Razor's Edge "Thrash March" 7"
[Busted Heads]
This is a reissue of this band's 1998 debut EP, and holy shit this is some crazy raw Japanese hardcore/punk with a sound that's a bit too thin to really do them justice, but doesn't hold back the intensity or energy of their material at all. This shit is awesome - totally raging with tons of speed and an uncontrollable amount of over the top lunacy: It's fun, it's memorable, and it just makes you want to bounce off the fuckin' walls, break shit, and go bananas. It's nothing but hyper distorted blazing fast chord progressions, catchy arrangements, that typical Japanese sense of insanity, and a few wild lead breaks or slightly heavier rhythms on rare occasion. Thrash! The vocals and drums can be too loud, and there's zero low-end to the bass in the mix, with a really thin guitar tone and thin, biting drums. Now, this definitely needs to be raw, but upping the bass would make a huge difference by thickening up everything and adding some well needed density to the mix. It's only as noisy or sloppy as they want it to be, though. The performance is tight, and everything is relatively controlled until they (rarely) decide to start going off. The 7" is on clear yellow vinyl - fitting for the bright yellow sleeve. There are tons of hilarious illustrations of thrashing band members skating, drinking, busting their instruments... you name it. There are also some band photos and lyrics, which are a mix of Japanese and English so I can't make much sense out of 'em. These guys hate cops and like to thrash, I can tell you that much. Awesome. Thanks to Busted Heads for the reissue. More Japanese bands need to start making a name for themselves outside of Japan... (7/10)
Running time - 6:00 (approximately), Tracks: 6
[Notable tracks: Born Again, Not the Same, Dogs]
Busted Heads - http://www.bustedheads.com

This review has been displayed 1791 times.