RAZOR OF OCCAM

Conflict between science and religion

After over ten years of spreading metal disease in the underground Australia's RAZOR OF OCCAM (currently based in the UK) finally released their long awaited full length album. It's called “Homage To Martyrs” and contains eight songs of ferocious black thrash death metal attack. I don't have any doubts about the fact that's one of the strongest records in Metal Blade's catalogue for 2009. A few days after its worldwide premiere I talked to band's vocalist and guitarist Matt.

-So far you guys have released two EP's, "Diabologue" (1999), "Pillars Of Creation" (2003) and some demo tapes. Do you find these recordings an important part of band's identity? Could you describe RAZOR OF OCCAM progression throughout the years and portrait each one of your previous releases with a few words?
Yes, we are still proud of our earlier releases. Diabologue was originally a demo released on tape. I think the sound is just right for a demo, nice and dirty. The guitar work was pretty simple with no solos or fancy structures, the bass left to shoulder the bulk of the melody. Brad’s natural aggression was on display as he punished his drum kit. ‘Pillars’ was a bit more adventurous with a bit variety in style and structuring. This was Pete’s first outing on the drums and Ian fired his opening volley of trademark solos. Admittedly, the sound could be better, particularly the drums. We had only a few days to do everything so it was all a bit rushed. On reflection we resolved to ensure we had sufficient studio time to do things properly the next time around

-Your debut album “Homage To Martyrs” has been released just a few days ago. What are your general impressions concerning the release? Why did it take so long to release the first full length album? As far as I know the band was founded over ten years ago, so...
The five year span between the first two recordings was unavoidable, as the band was inactive while I spent much of the time moving between various countries, but we were active during the five years leading up to the album. The first couple of years were dedicated towards live performance, including a European tour. The remaining time was spent honing our skills and allowing the new material to evolve naturally.

-RAZOR OF OCCAM is an Australian band based in England now. When and why did you actually decide to move to Europe?
I left Australia soon after the demo was recorded, mainly for work opportunities. Ian moved a couple of years later, after Destroyer relocated to Europe and Pete was already living in London.

-Australia is well known from a great extreme metal scene, with many great bands. But I was wondering, what bands from your home country influenced you the most and turned your attention to heavy music? Did you grow up listening to AC/DC, ROSE TATTOO (as most of Australian kids)?
Of course, these great bands were household names and inevitable influences. There was also a brace of fine Australian acts in the late eighties, including Hobbs Angel of Death, Slaughterlord, Armoured Angel, Mortal Sin, Spectral Birth, Martire, Acheron and so on. We never got to see many international acts until much later, so these were the bands that gave us our first taste of live metal.

-RAZOR OF OCCAM line up features two members of well known thrash black metal killer DESTROYER 666. What is the current status of that band? Your latest release, I mean EP “Terror Abraxas” was unleashed in 2003...
Very much alive and kicking. The new album is recorded and will be released soon. There are also plenty of live dates scheduled this year.

-On “Homage To Martyrs” one can easily find some similarities to D666 sound. Does it come naturally in your writing process? Of course, RAZOR OF OCCAM is definitely much more sophisticated in terms of songwiriting, arranging and performing but your music is still extremely dark, aggressive and dangerously unpredictable if you know what I mean. So...
I think you will find the new albums of each band markedly different.

-When you formed RAZOR OF OCCAM initially, did you have any specific goals for what you wanted to sound like?
Not really. I guess you could say the sound has evolved somewhat organically.

-These days there are many metal bands eager to declare themselves as “big supporters of true oldschool ideals”. Do you find this flattering or annoying?
Neither. Other bands can do whatever they like as far as I am concerned.

-Since “mainstream” has never been a favourite word in your metal library, could you explain us what is so bad and awful in good CD's selling, playing big venue shows and so on? What separates true metal from shitty mainstream?
We listen to a lot of bands that are considered mainstream, as well as bands that still push the extremes of the envelope. Remember, much that is now mainstream was once considered impossibly extreme. I guess some prefer to search for rough diamonds deep underground while others wait on the surface for the polished gems to be delivered.

-Who are the biggest metal sellouts in history of metal music? Who would you say are the shittiest metal bands around right now?
I reckon Metallica would be the biggest sellouts, at least in the sense that they made the most money. As for the shittiest, I can’t really say. Usually I only listen to a new band under recommendation so I don’t hear many bands that are no good. Fortunately there are plenty of great bands around and the general standard of musicianship is pretty high these days.

-What are your thoughts on the growing popularity of short-hair style in metal music?
I would of thought male pattern balding is behind it. Take a leaf out of the Nifleheim twins’ book: if you only have one hair left let it be long.

-You have been around since many years. Has your attitude to “what is metal” changed during the years you have played?
No.

-Let's go back to RAZOR OF OCCAM's new effort. Some time ago you signed a record deal. How did things with Metal Blade come together? Who approached who with this deal? Was it a good choice?
Before we went to the studio we recorded a demo of the new album, hoping to use it to secure some funding. The response was rather under whelming so we took a gamble and paid for the recording ourselves. After we circulated the finished album Metal Blade signed us. There weren’t really a lot of options open to us so it was the only choice in the end.

-What is the difference of working with a worldwide known record label compared to the smaller and less known ones, such as Circle Of The Tyrants and Damnation Records?
So far the main difference is that now we have to do lot of interviews. The good thing about the earlier labels is that we were all mates so it was all very relaxed and amicable, and the truth is we would have been quite content to sign with an underground label again. Metal Blade have been great though; now we have seen first hand how the professionals go about it.

-On Metal Blade website I read that "Homage to Martyrs" is a tribute to the great men of science who died in the pursuit of knowledge. That's very interesting, could you elaborate on this?
At the outset I should say that the recurring lyrical theme is the conflict between science and religion. This conflict was perhaps at its height during the Italian renaissance. At first, the church supported the emerging discipline of natural philosophy, but the new scientists soon began to challenge papal authority when their observations showed that nature did not conform to religious revelation. The Vatican responded with the Inquisition and a campaign of censorship that resulted in the burning of many inquisitive philosophers at the stake. Of course, that sort of behaviour is unacceptable in the modern era, but there are recent examples of scientists who were driven to madness and suicide by opposition to their ideas, often on religious grounds, and the unsettling implications of their discoveries. It is to both types of martyr that the album pays tribute.

-The artwork for “Homage To Martyrs” is also very interesting. Can you tell us something about that picture and how that came to be the cover art of your full length debut release?
The Promethean legend depicted on the cover also resonated with the conflict theme. According to the myth, Prometheus stole fire from the gods, fire being a symbolic representation of intelligence. As retribution, the gods decreed he be chained to a rock and suffer the agony of having his liver torn from his body by an eagle every day, only to have the organ regenerate overnight and then be subjected to the same torture the following day. There is a sense in which the early scientists of the renaissance also dared to challenge the gods and wrest knowledge from their jealous grasp. Had they been able, the sadists of the Inquisition would surely have taken delight in administering this peculiar form of avian punishment.