Evil Invaders

Let’s talk about one of the best speed/thrash metal albums I’ve ever heard; ‘Evil Invaders’ by Razor summons to mind elements of every great aspect of the genre. The shrieking vocals, the crunchy blistering guitar, the nonstop fast paced need for speed drumming, and a thumping bass to break your heart. A dirty production that exemplifies the raw power that Razor throws at you is enough to muddy every good fiber of your being.

If there is one thing to note about Razor is that they know how to open and close an album and that is no different story here with the thrashing opening intro Nowhere Fast that leads us into Cross Me Fool a solid example of the capabilities of the rest of the album. Though Nowhere fast did leave a little to be desired as it did feel repetitive at a few points it did its’ job well. Every stroke of the pick in Cross Me Fool tells a tale of anger. You rip and pound your flesh every time the crash hits and sure enough the song is “up your ass, right here, right now”. Sheepdog is an incredible vocalist and is on display in full force as he beats his way through your head and cuts his way out of your ears.

Carlo, M-Bro, Sheepdog, and Campagnolo work together in perfect disharmony to shred and destroy. The album doesn’t take a break. Your head bangs along the entire time, your foot never stops bouncing, and you sweat through this heated dissertation of thrash/speed metal that Dr. Razor wrote just for you. There is no hiding that these men are fans of the genre they write in as you can hear the influences of other greats such as Slayer and Metallica, which both at the time also in their sophomore albums alongside Razor. And Satan, most notably it seems to draw from the 1983 release ‘Court in the Act’ with its’ early speed metal feel. To say influence may have been the wrong word as influence seems to imply that one is a product of the other and while that may be true ‘Evil Invaders’ is its’ own great beast, it was really more of a brotherly sharing of great talent.

Every solo, every drum fill, every bass line, and every piercing scream is one more piece to the puzzle that when completed cemented Razor as one of my top five bands of all time. I’ve heard this album at least fifteen times in its entirety, and who knows how many times I’ve listened to pieces of it on mixes. Every time a track plays, by the end of it I am out of breath, sweating, and wanting more. I don’t believe this album experienced filler in any way. Perhaps an argument could be made against Iron Hammer because it does at times lack a certain speed luster that the rest of the album had but I don’t believe it was lackluster enough to be called filler.

Every track was the right length, every lyric fit, every solo worked and every drum pattern beat along just right. Just to list my personal favorites: Cut Throats, Evil Invaders, Cross Me Fool, and Speed Merchants. With no filler and only two tracks that left me wanting more, I give ‘Evil Invaders’ by Razor a 95. It is an A plus album in every way.