Razor of Occam - Homage to Martyrs
Metal Blade
Black/Thrash Metal
8 songs (33:40)
Release year: 2009
Metal Blade
Reviewed by Thomas
Album of the month

Unholy mother of Satan, this was a pleasant surprise! Razor of Occam hails from Australia and consists of half of Deströyer 666, which basically means that you’re in for one evil piece of blackened thrash metal. After several promising demo’s and EP’s, Razor of Occam has finally completed their debut full-length Homage to Martyrs. With former Dragonforce-drummer Peter Hunt and Scythion-bassist Alex along on their team, these guys have compiled an impressive effort that’ll make every Satan-lover and blasphemer out there water their mouths. This is something that’ll end up among the top, if not at the top on my year-end list as I’m a sucker for black-painted thrash. Homage to Martyrs doesn’t last longer than half an hour, but manages to pack quite a few good punches as it throws you around like a ragdoll. With body-crushing intensity, Razor of Occam clinches your attention with a brutality rarely seen in either genre, and just as your eyes are getting blood-shot, popping out of your head, it ends and you’ll not know what hit you.

This starts off flying with Altars of Corruption. Leaving you battered in a puddle of blood. A riff-attack best described as a violent rampage blasts out of your speakers with demon-like speed as Matt’s evil rasps clutches your spirit as the suffocating intensity rips you apart. Imagine The Crown coupled with harsher vocals and with a touch of Witchery added to it, or a heavier version of The Batallion, and there you have Razor of Occam. There are really not many bands left, executing this demanding style as flawlessly as these guys, and if there are, they are well hidden. The only slight flaw that the thrash-haters will not hesitate to bring up before even hearing this is that it may be a little too repetitive. However, if they are able to get over themselves, this will prove as an album holding quality over quantity and not the opposite. With baffling riffs that just reeks of madness churned out permanently by both guitarists is backed up by the fast and furious drumming of Peter Hunt. Matt’s crooked vocals will haunt every corner of an unstable mind with gut-wrenching coldness and an undeniable hint of pure evilness. The cruelty of spiritual religion is spat from his lips, as you’re verbally beaten into capitulation. To be honest, blackened thrash metal hasn’t sounded this good since The Crown put their instruments on the shelf, which should me more than enough of an argument for you to give this a try or six hundred and sixty-six.

Going into each song here seems a bit silly, as the pace is set from the start. The only downside to this is that if you blink, you’ll miss it. It’s over as suddenly as it started, only that you’re in a far more disabled mental state when this monster is done with your sorry ass. Titanic as they are, they never let you get any break from the punishment due from the first moment on. My blood is pumping harder when I prepare for the severe treatment songs like Pattern On the Stone has in store for me. There’s no escape from its no matter how hard you try as this descends on you like a grade A tornado. No mellow bullshit to be found on this slugger, as acoustic intros, orchestral interludes and spoken bits graces us with their absence. If you like your thrash metal dirty, evil, harsh and not the least, completely blackened, then this is something you should keep a keen eye on, as it will not disappoint you in any way. Beware of the huge black thrashing beast that is Razor of Occam, ‘cause this isn’t for the faint of heart, and it will not be much left of you if you don’t, Highly recommended.

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Thomas quoted 90 / 100
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There are 8 replies to this review. Last one on Thu Jun 11, 2009 11:27 am
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