Razor of Occam: Drink and Thrash Till Death

By Johnny Orlando, Jr.

“Occam’s Razor” is the theory that the barest, rawest, simplest answer is typically the correct one. London’s Razor of Occum can be described accordingly as a band that, according to Alex Antoniou (Bass/Backing Vocals), simply wants to “drink and thrash till death.” So cheerio – pour me a pint!

Razor of Occam played their first show as an official band in 1998 and as inspired by Crocodile Dundee, Matt Schneemilch (Vocals/Guitars) and Ian Gray (Guitars) set off on their own “bushman invasion,” leaving behind the south Australian desert to conquer Europe in the form of a black/thrash outfit. Fast-forward eleven years and you will find Razor of Occam’s latest album, Homage to Martyrs, having been inspired by the lives and deaths of boundary-pushing secular scientists and thinkers that would never be considered “martyrs” in the traditional spiritual context.

Antoniou, in particular, finds these scientists and philosophers so fascinating due to the uncanny interplay of genius and madness inherent in their work and personas. In keeping with the spirit of Occam’s Razor, he subscribes to the trappings of parsimony and being able to express oneself “with the minimum use of words.” For instance, Antoniou, with no further explanation, refuses to eat maple syrup at breakfast yet loves Britian’s “vile” supermarket sausages cooked over an open flame.

Alex looks deep into various states of mind for musical inspiration. He feels that these varied states allow “riffs to expand and genuinely represent the mood the composer has been at that very moment.” He also looks to books for lyrical exploration and is genuinely curious as to why none of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft’s books have been made into a decent movie yet. Cthulu Mythos anyone?

So what else is there to know about Alex Antoniou? First, Antoniou likes to refer to himself as the “dodgy Greek.” If given a week to live as a woodland animal, Antoniou would jump at the chance to be a hibernating bear. He hopes to see the year that contact is actually achieved with extraterrestrials so he can witness the uncertain outcome. Interestingly, “running out of booze” tops his list as the creepiest thing he’s experienced in the woods. His favorite late night food is greasy kebobs - mainly because they are the only thing available in London after midnight. And finally, “Say hello to my little friend!” is Alex’s favorite movie quote. It’s hard to say for sure, but Tony Montana would either love Razor of Occam’s no nonsense attitude or would ruthlessly fill them full of holes for making his ears bleed.

Antoniou is not saying whether a North American tour is in the works for Razor of Occam but he has hinted that we might see Destroyer 666 on this side of the pond in the foreseeable future. Razor of Occam’s third full-length release and Metal Blade debut, Homage to Martyrs, is available now.
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Johnny Orlando, Jr. is the world’s leading metal journalist. www.metaljohnny.com

Rusty Eye: A Corroded Perception

By Johnny Orlando, Jr.

Aldous Huxley once said, "After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music." Rusty Eye is hopeful that exposure to their music will evoke such emotion or, at the very least, split your skull in half like a machete bisecting an earthworm.

Like so many other metal acts, Rusty Eye played its first show ever in 1995 at a school Christmas party in Mexico. Okay fine, maybe that is not a terribly common starting point, however, Rusty Eye has come a long way since that first performance - both literally and figuratively.

Rusty Eye decided to pick up roots and head to Hollywood, despite the hoards of loyal fans that comprised the Mexican metal scene. The band simply found the lack of music industry support for heavy metal to be rather disenchanting. The bigger Mexican labels had no appetite for real metal and would not consider signing a band that did not sing its lyrics in Spanish. These poseur labels mainly promoted boy bands “disguised as real rock bands.” And frankly, Rusty Eye feels that going back to Mexico “would be like going back to square one.”

As a threshold matter, Rusty Eye believes that the corrosion of perception that pervades life in this world is beneficial and affords the aware with “a new way of seeing things in a different reality.” In this regard, Rusty Eye draws on horror film imagery and Existentialism for inspiration and lays down a sound that is progressive, provocative and increasingly cited as “hard-to-define.” And that’s the way they want it. To wit, who else but Miss Randall would encourage a cannibalistic captor to continue devouring the flesh of her lower leg?

With this said, Rusty Eye is a band firmly grounded in the present. Yet, the one word the band would like to use more in casual conversation is “imagine.” Imagine Miss Randall sitting still for a tattoo session to complete her Dario Argento-inspired sleeve whilst she dreams of letting the horror master kill her on film. Imagine Phantasm’s Tall Man yelling “Booooyyyy!!!!” in your direction as your legs turn to jelly and prevent your escape. Imagine a world not run by God and money. Imagine metal music featuring violins and Indian tabla. Imagine a world where a road- weary metal band can actually be discriminating in their breakfast choices. This is Rusty Eye’s reality.

Rusty Eye is on the verge of breaking their fifth release, Possessor, which promises 13 signature tracks and an increasingly polished sound. The artwork for the album has been done by renowned artist, Joe Petagno, best-known for creating Motörhead’s iconic mascot Snaggletooth.

Keep an eye out for Possessor this spring as Rusty Eye continues their quest to express the inexpressible. In the meantime, you might run in to Rusty Eye hanging out at the world famous Rainbow Bar & Grill…just follow the trail of empty Casillero del Diablo bottles.

You can find Rusty Eye at :
www.myspace.com/rustyeye www.youtube.com/rustyeyevideos.

Napalm Death Interview

Barney Greenway has so much to say that it would be impossible to cut it into our usual 5 minutes, so we're releasing our Napalm Death show as a series of Bits O' Johnny. We'll be posting a new bit of this interview every day for the next week or so. Dig it! And be sure to snag your copy of Napalm Death's new album TIME WAITS FOR NO SLAVE.

Amon Amarth - Bits O' Johnny

A bonus bit of Johnny Orlando Jr.'s Antibiotic Resistant Metal Show featuring Ted Lundström and Johan Hegg of viking death metal band Amon Amarth. Recorded at the Chicago House of Blues during their winter 2007 tour with Sonic Syndicate and Himsa.

Genghis Tron Interview

An interview with Michael Sochynsky, Pete The Roadie and Hamilton Jordan of extreme electro-grind metalers Genghis Tron. Recorded at Reggie's Rock Club on the Chicago stop of their tour with The Red Chord and Baroness.

Learn about freeloading, UFOs and parenting as I interview Dez Fafara and Jeff Kendrick of Devil Driver. Recorded at the Chicago stop of their 2008 tour with Napalm Death.

Baroness Interview

I manage to pry out the deep secrets of southern prog-sludge-metalers Baroness. And we also play a game of Pictionary. Recorded at Reggie's Rock Club on the Chicago stop of their spring 2008 tour with Converge, The Red Chord and Genghis Tron.