When Canada's Razor hit the metal scene in the early-to-mid 80s, they had a fairly primitive - but enjoyable - sound which was more Motorhead than Slayer. Then, after a period when some critics commented that Razor were being overly prolific and letting their quality levels slip, Violent Restitution came along in 1988 and blew away a whole load of fans-in-the-know with its extremely heavy sound and incredible riffing. But I'll review that one another day...Shotgun Justice took Razor's sound a step further, as if the band wanted to make a point about what constituted 'true', non-commercial thrash. This was, after all, a time when some thrash bands were starting to wonder if they might actually be able to hit the big time, throwing the odd ballad into their repertoire and making themselves more accessible with a few tweaks, here and there.
This album, on the other hand, is accessible only to those who like their music brutal, intense and downright disagreeable. It's a superb piece of work, cleaning up Razor's previous sound to the extent of near treble overload, but using this as a virtue. Bob Reid makes his debut on this record, replacing Stace 'Sheepdog' McLaren, and a fine debut it is, sounding like someone's let a Rottweiler loose in the studio.
Any thrash fan should own this album: pure and simple. The likes of Miami, Electric Torture, Stabbed In The Back (which directly references the issue of thrash bands selling out; check out the super-fast riffing in the middle!), Brass Knuckles, Parricide and the wonderfully dynamic The Pugilist really are some of the genre's finest moments.
TRACKLISTING: Miami, United by Hatred, Violence Condoned, Electric Torture, Meaning of Pain, Stabbed in the Back, Shotgun Justice, Parricide, American Luck, Brass Knuckles, Burning the Bridges, Concussion, Cranial Stomp, The Pugilist.
AVAILABILITY: Seems to be long out-of-print, so scour eBay.
RATING: 98%
No comments:
Post a Comment