Pissing Razors - Evolution
2003 - Spitfire Records
By Philip Whitehouse
Go to the Spitfire Records website.
Oh, dear. And to think that Pissing Razors used to be such a consistent, if somewhat derivative band. However unoriginal their Texas-born brand of Pantera-esque thrash may have been, they at least had the advantage of being able to churn out a good few storming tracks in that mould. But sadly, after five years, three singers and the loss of guitarist Cesar Soto, the Razors have finally delivered an album that simply is not up to scratch.
Firstly, new vocalist Andre sticks in the typical Pissing Razors' fan's craw immediately by resorting to clean singing in the choruses of some of the songs - which immediately deadens PR's usual relentless impact and moves away from their thrashy brutality of days gone by. Secondly, the riffage has become even more derivative than ever, and not nearly as fast and aggressive as before. Thirdly... ah, I could go on all day listing the faults, like the irritating rap-like delivery of some of the lyrics of 'Facedown', or Eddy Garcia's increasingly irritating tendency to deliberately play several deliberately out-of-time, off-kilter rhythms to what could be a damned good passage - but generally, it all boils down to the fact that Pissing Razors seem to have run out of ideas.
Perhaps the biggest indicator of this paucity of creativity comes in the shape of the album's closing track, 'Evolucion', which is exactly the same song as the album's title track 'Evolution', except with the lyrics sung in Spanish. The laziness of this is staggering, especially for a band renowned and reputed for their hard-working nature.
Sorry guys, but you've passed your prime. Time to move on.
4/10
2003 - Spitfire Records
By Philip Whitehouse
Go to the Spitfire Records website.
Oh, dear. And to think that Pissing Razors used to be such a consistent, if somewhat derivative band. However unoriginal their Texas-born brand of Pantera-esque thrash may have been, they at least had the advantage of being able to churn out a good few storming tracks in that mould. But sadly, after five years, three singers and the loss of guitarist Cesar Soto, the Razors have finally delivered an album that simply is not up to scratch.
Firstly, new vocalist Andre sticks in the typical Pissing Razors' fan's craw immediately by resorting to clean singing in the choruses of some of the songs - which immediately deadens PR's usual relentless impact and moves away from their thrashy brutality of days gone by. Secondly, the riffage has become even more derivative than ever, and not nearly as fast and aggressive as before. Thirdly... ah, I could go on all day listing the faults, like the irritating rap-like delivery of some of the lyrics of 'Facedown', or Eddy Garcia's increasingly irritating tendency to deliberately play several deliberately out-of-time, off-kilter rhythms to what could be a damned good passage - but generally, it all boils down to the fact that Pissing Razors seem to have run out of ideas.
Perhaps the biggest indicator of this paucity of creativity comes in the shape of the album's closing track, 'Evolucion', which is exactly the same song as the album's title track 'Evolution', except with the lyrics sung in Spanish. The laziness of this is staggering, especially for a band renowned and reputed for their hard-working nature.
Sorry guys, but you've passed your prime. Time to move on.
4/10
