One of the latest in a growing line of aggressive Chicago hardcore bands, RazorXFade, recently released a demo on Not Normal Tapes, ran by Ralph of Raw Nerve. This baby comes with pro black tapes, fold out insert with lyrics, and j-card all in a slick black and white color scheme. Don't let the name fool you, this is straight-up, no nonsense, balls out hardcore.
The demo wastes absolutely no time, firing six potent bullets of musical fury from their magazine that rip through you like a .45. Reaching high speeds, but in a maintainable fashion, RazorXFade combines different tempos in each song to keep you waiting for the next track. Influentially, the band smacks of Jerry's Kids or other old X-Claim bands, along with some Antidote-era NYHC. Carlos' rough, shouting vocal style fits the grainy music pretty well, ranting through the lyrics at a nearly inaudible pace at times.
After the first two songs, it's crystal clear what this Chicago four piece is shooting for. A quick 56 second song to kick it off, followed by a little intro riff which leads into the second song, as Carlos growls "Straightedge!" right before "Last in Line" explodes from your tape deck. Building guitars and drums leads into a nice mid-tempo breakdown before the vocals gasp "This world thinks in dollar signs/If you don't prepare to be last in line." My personal highlight is probably "Choke," which threatens to completely spin out of control while the guitar mashes its way through chords in between screeching harmonics, to your ear drum's dismay.
Each song seems to attempt to raise the bar from the last one, resulting in an exciting listen from beginning to end. There's an interesting element of social consciousness to the lyrics, touching on kidnapped children, war, greed, scene preachers, and more. I was a bit amused by the 17 different X's on the tape and packaging (yes, I counted), but thankfully these dudes don't waste half their demo screaming about the edge. Find seven minutes to set aside in your busy day and rage with this tape, you won't be disappointed. The first run of tapes is sold out already, but expect a second press soon from Not Normal.
RazorXFade Myspace
Not Normal Tapes Myspace
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