Review by Felix on September 26, 2022.

I remember a statement from Lars Ulrich concerning the drum sound of "Evil Invaders" and, as you all know, he is a famous expert for any kind of drum deficiencies. This God with two sticks carefully worded: "The drum sound is fuck". Not only in view of his divine status, I do not dare to contradict him. Indeed, I only hear a powerless, clicking noise that the snare drum makes sound like a cardboard which has been fatally wounded. And to add insult to injury, the album also suffers from some hastily constructed songs that do not reflect the real potential of the Canadian legend. Nevertheless, this is not a bad album and even the overall impression of the production achieves an acceptable level. We are talking about Razor and this combo was just too strong to molest us with a miserable output. And, just as an aside, it is only an unconfirmed rumour that the artwork served as inspiration for the members of the carnival club called Crimson Glory to wear their ridiculous masks.

Anyway, let's put the focus on the less convincing songs in order to close this inglorious chapter as soon as possible. The title track does not justify its prominent position, because its tedious beginning fails to create tension and the monotonous chorus hurts the flow of the song. Moreover, its background vocals intend to be demonic while only adding a sleepy note. Almost the same must be said about the mid-paced verses and the toothless chorus of "Instant Death". Only its speed part after the second chorus makes one sit up and take notice. By contrast, the aptly named "Speed Merchants" knows no comfortable rhythms, but its chorus lacks of coherence. All in all, at least these three songs do not enter the thrash metal hall of fame.

Thankfully, there are also a couple of songs that keep the album above water. I was slightly confused that the band kicks off the full-length with an instrumental. To avoid misunderstandings, "Nowhere Fast" is not an intro, but a regular song. Due to its restlessly attacking riffs, it proves evidence that an interesting configuration is able to make the vocals redundant. But this does not mean that Sheepdog's vocals do not add value to the full-length. Among other things, his animalistic screams ennoble "Cut Throat", one of the absolute highlights of "Evil Invaders". Apart from the passionate vocals, the tune distinguishes itself by its sharp riffs and the malicious chorus. (By the way, the same description fits the furious "Tortured Skull", in terms of the music as well as in terms of Sheepdog's piercing screams.) "Cross Me Fool", to mention a last example, also demonstrates that Razor do not lack the ability to write coherent, well flowing tunes that rely on a tightly designed pattern. Finally, a more or less vicious atmosphere is the common basis of all highlights of the here reviewed work. Guess it goes without saying that thrash in its pure form always needs this iota of viciousness.

At the end of the day, this album is like a rollercoaster full of ups and downs. "We spit on those who choose to pose, we thrash with all the rest", these words were printed on the back cover and there can be no doubt that the band remained loyal to this motto during the record session for "Evil Invaders". Yet even the best sub genre appears slightly powerless from time to time. Perhaps Razor really spat in the face of each and every poser, but you need better weapons than your saliva to win a war against commercialized plastic gangs such as Ratt or Cinderella. Nevertheless, and this one is for you, my dear Danish friend called Lars, "Evil Invaders" is much better than the majority of Metallica albums.

Rating: 7.1 out of 10