Malicious Intent

Razor's third full length Malicious Intent is the first slump in their discography hands down. This album isn't downright terrible but it is a definite step down from their first two albums both released in the year prior. It's almost if everyone got lazy on this record aside from McLaren in a way. Production/mix wise this album is thin and tinny sounding like it was recorded inside of a Campbells soup can. I love 80's/early 90's productions and mixes but this right here is pretty poor in my opinion. I almost feel like Razor were cranking out so many records in such a short period of time back in 1985/1986 that by the time of Malicious Intent they had a bunch of stale and lifeless songs that didn't make the cut on the first two albums so they all made it on what was to be Malicious Intent.

The songs on Malicious Intent aren't horrible but they aren't strong either. Majority of these songs are identical to one another with the exception of intros like in "Tear Me To Pieces" to have some sort way to differentiate the tracks from one another. "K.M.A." is one of the most cliche thrash metal songs ever recorded and just reeks of cheese. McLaren sounds as good as always here as he was always in my opinion the definitive singer of Razor. Carlo's riffs here are decent but are nowhere near as memorable as his previous work. His leads here are kind of lazy and just all over the place at times. Campagnolo is slightly audible on the bass on his album but he doesn't really do much to draw your attention to the bass.

Now we get to easily the worst part about this record, the drums. Embro essentially uses the same annoying ass skank beat through the entire 37 minutes of the album only at slight times he does something different and his drumming is what kills this record. It is no coincidence that he would be sacked by the band after 1987's Custom Killing. Embro's performance here is one of the worst thrash metal drumming performances on a album I've ever heard and it makes you wonder what the hell had happened because his stuff on the first 2 albums wasn't bad. By no means was Embro a standout drummer back then but on Malicious Intent his drumming is hard to ignore and not in a good way. The drums are the main reason why I can't listen to this album.

In conclusion Malicious Intent is a album that I really wouldn't recommend to anyone and it's a poor example of what this great band is capable of. While it's not as bad as decibels, it is by far the worst Razor album of the 80's. If you are new to this band, do not start here.