RAZORMAZE hails from Boston, USA and flirt with nothing more or less than guitar-overloaded Speed Metal. Having listened to the first song the band had posted on their MySpace page (I think it was Desperado) some months ago, there was too little to call for in the variation topic. Hence, waiting eagerly to listen to the full deal things got as straight as expected.
Originally to be called Dawn Of The Shred, the debut album by RAZORMAZE was engineered by Devin Charette and mastered by Nick Zampiello (CONVERGE, TORCHE, XASTHUR), while it summons nearly all tracks of the quartet's couple of demos. Without omitting the Metal word's value, I'm pretty sure in this album the Speed term is honoured slightly the more, since influence is drawn not only from the metallic - be it Heavy or Thrash or Death - side of cruel music, but also Punk or Crossover stuff is thrown here and there. More specific, I feel like I'm listening to a band featuring much of MEGADETH's furious songwriting (both in the guitars and vocals fields). This may sound as not an ace of originality for RAZORMAZE but there's some impressive work done over here in the instrumentation, let's admit. There's a typhoon of riffs scattered with some rich leads/double leads serving a notable set of songs full of technique but also in a non-stop hammering fast mode.
Is it Thrash Metal music? It could be, in PR terms, especially if you believe e.g. MEGADETH or ANTHRAX have been strictly Thrash Metal outfits in their prime. Still, it can be witnessed that RAZORMAZE - with their twisted choir choruses and peculiar sense of humour - show a multi-dimensional appetite to serve speed and relentless playing. Of course, if your main aim is to bang your head non-stop, The True Speed Of Steel is your next beloved shelter.
Not an album of unsaid spirit, but definitely a sincere effort, the debut album by RAZORMAZE sums 32 minutes of fast Metal music with no critical moments but also no let-downs. The more you think you're into the Techno Speed/Thrash Metal bands of America, the more you'll probably enjoy this album.