Razorback - Deadringer

Published April 19 2007

*=Staff's pick	The Faint Distant Bell Ring (Intro) Deadringer The Last Man Standing* Take Me To The Other Side Hero* Line Of Fire Burden Miracle Baby Rock 'n Roll Life In Hellsink Let Me Give My Lovin' Razor Blues

Genre	Hard Rock	Stefan Berggren	Vocals
Tracks	11	Rolf Munkes	Guitar
Runningtime	52 Min.	-	Guitar
Label	AOR Heaven	Chris Heun	Bass
Release	27 April 2007	Mike Terrana	Drums
Country	Germany	-	Keyboard
Similar artists	Dio, Saxon, Black Sabbath

Razorback was founded in 2002 by Rolf Munkes (Empire, Tony Martin Band), Chris Heun (Ex-Lanzer, Ex-Shylock) and Marcus Bielenberg (Ex-Vanize, Majesty). The aim for Razorback was to deviate a bit from what these gentlemen had done before and focus on classic hard rock. After several auditions with German singers they found a perfect man for the vocal spot in Stefan Berggren from Sweden, known for his work with the Whitesnake-clones Company Of Snakes and Snakes In Paradise. The debut album entitled Animal Anger was fairly impressive, not solid from start to finish but the highlights were quite enjoyable. The 2005 offering Criminal Justice however was a lame effort to say the least. Now it's time for Razorback's third album and the big question is if they have returned or, what would be desirable, surpassed the standard they held on the debut album.

After the first spin my answer was a big no but as you all know, first impressions tend to change the more you listen. This is no exception and Deadringer has slowly but surely grown for every time I've spent with it. Even if it's not on par with the debut it's far better than Criminal Justice, an album that is now forgotten and buried six feet under. Tracks worth mentioning is the Dio/Sabbath-clone The Last Man Standing, Stefan Berggren really sounds like Ronnie James Dio during the verse on this one. The slow and mesmerizing Hero is also a big highlight with a melody that creeps under your skin. In total, a fairly enjoyable album every time I hear it but quickly forgotten afterwards. And yes, Mike Terrana is on the drums, as the case is with all records released nowadays…