Evil Invaders

I've been listening to Razor's early albums, since the new record, "Cycle of Contempt" hit the market. I said in my review in that album that I remembered them as a side character more than anything, they weren't one of the main bands I listened to in this genre. It's my loss. This band fucking rocks, and in reality, very few bands could compete with what Razor created in the late 80s and early 90s. Well, it took a while, but I finally realized that too, and binge-listened this band for more than 2 days. My favorite one of their records is obviously this one, which is BEYOND unbelievable. This is the metal definition of the word "badass".

The style of "Evil Invaders" is very unique, a certain prototype of speed/thrash metal. While other speed/thrash bands like Flotsam and Jetsam and Heathen tried to mix about 75% speed metal and 25% thrash metal in their music, Razor went about it the opposite way. Here, the heaviness and scratchiness of thrash metal is way more apparent than the melodies and sophistication of speed metal. And that's a great thing. It's a perfect recipe for an album that's fast as hell, heavy as a fuck, but at the same time, very catchy and melodic, and NEVER cheesy. This is pure fucking razor-sharp speed/thrash with absolutely no apologies and no mercy.

This album is their most complete one. There is not ONE average song on here, every one of them is a perfect candidate for one of the best songs in 1985. Whether it's the haulin' ass speed metal mania pieces like the title song, "Tortured Skull", with that beautifully heavy and melodic riff at about 3:46, or the more mid-paced songs, like "Instant Death", with it brutally ignorant verses, or "Cut Throat", all of these songs are just MEAN. Besides them being melodic and catchy, they are also heavy and extremely sharp. There is not ONE second of boredom or mediocrity throughout the entire damn release, man. It's crazy.

The musicianship is more than impressive. Dave Carlo's cutting, screeching riffs are more driven and overflowing with endless energy than ever before, you really feel like you could punch through a damn brick wall when you hear these riffs. Just check out the intro of the title song, and you'll see what I mean. It is remarkable how he could keep up the technicality (okay, not the most technical riffs, but extremely technical for this kind of speed) and at the same time, keep up with this pace. The leads also kick a lot of ass, with a decent amount of chaos and insanity to them, just how we like it. No mistakes made here.

But there have been no mistakes at all from the rest of the band, either. Sheepdog delivers that scratched, raspy vocal style he's been famous for magnificently, occasionally filling it with those ultra high-pitched screams. I couldn't imagine a more fitting vocalist for these instrumentals, he is really the perfect man for the job, and one of the most impressive vocalists of this era without a doubt. The percussion is shockingly amazing, even if the band is hauling ass well above the 180s in BPM, the hi-hat and ride stay crushing and Mike never gets lazy. It is actually one of the craziest drumming performances I've heard out of records that were released in 1985 and before.

A tad more than 38 minutes, and absolutely 0 seconds of mediocrity throughout the entire record. It is a true 80s classic, and the one album I think about when I hear the words "badass" or "mean". Throughout its entirety, it remains fucking heavy, there isn't one ballad on the album, these guys are true, primal metal maniacs, just the ones we, thrashers need. Razor is a remarkable band, one that never left its roots and stayed true to its name, and the best work they ever came up with this is by far this right here, "Evil Invaders". If you don't already have it, and you're a thrasher, what are you even doing with your life? Get your hands on it immediately!