Bob Reid wanted me to record another CD and basically badgered me relentlessly to do it.

Is RAZOR back full force as a band or is Decibels a one-shot deal?

The jury is out on that one. I will wait and see how the CD sells. I haven't the time to be a full-time musician anymore as I have another career which I must say pays much better than what I made with Razor.

If I may ask, what is it you are doing?

I am working as an automotive engineer and travelling extensively throughout North America.

Why did your brother, Adam, leave the band?

Believe it or not, I replaced him.

What led to you making that decision? Was there any bad blood as a result?

That decision was made because Adam became increasingly demanding within the band and I could no longer work with him under those circumstances. He was frustrated at that time and wanted to see the band achieve greater recognition. There is absolutely no bad blood as a result of his departure and he has achieved some moderate success in working as a studio musician (hired gun) in some very up and coming bands. Currently he is working with a band called BTK (Birth Through Knowledge), a very popular rap/funk band in Canada. I hope he gets rich so I can freeload off him.

Why no "Message From Dave" this time out?

I never intended each CD I released to be a forum for my opinions. I had some things to say back in the late 80's and I said them. I really have no message that I want to put on the CD's today.

If you WERE to write one, say, at this moment... what might you say?

It would probably say that I really appreciate everyone who took the time to write the band and express their love for Razor. It also might say that believe it or not, I expected that some people would carry a torch for Razor long after we broke up because the band's sound and attitude were unlike any other band's. Finally, I would say that the Decibels album is not supposed to change the world, but merely be an entertainment experience for those of us who like intense music. No need to overanalyze it.

RAZOR is a band that really broke the barriers of thrash and metal... heavier and more extreme than most of your peers throughout the band's career, increasingly so on each release. Had you written any material after the release of Open Hostility and before the reformation? If so, what was it like? Did you actually manage to get heavier and faster?

Any material I developed following Open Hostility was worked into Decibels in one way or another.

The material on Decibels, although certainly EXTREMELY heavy, is not as fast as older Razor material. Was this a conscious decision of has your writing simply changed?

The slight decrease in pace on Decibels was completely intentional. I have come to believe that playing as fast as I can (and I can definitely play faster if I like) doesn't necessarily add to the heaviness of a song. I love the pace of the material on Decibels. The pace is somewhere between the fastest songs on Slayer's Hell Awaits and Reign In Blood albums.

Bob Reid took a very different vocal approach to RAZOR, much more raw than Stace and in my opinion, much more intense. There seems to be a backlash among hardcore Razor fans, a purist attitude that Stace is the only man for the job. What do you feel Bob brings to RAZOR that Stace did not?

Well I'm not aware of any "backlash" against Bob. It would hardly be reasonable since without Bob, there wouldn't have even been a Decibels CD because I can assure you that I did not have the motivation to do it on my own. The most important thing Bob brought to Razor that Stace did not (at the end of Stace's tenure anyway) was enthusiam and lack of ego. It never ceases to amaze me how some people just hate to accept change. I made some classic recordings with Stace, but Bob has done nothing except provide great heavy vocals for each Razor album he's worked on. He's like Rodney Dangerfield in the sense that he doesn't get any respect at all. He deserves better.

Give me your raw opinion on the following:

METALLICA

In general they aren't my cup of tea and haven't been since Ride The Lightning, but with superb productions (and a budget to guarantee it), even lame pedestrian riffs sound incredible. Don't they? I do respect their success however and they do play an occasional song that doesn't stink ("Enter Sandman" comes to mind). I'd like to see them make a record with Razor's budget and see what it sounds like.

SLAYER

I loved Divine Intervention. Undisputed Attitude disappointed virtually everyone because there are no Slayer songs on it. There are some good songs however. I'm still into them.

FRANK ZAPPA

A very intelligent man who represented the anti-censorship movement with passion . A talented musician although I was not overly interested in most of his music.

MANOWAR

Do they still exist? They wrote an occasional good song. The only Manowar song I really loved was "All Men Play On 10".

What have you been listening to nowadays? Any metal releases that came out over the 5 year hiatus that impressed you?

As stated before, I loved Divine Intervention by Slayer. I really haven't kept up with the scene and I rely on friends' recommendations to decide what to listen to. I like Sepultura though I'm sure it doesn't surprise you.

Have you heard the HYPOCRISY cover of "Evil Invaders?" If so, what do you think?

I've never heard it but I've been told it is very good.

What is the one album in your collection that a diehard RAZOR fan might be shocked to know that you actually own?

Good question. Probably Steppin' Out by the Braxton Brothers (Smooth Jazz).

Any plans for a US tour in support of Decibels?

Well we aren't even getting a domestic release in the US for this CD so I doubt we'll be touring in the USA. Too bad because I love America.

What is your favorite RAZOR album and why?

My favorite album is probably Violent Restitution, because it was offered to the world as proof that I could churn out a heavy album at will if I wanted. I remember all the criticisms that flew after the release of Custom Killing. The one criticism that bugged me the most was the comment that I had lost my ability to write heavy songs. Violent Restitution (which was recorded only 7 months after Custom Killing) was my response to that belief.

Violent Resitution was, to my knowledge, the only album to see a domestic release in the US (via Steamhammer &Roadrunner/Roadracer/RC). Had you signed a one album deal with the label or was there a split for other reasons?

This was a licensing agreement which Fringe (our Canadian licensee at the time) negotiated with Steamhammer/Roadracer.

Roadracer did not want to release Shotgun Justice as they felt that Violent Restitution did not sell well enough in the USA to justify it. They were offered the opportunity but declined.

You traditionally have written the lyrics for RAZOR. Why did you opt to turn the duty over to Bob on Decibels?

Well I didn't write the early Razor lyrics. I only took over the brunt of the lyric writing after the first personnel changes (following Custom Killing). I never expected to be the main lyricist for the band but at the time I wanted complete control over my destiny, which meant that if I was to go down, it would be on my own terms.

What is your opinion of SFH (the band that the other members of Razor are a part of)?

I like most of their music. SFH used to open for Razor on the Violent Restitution tour in 1988, so that's where I first heard Bob's vocals. I even produced their first CD.

Is there one show or point in the band's career that you feel was the pinnacle of RAZOR, where you felt the most elation you ever had as a result of the band? The song "Violence Condoned" (which details a RAZOR gig where the band got ripped off and didn't play and the fans trashed the club, for the uninitiated reader) comes to mind and inspired this question... was that based on an actual incident? If so, where did it occur? I would imagine that, if so, that would be a hell of a feeling to have fans react that way to the band not playing!

The pinnacle of our career came very early for me. It would be October 1984 when we played our first show in Toronto in support of Slayer. The bar we played (Larry's Hideaway - now gone) was packed with over 1000 people (legal capacity was only 800). We appeared on stage to a unanimous chant of "Razor..Razor.." At that moment I was sure that before I was 25 I was going to be a rich man! (I was 20 at the time) However, in spite of continuing successes over the next 2 years, we never did get where I wanted to be. As far as the incident that inspired the song "Violence Condoned:" The year was 1988 and the city was Thunder Bay (Ontario Canada). It definitely happened. Razor has always had an extremely loyal following in Canada and our fans felt absolutely gyped by that experience. On the way back across Canada on our 1988 tour, we scheduled a return date for Thunder Bay at a different club and we played for the people who were scammed one month earlier.

Any final words for RAZOR fans, new and old?

Thanks for your interest in the band. Drop me a line via the internet to let me know what you think of the new CD.

Contact Dave Carlo via email.

The first of the three Attic records, "Executioner's Song", came out shortly after signing, the material having mostly been written during the "Armed and Dangerous" period. It proved successful with fans of raw, aggressive music. These fans wouldn't have to wait long before the band released the first in a series of evolutionary steps it would make.
"Evil Invaders" (1985) barraged the listener with a more controlled, more focused attack, of particular mention Stace McLaren's soaring vocal delivery and Dave Carlo's increasingly engaging hooks and razor-sharp riffs.
The band toured heavily at this time with the likes of Slayer, Motorhead, and Venom, both in Canada and the United States, the only countries to have seen Razor to this day, despite the more favourable European and Japanese markets. A music video was produced for the album's title track, possibly the first speed metal video ever recorded. Its airplay on MTV (USA) and MuchMusic (Canada), along with support from college radio, resulted in greater exposure and name recognition.
A year later, "Malicious Intent" appeared on music store shelves with the intent of maintaining the momentum achieved by "Evil Invaders". While the songs were strong, the record suffered slightly from problems internal to the band that were starting to well up. This, and a lack of a domestic release in the United States on Attic's part led the band to request termination of the contract agreement, which Attic tendered graciously.

Razor would now be free to explore new directions, and that they did with "Custom Killing", a self-financed recording which included the most experimental material they'd written. In contrast to the short bursts of intensity for which they were best known, "Custom Killing" featured several long, drawn out epics, complex in nature, yet not entirely memorable. Ironically, despite its poor commercial success, it was the band's most profitable record yet due to their independent stature. Razor was seemingly losing the initial vision which it so proudly espoused and practiced both in actions and words.
Dave Carlo came to the realization that it was time once again to refocus and move on to the next level. His approach involved a sound so intense and ferocious, a galloping frenzy of speed so over-the-top, that it split the band into two camps, leaving Carlo and McLaren to persevere.

Carlo willingly undertook the brunt of the songwriting responsibilities as a new Razor emerged, leaner, hungrier, featuring unparalleled speed and unstoppable energy, coalescing into "Violent Restitution", an album which would prove far more popular than their previous. While Adam Carlo (Dave's brother) took over bass duties, it was Rob Mills' drum work that further helped shape the band's new direction. Mills' distinctive style and impeccable timing added a powerful element of clockwork accuracy in the sound as a whole, meshing perfectly with, and perhaps even inspiring, Carlo's dizzying display of chainsaw riffing. McLaren's vocals far surpassed his previous work, his spectacular Phoenix-like shriek leading off the album in a sign of rebirth for the renewed outfit. It would also be McLaren's last album.

A few hundred kilometers south of Guelph, in the town of London, Ontario, another group of musicians united to form Samhain. Seeing as Glenn Danzig had already appropriated the name for his post-Misfits crew, the London boys briefly contemplated renaming to SamFuckingHain, but settled on SFH for obvious reasons. Having given up a potentially successful career in hockey for the love of music, Bob Reid led SFH as a songwriter, performing lead duties on both guitar and vocals.
They had become well-known and well-liked in the region through the release of their "Cold Death" demo in 1987, and were occasionally known to play shows with Razor. Meanwhile, McLaren's waning interest in Razor was taking its toll, and Carlo took matters into his own hands, letting McLaren go, and convincing Bob Reid to put SFH on hiatus in order to assume vocal duties for Razor. The evolution continued.

Tweaking the "Violent Restitution" framework to better suit Reid's delivery, "Shotgun Justice" blasted away at top speed, spewing track after track of hatred, frustration, and anger, mostly directed against the watered down music of previously heavy bands. While not vastly different than its predecessor, it began to show signs of what was to come, introducing more complex chord structure and progressions, in contrast with the increased complexity of arrangements on "Custom Killing".
The band's second video was produced for the song "Shotgun Justice", but was almost immediately banned for its negative portrayal of violence, a blatant industry double standard, but nevertheless a stumbling block given the money that had been invested in the video in hopes of furthering interest in the lucrative North American market. Appropriately, "American Luck" was the subject of the third video, which was hastily put together on a limited budget in an attempt to salvage whatever commercial attention they could through conventional channels; it was later retracted by the band itself, citing poor quality. The touring continued, mostly headlining smaller shows, playing with other renowned Canadian talent such as Sacrifice and Disciples of Power.

Tragedy would strike next by way of an accident leaving Rob Mills incapable of recording the next opus. Dave Carlo, undeterred, proceeded to complete his creation by mimicking Mills' style using drum synthesizers. By this time, several years of experience had evoked in Carlo a growing sense of harmony which was inevitably filtering its way into the new material. "Open Hostility" became the new pinnacle of speed metal, a group of short, concise sonic explosions, better suited to Reid's vocal approach, and introducing a song entirely written and composed by Reid himself, "Cheers", later appearing on a subsequent SFH album. Seven years after conception, Razor had become immeasurably more intense, slinging a never-ending stream of precision rhythms rife with atonal harmony. North America would all but ignore the effort, preferring to concentrate on the growing grunge movement, turning their backs almost entirely on metal in general. A tour ensued nonetheless, playing for core groups of fans, leading up to the last gig on October 2, 1992. Razor had run its course. Or so it seemed.

After three years' hiatus, Bob Reid resumed his position in SFH along with Jon Armstrong on bass and Rich Oosterbosch on drums. They would record two full-length albums, "One of Those Days" (1992) and "All You Can Eat" (1994), with modest success.
Dave Carlo, on the other hand, badly needed relief from eight years of constant hard work and large doses of grief, removing himself entirely from music for a year, yet coming back to the guitar in time, albeit strictly for personal pleasure and satisfaction. As a musician, he still felt the need to create music, but believed that he'd done all he could within the context of Razor. A career retrospective was eventually released in the form of "Exhumed", a double-CD compilation spanning every studio album, providing fans with a taste of the older, more obscure material, while offering a good earful of the more contemporary songs. Carlo expressed himself openly on the state of heavy music in the liner notes, then finally alluded to the possibility of more music in the future, although not necessarily as Razor. Time went on, 1996 rolled around, and Bob Reid started bringing up the subject of resurrecting Razor. After much cajoling, Carlo ended up dropping finished music in Reid's lap for him to write lyrics, a task that Carlo himself had been doing almost exclusively in the past. The result of the two-man combined effort: "Decibels".

Meanwhile, Tom Treumuth (Hypnotic Records), better known for his work with such Canadian acts as Helix and Honeymoon Suite, had come to hear of Razor's current situation through Lips, of Anvil fame. The new material left Treumuth astounded, surpassing all his expectations, heightening his sense of excitement at the possible release of such damn fine heavy work. A continuation of the direction adopted on "Open Hostility", "Decibels" expands on the dense harmonies and finely interwoven minimalist melodies, creating a fuller sound still, while somewhat reducing the emphasis on speed, yet keeping the energy level consistently high, and inimitably Razor. Hypnotic Records were quick to sign them, anxious to make "Decibels" known to all and to garner them the widespread recognition and support they've long deserved. Now consisting of Dave Carlo and the members of SFH (Bob Reid resuming vocal duties, Jon Armstrong on bass, and Rich Oosterbosch on drums), today's Razor remains equally dedicated to the band's original artistic vision and hopes to dish some of it out as they tour in support of their finest recording to date.

Alain M. Gaudrault,
May 1997.

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5:43 AM 

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Live Shots from Lee's Palace in 1999
Pictures courtesy of Dave Carlo

                This is how it all began - back in 1985... 
 
              From left to right: Mike, Dave, Stace, M-Bro 
                 taken from: 'Executioner's Song')
 

 
Razor live on stage in Sudbury, Ontario Canada
during their 'shotgun justice' tour in 1990