various artists - Thrash Til Death

This is not my rip, but seeing as how I own a physical copy, I don't feel bad about sharing.

I have had a rip of this since the early Limewire days, and it was with some joy that I found my copy of "Thrash Til Death" at Disk Union during my first trip to Tokyo in 2010. I didn't expect to find a long-sought-after Pusmort release on the other side of the world from home, much less at a pretty reasonable price ($20, if memory serves).

It's up there with the Gauze and Assfort 7"s that Prank put out in the late 90s, as well as 625's circa-2000 thrash revival releases, that opened me up to the sicko world of Japanese hardcore, in all of its various iterations. Not a bad song in the whole lot.

Discogs

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Razors Edge - SWEET 10 THRASHERS

It's the last of four Razors Edge records I own: 2006s "SWEET 10 THRASHERS".

It's literally the best description ever. 10 songs. It's a thrash record. They're sweet.

I may have stated in the past; I won't provide any additional trenchant insights. As the cover says, "PLAY FUCKING LOUD AND ENJOY FOR YOUR KILLING TIME!"

Discogs

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Razors Edge - MAGICAL JET LIGHT

Guys, if you like fast hardcore from Japan, then you're going to like this, Razors Edge's fourth full-length.

If you like this, then, well, there's other records I've also shared.

And if you don't like fast hardcore from Japan, well...get with the program.

Discogs

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Razors Edge - RAZORS RISING!!!!

I had nice things to say a couple years back about Osaka's Razors Edge, and I figured it was high time to revisit their discography with this, their second full length. Originally released in 2003 on Kenji Razors' Pizza Of Death Records, this is just some good ass turn of the millenium JP thrash. It's a bit more amateur (and thus a bit more fun, IMHO) than SONIC! FAST! LIFE!, and it covers a lot of the same ground. But the songwriting is there, and the Ramones built a wonderful catalog off the same sort of model, so there you go.

Dig those subtitles. MORE SOUL FOR THRASH!! WE ARE JUST BLITZKRIEG!! Can there be any doubt as to what you're getting here?

For those of you either already on the ground in Japan, or of the means to make your way there, Razors Edge is playing in Osaka in July with a gaggle of other bands. Should be a thrashin' good time. Flip that ballcap bill up and wall of death to your hearts' content!

Discogs

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Razors Edge - SONIC! FAST! LIFE!

RAZORS EDGE, circa 2016 (from Facebook)

While I've never seen them live, I don't think I'll ever experience a band as much fun as Osaka's RAZORS EDGE. There's an absolute joy that saturates every record, every flier, every live video I've come across. I won't say it's amazing to see a DIY group maintain that attitude across a quarter century and eight full-lengths, but it is inspirational. I listen to RAZORS EDGE, and I want to make the people I come in contact with feel as good as their music makes me feel. It's a small goal, but a noble one, I think.

2010's "SONIC! FAST! LIFE!" is RAZORS EDGE's seventh full length. You're not going to get any curveballs here; this is thrashy, circle pit heaven. There's not a single song longer than 2:19, with five tracks coming in under a minute long. There are songs entitled "SKATE RIOT", "SO MUCH FUN", "RAZORS FUCKIN' RULE", and "I HATE WRITING LYRICS". Do I have to spell it out for you? It's like a wonderfully distilled thrash tape fell into a wormhole and came out the other side in 2010. The result, as I noted above, is joyful, magical.

RAZORS EDGE hasn't made a full-length record in five years, nor released a new recording in 2020, but they had planned some tour dates prior to COVID-19, which, sadly, haven't been rescheduled. I'd love to see these fellas make their way over to the States, but it appears, if I want to see them live, I'll have to head to Osaka. Such a sacrifice. ;)

Discogs

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Crow - Who Killed Dove?

Note: A special shout out to April and Negative Insight for their awesome article on Grave New World. There's no way I would have gone down this road without their well-researched, well-written history of the band.

Last week's preorder announcement by Bitter Lake Recordings that they'd be reissuing the 1991 Grave New World album "The Last Sanctuary" wasn't just an exciting way to get a classic crust record. It also reminded me how much I love vocalist Crow's previous, eponymous project. So what better time than now to share the debut 7" by Osaka's Crow. It rips.

A lot of Crow's later releases were put out here in the States by Prank, starting with the 2003 reissue of the Artimus Pyle/Crow split 7". But the mid 80s material, prior to Crow joining Grave New World, remains unreleased in the States. There's a great, self-released CD from 1997 that compiles this, the "Last Chaos" LP, and their comp appearance on "Eyes of the Thrash Guerrilla". I wish you luck finding one for less than $50 here in the U.S.

So, enjoy "Who Killed Dove?" If you have no frame of reference, expect metallic hardcore; not so much Earth Crisis, or late 80s Discharge, but something on the continuum between Motörhead and Napalm Death, but with more NWOBHM influence. Does that make sense? I'd rage out to this if I saw it live. So circle pit it up in your living room, or in the park, or wherever the mood strikes you.

Discogs

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