Razorblade - My Name Is Vengeance
Rebellion Records
Razorblade, I’ve been following, liking, listening and supporting for thirteen years already! Been a fan since day one and I have heard these guys grow and get better album by album. Over the years Razorblade has grown into one of the, if not the, the ambassadors of Oi! music and the skinhead subculture out of The Netherlands. Despite some line-up struggles in the past, these guys have always been very productive which have lead to a glorious discography already with “My Name Is Vengeance”, their 7th full-length, about to be added to the impressive list.
If you read the interview I did with singer Wouter already you might have noticed that they wanted to take it back to the roots on this one with a fast, aggressive and in your face sound. Not that Razorblade ever wrote any cheesy pop songs, but on the last records, and in particulair “Days Of Glory”, there was also tons of room for melody in more mid-tempo songs. With “My Name Is Vengeance”, a record that clocks just over 20 minutes, I can say the band has succeeded in taking their style back to how it all began but with the musical experience the band has gained over the years!
“My Name Is Vengeance” kicks-off with the intro “Da Pacem Domine” a chant, or prayer as you will, used by the templars to offer protection. And protection you will need once the first chords of Razorblade come rolling out of your speakers! Because these are without a doubt Razorblade’s hardest, meanest, darkest and most vicious recordings ever, not just in the sound, but in the band’s lyrics as well. It’s all tough as hell, puts your chin up and makes you feel like you can take on the whole world, basically everything you expect from one of the toughest Oi! bands around!
That the band hails from ’s-Hertogenbosch (Den Bosch), The Netherlands breaths through this album. Not just in the historical artwork and themes from songs such as “Feel The Rage”, “The Battle Of Vught” or “Under Siege”, all inspired by situations and battles during the 80 Years’ War (also known as the Dutch War Of Independence), but also in more present themes such as in “Daily Grind”, which is a ode to the ultras of the Blue White Army from the famous M-side terrace of their local football club FC Den Bosch.These are without a doubt my four favorite tracks from this record, but I’d do the five remaining own compositions short with writing that, because every single song on “My Name Is Vengeance” is beast!
Prior to “My Name Is Vengeance” Razorblade managed to deliver a ‘new favorite Razorblade’ album with a new release, but two years ago with “Days Of Glory” I might have thought that the band peaked with that one, but boy was I wrong! The band took the aggro and brickwall Oi! sound of the albums from “Spreading Fear” to “Music For Maniacs” and combined it with the skills, melody and production of “Days Of Glory” to produce one of the most heroic and powerful Oi! albums that ever came out of The Netherlands! My new favorite Razorblade album!
