by Jare C (@jareccurtis)
For anyone paying attention to the Buffalo underground scene, you’d likely know that hardcore and punk are the heart of the scene. Whether it’s hardcore classics like Snapcase, Buried Alive, Hourglass, and Rhinocerous, metal, punk, and indie heroes like Cannibal Corpse, Every Time I Die, Green Jelly, or Lemuria, or more recent splashes like Spaced or Science Man — there’s a vibrant scene with a deep history in the community. The latter case, Science Man, is the center of punk record label Swimming Faith, an outfit whose output has varied between egg punk, crust, hardcore punk, speed metal, noise rock, and the spaces beyond and in between. One of their most recent releases is the new self-titled tape from Razorface — a young and hungry crust punk band speeding and careening towards the brink in the rust belt.
Across eight songs throughout twelve sharp minutes, Razorface comes in hot with personality and fervor. The opening track “Tarnished” is a clamoring circle-pit-former that pushes in with a rotating rhythm and a bouncy clip at the track’s midpoint. The following “Self-Inflicted” is a ricocheting bullet of self-destructive behavior that mirrors the previous track’s circular padding, almost as if the drug use and social isolation described in the song’s lyrics translates to its buildup. From this point, songs pour from one into another, the titular “Razorface” an amalgam of jagged, rusty guitar lines, crispy drums, and muddy, thumping bass. The following “Arms Race” pulls the circle tighter with a riffy back and forth between the guitars and the vocals, with crashes into a wall with “Black Terrorist.” The tempo picks back up and pushes forward into “Lynched by Laws,” a thunderous cavalcade of drums, ruthless vocal aggression, and a dueling guitar line that constantly seems stuck between fighting against itself and the vocals. The following “Mea Culpa” sees the house that got lit on fire in the first quarter of the run time finally start to fall apart, with the walls finally caving in. The closer, “Interloper,” is the house collapsing — the energy hits the crescendo, and the steady pressure that had been building finally combusts with a manic, pounding finish.
Throughout their self-titled debut, Razorface seems determined to push through with a divisive hole in somebody’s coffin. The flavor of this record is violence, whether it’s pushed outward or in the direction of oneself. The destruction is imminent, and it’s bound to leak on whoever is standing too close to avoid it. That absolute wildfire of a sound and energy gives the young band a lot to work with here, but also a lot to work with moving forward if they aim towards something with a little more depth to the concept. This feels like a really great glimpse at a new band about to hit their stride, and it’ll be really exciting to see what comes for Razorface next.