(Contributor’s Note: I recently had the privilege of being able to conduct an interview and had an awesome conversation with Phoenix, Arizona’s own resident badass bassist, Chris Catero. I gave him a stern warning near the end of it, telling him that I was going to do a review of their expanded edition of “Dark Devotion”, which came out on July 19th on all major online retailers for download. Eh, “warning” is a strong word. I made sure to “pass along the news” that I was going to be doing one. Is it somewhat partial? Of course. Will I give my honest opinion on each track? Hell yes. I’m a fan of the band and will continue to be. So, I got the album. And, I love the album. So, here I am. And, here you go. Rock on)
Phoenix, AZ-based heavy metalers, Razer, added 4 tracks to their previously released album “Dark Devotion”. Being called an expanded edition only raises eyebrows as to what else these five were going to be adding to what was an already awesome debut. In case you didn’t know, the band members are as follows: Chris Powers (Vocals), Chris Catero (Bass), Jeromy Graves (Guitar), Paul Sullivan (Guitar), and Eric Bongiorno (Drums). The band is as straightforward as they come in that, when you hear them, you know what they are about…great Heavy Metal.
Razer’s most recent single, ‘Do You Want It’, leads off this 16-track beast of an album. It is the first of the four new tracks on the re-release. Powers’ vocal stylings often make you wonder throughout the song, “When will he falter?” Well, he doesn’t. As quoted by Catero, “Chris is a natural.” Sure thing. Verse after verse, line after line, he brings his range to the masses. ‘Do You Want It’ was in Octane’s Big’Uns Countdown for the complete month of March and into April for a reason. The song epitomizes what metal should sound like in this day and age.
‘Superpaun’ was the band’s first single (and the song I first heard from them that made me notice) and was the first song on the original “Dark Devotion”. What a great way to explode into nationwide satellite radio. Yes, Octane jammed the hell out of this one also. You know from the introduction to ‘Superpaun’ that this is signature Razer. Powers keeps the vocals deep throughout the majority of it, and you absolutely feel Bongiorno’s drums beating your chest. At about 2:20, you get a small break being able to hear Catero’s playfulness with the bass and a devilish whisper from Powers, just as the guitarists bring you back into swing of things. Truly awesome.
The third track, ‘What I Say’, is what I would call a power ballad. Some of the best songs ever done have fallen under this category, and this one is no exception. The band’s true camaraderie is showcased, as one can hear and feel each and every member playing their respective instruments in what turns out to be a synchronization of skills. You have Powers bringing his beautiful range to tell the story, Graves and Sullivan feeding off their combination of melodic leads and power chords, Catero’s bass and Bongiorno’s drums keep the rhythm section feeding the beauty of the song. Keep an ear out for the great backing vocals.
There is no lead up intro to ‘Cold War’ as you get to hear the strength of Powers, the double bass skills of Bongiorno, and get a feel from the guitarists (Graves and Sullivan) right off the bat. The song then quickly rips into its “metalness”. You get to hear background growls from Catero, leading into each chorus, echo into Powers’ powerful statement of, “This cold war’s over.”
With ‘Never Understand’, you get a little harder “power ballad” that really brings the guitar stylings to the forefront. This is one of several songs off the album that if one took Powers’ vocals out, it would be a badass anthem to damn near anything. Not a horrible song, but it was not as crisp as ‘What I Say’.
Next is the title track. ‘Dark Devotion’ gives you the want to keep listening to everything else they do. One feels during, and even after it is over, that going on is absolutely essential to find out what other superb musicianship the band is capable of. You know no song is going to be even remotely close to any of the others. ‘Dark Devotion’ takes you to that place. Really listen to the solo that starts at about 3:05. Amazing. If I remember right, I do believe that is the vocalist himself doing it. Oh yeah, you know it.
‘Right Kind of Evil’ is just that. From the opening introduction, you KNOW it’s going to be hard…and good. The feel of it is menacing in itself, then Powers comes in with a growling whisper you do not want to hear in your head; yet, you want more. The rhythm and main guitar leads kill it and keep the song flowing. The skills of Catero in keeping with, and at times, pushing the song even harder are very apparent. Great jam.
You get a good, solid dose of the rhythm section in the intro to ‘Fall From Grace’ for the first 12 seconds with a touch of somewhat quiet solo work to lead into the what you feel throughout the rest of the song. Powers comes in at about 0:44 with a really cool ease into what he can do behind the mic. You get the same awesome metal from them, but there is a cool focus on how well the backing vocals and Powers coincide with all else going on. It brings that same feel of teamwork between these guys.
The whole power ballad feel you get from ‘Frozen’ is that of some truly dedicated guys, who want to make nothing but music that is completely their own. What I dig from this one is the great back and forth, 5-6 second switch between only hearing an acoustic-sounding guitar, bass, and slow-tempo drums, and then them breaking into the electricity that is Razer. You get to hear this ballet throughout the whole song. It’s cool as hell.
Do you all see what is happening here? Every song is unique in its own way; yet, they are completely the band’s sound. The rest of the record is just as good. You get Heavy Metal that is what good music is all about from a group of guys utterly honed in on their craft. ‘Falling in Line’, ‘Save the World’, ‘Cut and Paste’, and ‘The Broken’ bring you all these great aspects of a band looking to put out something that would make people listen to the whole record in one sitting and go back to listen to it again. I have listened to it 6 or 7 times myself. Not just to write this review up, but to be able to listen to something that does not only put out a few good songs to jam to.
The next two songs are covers and are two more of the extra cuts on the album. Yes, damn good covers. The first one you get to hear is a cover they did of Led Zeppelin’s ‘When the Levee Breaks’. Now, and I will be surprised if I get no flack from this statement, but there are only a select few Zep songs I will listen to-this being one of them. I am a huge fan of covers, and there are a numerous amount of them I am impressed with. I give no exception here. You get the ’70s feel (almost like Zep were in-studio with them) but with the modern sound that is Heavy Metal today. Killer job from Razer to prove that justice can be added to what is an already good classic rock song. Kudos. The next cover you get is something completely unexpected. Not only do you get the lead singer’s guitar skills in the main guitar riff throughout, but you also get a classic funk-fueled disco song brought into our millennium. Ever hear of Hot Chocolate and a song called ‘Every 1′s a Winner’? I never really gave it much thought until Catero said I would recognize the song once I heard their version. Sure as shit. You absolutely need to listen to the original and immediately kick this one on. Soooooo good. Again, justice is served.
The final song on the album is the fourth addition to the edition and is a live version of the song ‘Frozen’. Makes me want to see them live even more.
People who might consider themselves true metal fans SHOULD absolutely love this album, but all opinions vary, so I cannot say the whole world will love it. Read what I wrote and check out the album. Agree. Disagree. Whatever. Just go get it and truly tell me any of the songs sound the same. It is a metal fan’s album. This metal fan especially. Killer album.
Rating: 9.9/10
4.75 out of 5 Horns Up \m/\m/\m/\m/\m