Album Review: Razor Sharp Death Blizzard - The World Is Fucked
Reviewed by Dan Barnes
Never was a statement more true than the title of Razor Sharp Death Blizzard’s new release. Seven slabs of modern nihilistic metal that is designed to tear your head clean away from your neck.
Formed in 2014 the Scottish four-piece have already unleashed an EP and full album, in 2015 and 2016 respectively, and have drawn comparison with such Punk royalty as The Exploited and the Dead Kennedys.
If ever there was a manifesto for 2020 then Razor Sharp Death Blizzard nail it in their latest record’s title track. Thick slabs of modern metal are piled on top of each other, each dripping with bile and disgust. Considering its subject matter, the track The World is Fucked is a surprisingly restrained affair: the Metalcore vocal and familiar-sounding guitar tone rage above a drum that articulates every hit of stick on skin.
Fascist arrives with more urgency, with a bass-rumble and a simple but killer chorus riff. It, along with Failure, mark the unbridled urgency of The World Is Fucked, where whirlwind guitar does battle with aggressive drumming to underscore the approaching End of Days.
There is more to this album than unrestrained agro. At the centre of The World Is Fucked stands Small Town, a song constructed to replicate the grinding monotony of the titular life. Featuring restrained drum work, the track builds from its bass-driven opening through repetition to an acceptance of drudgery of said existence.
As a companion piece to Small Town, the other highlight of The World Is Fucked is Suicide, four-minutes-plus of sustained musical aggression akin to being repeatedly punched in the gut as the guitar stands over you, laughing.
Uncompromisingly political in its stance, Razor Sharp Death Blizzard have unleashed an album that encapsulates the insanity of the world in 2020. The only hope is that we are all still around to talk about it in the future.
