REVIEW: WRISTMEETRAZOR - DEGENERATION

WristMeetRazor’s screamo-styled metalcore has its fair share of fans, but on their third record the group are taking a turn away from the introspective lyricism and core sound of their first two records, and evolving into a leaner, meaner, industrial beast. ‘Degeneration’ finds the band in the midst of a world at war with itself whilst society caves in, and have penned a claustrophobic, caustic LP that fits in perfectly with this backdrop. The now five piece sound worlds apart from their previous incarnation. In their 2019 and 2021 releases, there were only three band members, and they were sonically quite distinctly different from what has come to be created here. Album three is a more aggressive release that shares much more with Code Orange, 90’s nu metal and even black and death metal than it does anything they’ve done till now.

Kicking down the doors with a savage guitar riff and gutturals, ‘Turn On, Tune In, Drop Dead’ gets proceedings off to a flying start. The Code Orange comparisons may come thick and fast here (more on those tomorrow when our interview with Justin goes live!), but should be left at the door as second song ‘Static Reckoning’ is firmly rooted in death and black metal influence. The lead single for the whole release, ‘Trepanation’, comes in third on the songlist and is the most groove-laden so far, evoking Machine Head amongst other bands. As seen by the wide variety of bands and genres mentioned here, each song has a very definable personality that marks them all separate from each other, but what is more impressive is that all of these varied sounds and styles still mesh phenomenally well into a crushing and cohesive piece of music.

‘Xeroxed Reflection’ has the album’s one and only feature, coming from Kevin Iavaroni, and the first true breakdown of the album as well. The lyrics here, and on much of the rest of ‘Degeneration’, speak to the state of humanity - on ‘Xeroxed Reflection’ lead vocalist Justin and Kevin debase the idea of fame, and spitting vitriol at those who would change their looks, their personality, their entire being just for a second of time in a spotlight that doesn’t care for them. The most potent and powerful lyrics come further on, between ‘Love Thy Enmity’ right through to ‘No Ceremony’. Possibly also the most upfront sets of lyrics, the three songs (and intermission in the shame of ‘Culled and Forgotten’) give an excellent view into the way Justin was thinking whilst writing this. Each one shares his contempt for the people up above us all, and without much work at all you can understand exactly what he thinks we should be doing to them - “Give them the rope” sums things up succinctly enough.

Tenth track ‘The Vanity Procession’ further continues the train of thought set out by ‘Xeroxed Reflection’ but with less subtlety and more venom in every word. The industrial feel of the album shows itself off here, with some more of the black and death metal influence peering through the cracks, and even little bits of nu metal appear throughout. ‘Negative Fix’ certainly focuses back onto the nu metal influence some more, but doesn’t compromise any industrial sound here. At this back end of this review, you could be forgiven for thinking that this release seems to be hopeless and nihilistic - on the contrary, the perspective shown here is almost absurdist out of love for humanity. The desire Justin so clearly has for a better world has manifested itself here as what appears to be nihilism but is just absurdism pushing for us all to live better lives, without oppression. The last song on the main album, ‘Greatest Love Offering in the History of the World’ is the last outlet of this, and is at once twisted, but also completely sensible with the hindsight of everything that has come before. However, it is worth listening on, letting this track play out, and you might find more than meets the eye.

This album should not, and I believe can not, be discussed without a mention of its album cover. Four people being crucified on power lines is, on the surface, an unsettling image that rings with the message of the album, but is much more than that. The sacrifice of those people on power lines is a note perfect replica of the way individuals are given up for the wealthy throughout this album, and the biblical tangents I’m sure are no coincidence, for a band from America where government and church run in concordance, contrary to those lines in the First Amendment detailing the separation of church and state. An album as thought through as this deserved an album cover that was equally thought through, and WristMeetRazor most definitely have that in this piece by Alex Eckman-Lawn.

What was once a screamo three piece has become a five piece who are totally unafraid to mix a very wide variety of subgenres of heaviness, forming an amalgamation that is incredibly heavy, lyrically scathing, and immensely accomplished at what they do. WristMeetRazor have given us a belter of an album that, with any luck, will work its way into the conscience of any listeners and stay there for years to come.

'Degeneration' will be released on March 29th via Prosthetic Records.

Words: Jake Longhurst

Photos: Ashley Simpson