Evolution

One of the few direct products of the post-Vulgar Display of Power groove metal scene that actually retained some measure of respectability throughout the years, Pissing Razors at one point had a stranglehold on their position as a "sixth man" to the likes of Pantera and Machine Head at their best. Quality of repute does not necessarily a stellar catalogue represent, and in these Texans' case, alongside the dynamic, bruising fisticuff flow of albums like Cast Down the Plague, missteps exist in the form of the criminally boring Fields of Disbelief and less surprisingly, their final (to date) record, the ironically-titled Evolution.

Pissing Razors obviously wanted to present this package as a "new start" to the band, more or less a forced move due to a freshly-revolving vocalist position that gives us the pleasure of experiencing one Andre Acosta. Dude's primary bark feels less sepulchral than Rodriguez, almost with more of a ragged hardcore pseudo-shout aesthetic explored at times. This on its own is already a slight step down compared to the manic bantering of the band's distinctive (and original) voice, but by the time of release it appears as if Pissing Razors were blindly waving their hands in the dark hoping to find some shred of notability in the quickly-dissolving scene of the time. Pantera was for all intents and purposes finished, and their closest of kin were also going the way of the dinosaur in favour of even lower common denominator mallcore swill. Pissing Razors identity as a cross-section of death metal, groove and thrash simply didn't possess enough bark nor bite to sell the band's ballistic appeal. Jack of (most) trades, master of none as it were.

This brings me back to Acosta, who soils what would otherwise be an inoffensive, forgettable endeavour with his then-modern "singing" attempts. You know, that agonized, crooning Mudvayne-esque style that embodies some of the worst of early '2000s groove/post-thrash metal. The vocals on a whole do little more than shuffle along behind the guitars and drums like they have two left feet. The callous bombardment that leveled many a landscape on earlier tunes like "Mass Corruption" is wholly absent here, with only a few select moments eliciting more than a halfhearted air-guitar stance or minor head bob. The normally unhinged and wild Eddy Garcia is relegated to throwaway beats amid a smattering of confused-sounding double bass. The band as a whole sort of ebbs and flows from a velocity standpoint, almost like an engine that is trying to turn over but doesn't quite have enough gas to do it. The dominant groove is largely squandered due to this paradigm, since there is almost never a competent buildup leading to a breakdown.

Evolution picks up somewhat near the end, at least enough to avoid a "worst of" tag. "Two Face Devil" has to be the most complete and engaging tune here, featuring enough rhythmic change-ups to click well enough. "Replace the Day" also cranks out some solid churning groovers and doesn't overstay its welcome in an album full of repetition/stagnation. The remainder is easy to toss aside in favor of Pissing Razors' self-titled or Cast Down the Plague. Evolution features a capably dense and trenchant guitar tone to ameliorate the monolith chugging, but without a busy, torrential downpour of percussion to shake up the cadence in a manner the riffs can't manage on their own, the music does little other than squirm in place to the bemusement of onlookers. Not the band's finest hour, but hopefully a sour taste that the recent reformation can cleanse from our collective groove metal palate.