The Everscathed
Razors Of Unrest
6.9
Reviewing Chicago's The Everscathed hurts my brain, because it’s hard to make heads or tails out of Razors Of Unrest when it comes time to point out positives and negatives. I’m amazed the band has stayed healthy enough to even get this damn thing out, considering how they attract physical injuries like flypaper. More power to them, and rather than stumble through this for too long, I’ll try to be as blunt as possible.
It’s thrash, sort of, with a whole lot of old school death metal influence. There’s nothing but razor-sharp, unconventionally arranged riffs everywhere, abrupt time changes from back to front, and mid-ranged cookie monster vocals that have a peculiar sort of, well, squeak at times. Sounds a little bit like The Chasm, Death, Absu, and a pissed-off Grover from Sesame Street sitting around with a bong and a bottle, writing music with some bizarre Third-World cannibal movie on in the background. It’s aggressive, noticeably technical, but also unafraid to delve into the grinding menace of simpler, slower gore.
Along with the three previously mentioned bands, there is also a strong German thrash and traditional British heavy metal vibe nestled snugly among the blasts and high-speed chugging rhythms, with hints of Destruction, Sodom, and Diamond Head burning through (“Raging In Unrest”, “Halted Glory”, “Evil Lives On”). Tracks such as “Wounds Of Confusion”, as well as the brooding highlight “Shackled By Failure” show the band at their most interesting, mixing stalking riffs among some pretty fucking cool vocal arrangements. None of it gets daunting or tedious, but there’s also not much to get excited about either when it’s over, honestly.
All in all, it’s solid, occasionally challenging to follow death/thrash metal. The songwriting in off-kilter, but appealing, the production is entirely average, and the musicians give off a vibe that they are as good as they are through hours and hours of serious hard work, rather than being able to play naturally in their sleep. Maybe that’s the best way I can put it. You can hear the hard work and effort The Everscathed have put into Razors Of Unrest, so even if the music itself might be somewhat unmemorable in the end, the listening experience is not a chore at all. Uneventful, yet enjoyable, and with a Slayer cover to seal the deal, you can’t really go wrong, but don’t expect anything earth-shaking.
