Artist: Razorback
Label: AOR Heaven Records
Release: 2007
This is a textbook case of hard rock that teases, teases and teases, and never lets you get to the finish line! Given the lineup operating under the Razorback banner, you’d expect a whole lot more. The crew brings together German guitarist Rolf Munkes (Empire, Tony Martin Band), drumming “jack of all trades” Mike “The Troll” Terrana (Axel Rudi Pell, Masterplan), bassist Chris Helm (once a member of Shylock and Lanzer) and Stefan Berggren on vocals (Snakes In Paradise, Company of Snakes).
Compared to its predecessor “Criminal Justice”, where the guys unfortunately lost their essence by imitating modern approaches and the successful melodic/AOR face of the debut “Animal Anger” got completely lost, “Deadringer” is once again the right title. After the mess that was “Criminal Justice”, hardly anyone dared hope Razorback would even manage to pick themselves up off the floor. But they did. And thank god they went back to doing what they obviously do best.
Still, we can only be partly satisfied with the result. The guys do prove that, within the realm of melodic hard rock, they’re excellent musicians when it comes to mastering their instruments. They’re a lot less convincing as songwriters, though. There are moments on the album that don’t hide the holes and the musically naive “nakedness”, in the sense that the guys could have picked far better options for how the melodies of the choruses and pre-choruses ultimately turn out. A prime example comes right at the start with the title track: a bombastic riff and a build-up toward the chorus, which then fails to deliver the atmospheric peak that would make the hairs on your neck stand up. We run into this problem pretty much across the whole running time, and you can feel that the album is hiding quite a few untapped reserves. What you miss most is some polish on the vocal harmonies, which sound very one-layered, and then there’s Mike Terrana, who plays the part of a complete extra on the drums. It’s a shame the band doesn’t make use of this guy’s huge know-how, because on the other hand Munkes’s solos are some of the better things you can enjoy on “Deadringer”, but their impact simply gets watered down by the overall lack of imagination from the creators of “Deadringer”. In short, the band has big potential in working in impressive instrumental intros and outros, as well as interludes, but it remains untapped. Because of this, the album lacks the necessary dynamics, as Terrana doesn’t bother crafting the transitions we’re used to from him. The man is a real drumming animal, as anyone who knows his work with Rage can tell you. On top of that, you miss having a fifth musician in the band: a keyboardist. The album lacks the necessary atmosphere. Steffan Berggren is a classic obsessive when it comes to Ronnie James Dio (The Last Man Standing) and David Coverdale (Let Me Give My Lovin’). Both songs, in parentheses, are done in the style of Dio and Whitesnake respectively, and even the verses shamelessly and ruthlessly lean into those comparisons.
It’s obvious that Razorback is an ad hoc union of convenience, that the members don’t breathe as one for the band and aren’t giving their 100%. That’s why there’s no real chemistry on the album either! Going forward, the guys will need to sharpen up the chorus arrangements above all, since those are the core of any quality melodic hard rock.
It’s nice that they nodded to the work on the debut, but if they want to get anywhere near it, the first order of business is an upgrade: besides tanning the hides of those chorus melodies, they need to bring in a keyboardist, show a bit more instrumental boldness and with it add some theater and wit through interplay between the rhythm section and the guitars, and also beef up the vocal harmonies, which sound very hollow and naive on “Deadringer”! Above all, though, Razorback could probably use a brainwashing to free themselves from their obsession with rock idols and finally show a shred of their own originality in the future.
Lineup
Stefan Berggren – vocals
Rolf Munkes – guitar
Chris Helm – bass, guitar
Mike Terrana – drums
Production
Rolf Munkes
Tracklist
1. Faint Distant Bell Ring
2. Deadringer
3. Last Man Standing
4. Take Me To The Other Side
5. Hero
6. Line Of Fire
7. Burden
8. Miracle Baby
9. Rock ‘n’ Roll Life In Hellsinki
10. Let Me Give My Lovin’
11. Razor Blues
Trajanje albuma: 51.45
