Armed and Dangerous

This is one for you true old-skool thrashers, like me. I only got to hear this release pretty recently as it was only originally released in small numbers and when the band got picked up by Viper they suggested to the band that they re-master the best tracks and add some more and thus the awesome ‘Executioner’s Song’ album was born. Actually I’m not 100% sure if the songs were re-mastered or actually re-recorded because while they do sound pretty much the same, the actual sound on the ‘Executioner Song.’ album is so much better that it’s hard to believe that a re-master could have made so much difference.

Regardless, this release contained 7 tracks, four of which actually made it onto the aforementioned debut album. Funnily enough, 3 of those 4 are probably the best songs on that album. In any case, I have a feeling that anyone interested in this release will already have Razor’s other albums and is really looking to find out whether this one is worth tracking down. And to that I would have to give a cautious yes!

Cautious because what you are really getting here is three tracks that aren’t on the debut and they are all capable if unspectacular, and fairly typical early Razor tunes. So I really wouldn’t be paying silly money for the vinyl. If on the other hand you are a completist who is interested in the historical context of these songs then you will find this interesting. For me though, ‘Hot Metal’ and ‘Take This Torch’ slay all comers, much as they did on the debut proper, with ‘Fast and Loud’ a close third.

All in all then, while this is a perfectly respectable debut mini album, it’s not the best place to start your Razor odyssey. For that you need either ‘Executioner’s Song’ or the much lauded ‘Evil Invaders’ both originally released in 1985. ‘Evil Invaders’ is probably the most consistent, but ‘Executioner’s Song’ contains ‘Take This Torch’, which for me is easily the band’s finest 3 minutes, and one of the best thrash songs ever written to boot.