Pushing it forward, stepping into new horizons possibly without knowing the outcome of them being treaded. Taking risks can always be done with as a costly thing, yet it may also turn an artist's luck into a newfound fortune. A few years ago, I had a chance to listen to a Thrash band called RAZORMAZE, a Boston oriented act, aligned with what is called the new wave of Thrash Metal. They produced some intense stuff. However, it appeared that there was a hidden hunger to plunge beyond the limits of mere Thrash into other dimensions, to carry them on into the already kicking Thrash perception and enhance it. It has been four years since the band's debut, "The True Speed Of Steel", enough time for RAZORMAZE to find their new imagery as a multi verse Metal combination of both skill and brutality, and there you have it with "Annihilatia", the pristine ground for experimentalism with progression following darker routes towards the foundations of melodic extreme Metal. That made me interested.

At first it felt a bit weird, and kind of dry. I have known RAZORMAZE to be clicked with old school distinctions of Thrash, whether Bay Area (EXODUS / METALLICA) or the East Coast (OVERKILL / ANTHRAX) groove moves, so to listen to the opening "Something Like A War", it came as awkward. Other than decent "Sink Below", though accompanying the classic stuff with a few extra melodies and that sharp EXODUS meets METALLICA crack, "Something Like A War" didn't seem right to me to kick off this barrage aimed at unholy warfare as it felt kind of sluggish, and in a way wearisome. Fortunately, the integral parts of ship began their swift sail, taking it steady into the seas of diversity. "Without Words"'s excellent playing, I was impressed by the guitaring, lead fretwork crushing, and rhythm section tightness commending of pure talent. Nothing was too banal, lifeless or overdone, crunchy melodies kept the energies ticking right up until the entry of the chorus that unveiled a groovy celebration of slow tempo heaviness and a CYCLONE TEMPLE / CHANNEL ZERO kind of vocal illustration. "Electric Deception", as if RAZORMAZE tarnished a bit of their Thrash identify with skillfully engineered melodic Death Metal assimilation, which included mottled passages, astonishing, and quite clear, growl vocals and the distinctive venture surrounding the melodic phrases. "Terminal Escape" kicked in with a few modern Thrash trickeries, I felt a slight ANNIHILATOR crust within the guitar lines but it all came back to EXODUS and OVERKILL, besides this one probably harbors the best vocal performance and surly one of the foremost soloing deliveries of the entire album.

"Annihilatia" seemed to me like a solid manoeuvring from the traditional Thrash sense into new characterizations while not entrusting themselves fully on the genre's memorable features. RAZORMAZE are still driving fast with Thrash conduct, but fulfilled their own necessity for something fiery and expressive. I think that "Annihilatia" is a fine beginning for a process that should be honed for just a bit, hopefully for not another period of four years.