RAGINPIT MAGAZINE

Razor of Occam - Homage to Martyrs
Release Date: 3/17/09

Track Listing:

1. Altar Of Corruption
2. Bite Of Dogmata
3. Day Of Wrath
4. Heat Of Battle
5. Immortal Code
6. Pattern On The Stone
7. Flame Bearers
8. Shadow Of The Cross

Making their major label debut with Metal Blade Records, Homage to Matyrs will be Razor of Occam's third release to date. They have had two independent releases Diabologue (Damnation Records) and Pillars of Creation (Circle of Tyrants). Razor of Occam have always been self reliant artists booking their own shows throughout the UK and Europe. Former inhabitants of the harsh South Australian desert, they bring a harshness that burns through all their tracks like over zealous rays of sunlight blasting through the dry desert. Now from London, the same abrasive sound doesn’t seem to change leaving these guys to stand on their own and straying away from the mainstream and left unaffected by their environment. When I asked Razor of Occam what makes them make the music that they do Alex Antoniou (Bass) said “We pick up our instruments and what naturally comes out and without limitations or experimentation is the music we grew up with, which is aggressive old school thrash. The black metal part is just Matt’s harsh way of singing.”

This England quartet blends fast paced thrash metal riffs and epic guitar solos with insane double bass kicks as well as a rapacious hard hitting snare that will keep black metal/thrash fans crawling back for eternity. Razor of Occam is made up of ex-members of Destroyer 666 and members of Adorior. The lineup consists of Matt Schneemilch (Vocals/guitars), Alex Antoniou (Bass/Backing Vocals), Ian Gray (guitars), and Pete Hunt (Drums). The black metal roots run deep in this band. They have been around since the late 90’s and have managed to stay away from mystical nonsense lyrics that are typical of the Black Metal genre. Instead their lyrics draw upon the real flaws of humanity.

Opening track “Altar of Corruption” sets the mood for the rest of the album as frontman Matt Schneemilch shreds his vocal cords speaking out against the oppressors of knowledge and praising the martyrs of early astronomy. The song “Flame Bearers” is another highlight of the album sealing the deal with monstrous bone crushing riffs and epic hard hitting drums resulting in Razor of Occam’s most brutal album yet. You can catch these heavy hitters playing alongside renowned acts such as Asphyx, Primordial and Horns and many more stirring up Slayer-style mosh pits at festivals across the United Kingdom. Concert goers BEWARE because you might get your face split!

If a black metal album was played in the forest would the un-trained ear hear it? This genre has been opening up the ears of mankind for years evolving into one of the most important genres in metal music today. I find the genre to be repetitive and hear nothing more than noise due to the lack of changes throughout any of the songs for any black metal artist. That doesn’t mean that I don’t like it. I just can’t hear all the notes like someone who has been listening to the genre for years would. When Columbus and his men first sailed to America it was said that the villagers couldn’t see the ship because they had no basis of what a ship was and because they have never seen anything like it before. After several days the shaman noticed the ship and convinced the rest of the tribe that there were ships on the horizon. Because they trusted and believed in the Shaman they started to see the ships as well. As long as artists are making new music challenging us listeners to open up our minds to different sounds we will come to believe and evolve with the sound.

Razor of Occam MySpace