Review by Jack on August 8, 2002.

There really are countless bands new metal bands out there awaiting discovery, from all corners of the globe, from all walks of life, and all catering for different tastes. This is what makes the metal world so enjoyable to be a part of. In the current metal scene there are forever bands popping up from different areas of the world, that one would least expect, not your typical bands from the typical Swedish/Finnish/German scenes, but instead in a little metal country called Chile. Poema Arcanvs is a little band from Chile, and with their “Iconoclast” they are blowing the current aforementioned scenes completely off their perch.

I crap you not ladies and gents, Poema Arcanvs are a truly extraordinary band that to this current point in time have received absolutely dick all coverage (thankfully, Norwegian label Aftermath Music has done the world a favor by digging up these little beauties). Labeled as ‘progressive dark arcane metal’ by Aftermath Music, “Iconoclast” is an album that goth junkies that dig the stuff by Tristania, Sirenia, Battle Lore and To Elysium would get off on. However, it doesn’t fall under a gothic metal label. Poema Arcanvs possesses a more organic talent to writing their songs and composing the tracks for “Iconoclast”. It seems to all fall into place more naturally for Poema Arcanvs, than what has happened for some of the earlier specified bands. Ripe with groovy keyboards, smart guitar riffs and a vocal presentation which features a tortured, wispy clean voice and a simple, yet elegant black rasp by vocalist Claudio Carrasco.

Being only their sophomore album, what is completely brain-freezing is that “Iconoclast” contains no-filler material whatsoever. Whether it be a nice interlude piece such as ‘Chaman’ or one of the longer seven-minute killer tracks such as ‘Distances’, there is nothing that you want to skip forward even the slightest on the fast-forward button on your stereo. I am going to make a big call here... If you like the following bands, I would say you would pretty much enjoy Poema Arcanvs: Katatonia, Opeth, Amorphis, Moonspell, Tiamat, Samael, My Dying Bride and Borknagar. I am sure folks that like these bands could at least find some ordinary sections of music on each of their albums; this is the beauty of “Iconoclast”, all of it is brilliant.

Bottom Line: If I hadn’t reviewed Lux Occulta this month, this would surely be my pick for album of the month. For new listeners this is simply astronomical stuff.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 8
Production: 9
Originality: 9
Overall: 10

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Felix on September 26, 2022.

Razor represents a third of my personal triumvirate of classic Canadian metal. While Piledriver had the charm of a highly talented metal parody and Exciter appeared as a serious and hard working gang, Razor possessed a natural nonchalance. Their riffs conveyed the feeling of ease and heaviness at the same time and the band members wore sleeveless black leather jackets without blushing. Razor took the bull by the horns and started the album with a killer called "Take This Torch". Believe me, this blazing torch caused a real wildfire. Its evocative riffs had several effects. Your feet began to tap, your blood seemed to flow faster and your head started to bang while Stace "Sheepdog" McLaren impressed with his snotty voice. The furious drums and the lively bass guitar completed the picture. No doubt, this song belongs to the immortal anthems of speed metal.

"City of Damnation" also scored with sharp guitars and an irresistible drive. Its staccato background vocals characterised the chorus and the menacing aura of the song brought every poser to its knees. (I admit that this wording revitalises the eighties and I am sorry for being old-school.) Framed by the opener and "City of Damnation", the mid-paced and casual "Fast and Loud" came out of the blue. It represented the rare species of real metal party songs and was a nice contrast to the aforementioned tunes.

This outstanding trio at the beginning turned out to be a blessing and curse at the same time. Razor had to fight hard in order to keep the high quality standard. It was quite an impossible undertaking. "Escape the Fire" confirmed the song-writing skills of the band one more time. Its blazing riffs and the sharp-edged chorus did not lack of recognition value so that the slightly weaker solo part did not appear to be decisive. But with "March of Death" began a series of solid yet unspectacular speed songs. These tunes left an authentic impression and it was good to see that the band did not squint at the marketability of its pieces. Yet it could not be ignored that the strongest riffs had been placed at the beginning of the record and, of course, the riffs were the crucial success factor of the music that Razor performed. Even the powerful "Hot Metal" did not fully achieve the level of the first three songs. Its main riff was a lethal weapon, but the chorus fell short of expectations. It could unfortunately not be overlooked that the tumultuous band was running out of ideas, at the latest during pieces like "Deathrace" and "Time Bomb".

In terms of the production, everything stayed within an acceptable range. In particular after the release of the successor album ("Evil Invaders"), we knew that the drum sound on the here presented full-length gave no reason for complaint. The same applied for any other instrument. Finally, Sheepdog´s voice was neither outstanding nor powerless. In accordance with his comrades, he did a good job. However, after the barely noticed release of the rare "Armed and Dangerous", "Executioner's Song" catapulted the band onto the surface of the world wide speed metal scene and its highlights are still exciting.

Rating: 7.8 out of 10

Review by Felix on September 26, 2022.

Razor represents a third of my personal triumvirate of classic Canadian metal. While Piledriver had the charm of a highly talented metal parody and Exciter appeared as a serious and hard working gang, Razor possessed a natural nonchalance. Their riffs conveyed the feeling of ease and heaviness at the same time and the band members wore sleeveless black leather jackets without blushing. Razor took the bull by the horns and started the album with a killer called "Take This Torch". Believe me, this blazing torch caused a real wildfire. Its evocative riffs had several effects. Your feet began to tap, your blood seemed to flow faster and your head started to bang while Stace "Sheepdog" McLaren impressed with his snotty voice. The furious drums and the lively bass guitar completed the picture. No doubt, this song belongs to the immortal anthems of speed metal.

"City of Damnation" also scored with sharp guitars and an irresistible drive. Its staccato background vocals characterised the chorus and the menacing aura of the song brought every poser to its knees. (I admit that this wording revitalises the eighties and I am sorry for being old-school.) Framed by the opener and "City of Damnation", the mid-paced and casual "Fast and Loud" came out of the blue. It represented the rare species of real metal party songs and was a nice contrast to the aforementioned tunes.

This outstanding trio at the beginning turned out to be a blessing and curse at the same time. Razor had to fight hard in order to keep the high quality standard. It was quite an impossible undertaking. "Escape the Fire" confirmed the song-writing skills of the band one more time. Its blazing riffs and the sharp-edged chorus did not lack of recognition value so that the slightly weaker solo part did not appear to be decisive. But with "March of Death" began a series of solid yet unspectacular speed songs. These tunes left an authentic impression and it was good to see that the band did not squint at the marketability of its pieces. Yet it could not be ignored that the strongest riffs had been placed at the beginning of the record and, of course, the riffs were the crucial success factor of the music that Razor performed. Even the powerful "Hot Metal" did not fully achieve the level of the first three songs. Its main riff was a lethal weapon, but the chorus fell short of expectations. It could unfortunately not be overlooked that the tumultuous band was running out of ideas, at the latest during pieces like "Deathrace" and "Time Bomb".

In terms of the production, everything stayed within an acceptable range. In particular after the release of the successor album ("Evil Invaders"), we knew that the drum sound on the here presented full-length gave no reason for complaint. The same applied for any other instrument. Finally, Sheepdog´s voice was neither outstanding nor powerless. In accordance with his comrades, he did a good job. However, after the barely noticed release of the rare "Armed and Dangerous", "Executioner's Song" catapulted the band onto the surface of the world wide speed metal scene and its highlights are still exciting.

Rating: 7.8 out of 10

Review by Felix on September 26, 2022.

Razor represents a third of my personal triumvirate of classic Canadian metal. While Piledriver had the charm of a highly talented metal parody and Exciter appeared as a serious and hard working gang, Razor possessed a natural nonchalance. Their riffs conveyed the feeling of ease and heaviness at the same time and the band members wore sleeveless black leather jackets without blushing. Razor took the bull by the horns and started the album with a killer called "Take This Torch". Believe me, this blazing torch caused a real wildfire. Its evocative riffs had several effects. Your feet began to tap, your blood seemed to flow faster and your head started to bang while Stace "Sheepdog" McLaren impressed with his snotty voice. The furious drums and the lively bass guitar completed the picture. No doubt, this song belongs to the immortal anthems of speed metal.

"City of Damnation" also scored with sharp guitars and an irresistible drive. Its staccato background vocals characterised the chorus and the menacing aura of the song brought every poser to its knees. (I admit that this wording revitalises the eighties and I am sorry for being old-school.) Framed by the opener and "City of Damnation", the mid-paced and casual "Fast and Loud" came out of the blue. It represented the rare species of real metal party songs and was a nice contrast to the aforementioned tunes.

This outstanding trio at the beginning turned out to be a blessing and curse at the same time. Razor had to fight hard in order to keep the high quality standard. It was quite an impossible undertaking. "Escape the Fire" confirmed the song-writing skills of the band one more time. Its blazing riffs and the sharp-edged chorus did not lack of recognition value so that the slightly weaker solo part did not appear to be decisive. But with "March of Death" began a series of solid yet unspectacular speed songs. These tunes left an authentic impression and it was good to see that the band did not squint at the marketability of its pieces. Yet it could not be ignored that the strongest riffs had been placed at the beginning of the record and, of course, the riffs were the crucial success factor of the music that Razor performed. Even the powerful "Hot Metal" did not fully achieve the level of the first three songs. Its main riff was a lethal weapon, but the chorus fell short of expectations. It could unfortunately not be overlooked that the tumultuous band was running out of ideas, at the latest during pieces like "Deathrace" and "Time Bomb".

In terms of the production, everything stayed within an acceptable range. In particular after the release of the successor album ("Evil Invaders"), we knew that the drum sound on the here presented full-length gave no reason for complaint. The same applied for any other instrument. Finally, Sheepdog´s voice was neither outstanding nor powerless. In accordance with his comrades, he did a good job. However, after the barely noticed release of the rare "Armed and Dangerous", "Executioner's Song" catapulted the band onto the surface of the world wide speed metal scene and its highlights are still exciting.

Rating: 7.8 out of 10