will likely lead to one or the other chorus to be stuck in your head for a while. There is not much complicated craftsmanship going on here, but that’s not what this type of music is for. This type of music is for releasing energy in short bursts of violence, preferably in the context of a friendly moshpit. The run-times of the songs vary between 2 and 4 minutes which is perfect for just that. The production is on the spot as well – punchy and heavy to induce the need to headbang, yet crisp enough to hear every cymbal stroke or vocal yell. There is lots of sustain on the guitars, and you will feel the need to play this record loud.
The only outlier is sadly the album closer Chug Chuggery – Wizards. Castles. And. Shit. Besides the beautiful title, that surely got a chuckle out of me, the song feels a bit like an unnecessary attempt to increase the running time of the record, which clocks in at 36:10 in total. There is not much going on to justify the song length of 07:29, juts the same (still good and effective) riffs but with repetition and excessive slow-downs. That might just be me being nitpicky though, the rest of record is punchy and succinct.
Before we close this review, I have to give a special shoutout to whoever is responsible for the artwork – I think it is creative and absolutely gorgeous!
Overall this is a high energy, well-made, mosh-inducing hardcore record which I can highly recommend to any fans of the genre. And if this is not your type of music, you cannot go wrong by picking one of the songs for your favourite gym- or roadtrip-playlist. My personal recommendation for that is Parasitic Cunts.
Razor Sharp Death Blizzard Facebook
Razor Sharp Death Blizzard Instagram
Born in ’88, living in Austria. I play guitar in various Blues / Rock / Metal projects and do my own amateurish music recording & production.
[…] released their The World Is Fucked album, which DutchMetalManiac’s René Müller reviewed here. Now, he also interviewed Razor Sharp Death Blizzard’s vocalist Jamie […]