RAZORMAZE, Miseries  (2010, self-released)

The skull:
At first glance this cover looks absolutely KILLER. Look a little closer and you may find those five heads annoying, you might judge that the third eye doesn’t like quite right when it’s vertical (and apparently cut out of a J.C. Penney catalog), and you may feel that the wings on each side of the skull’s maxilla are incredibly stupid. I don’t feel any of those things. I already got this bitch tattooed on my back. Nah, I kid. I’m sorta bummed, being seduced at first by the orange color, which looks like the skull is sporting Janis Joplin-esque locks, which complements the sea-blue color of the orb behind him. It looked like a skull cover I could actually get behind and yes, even tattooed on my back, but now, no…I cannot look at this thing any longer.

The music:
Musically you’re gonna get a few great riffs here amidst some not-so-hot ones on this three-song EP. There’s a decent amount of melody here, and lots of energy too. These Boston kids play with commendable earnestness…possibly too much, as “Karma In/Karma Out” rocks out so hard that it sounds as much cock-rock as it does thrash metal. Yet…yet…the solo work in the middle is absolutely superb. The element I find annoying, and ruinous to an otherwise not-bad band, are the snottily-delivered vocals. They can be described as a cross between Joey Belladonna, Act III-era Mark Osegueda and Kurt Brecht, but much worse than that sounds. The gang vocals are lame too. But, from an objective standpoint, this is high-energy, capably-delivered, brightly-colored thrash befitting of the album cover. Mostly for those who don’t care a thing about innovation or originality, but they do have genuine elements of promise, especially guitarist Alex Citrone.
— Friar Wagner