Razor Burn is back with serious intensity and their new single, point of defeat has proven that they are the most promising hard rock bands in Australia that have surfaced out of the underground scene. Following the success of their latest records, the brilliantly released albums Avow and Into The Void, this outfit of Melbourne delivers their unique blend of punk attack, alternative rock flair and classic hard rock force. The song brings the audience on a journey of the haunting opening notes, followed by a thunderous explosive vocals and guitars, which makes the song both unfiltered and vicious.
But there is much to be found in “Point of Defeat” beyond the sound thrashing and rocking spirit. Behind the thick guitar work and fueling drums, there is a valuable discussion of perspective of endurance, loss, and the spirit to continue when confronted with the most challenging demands of life. The song was the result of the personal grief experience and profound reflections and turned the suffering into the empowerment and reminded the listeners that even in the hardest times, one can find something worthy to protect. This makes music that is powering the body and appealing to the mind.
This interview is an interview where Razor Burn talks about the personal stories that led to the creation of the song, the creation process of the song, and the blend of rebellious attitude and optimism that has fueled his artistic head. The interview shows how they express the hard feelings in great music that resonates with struggling individuals.
The style of the band illustrates how hard rock can be a way of emotional release and strength and makes anthems of those who do not want to give up when life becomes overwhelming..
Listen to Point of Defeat below
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“What inspired you to write “Point of Defeat,” and what story are you telling through this song?
Point of Defeat was the first track I wrote with Razor Burn. I heard the energy of the punk bands I loved that always held this sense of urgency such as Rise Against, While She Sleeps and Foo Fighters and I wanted to write a song that touched on that urgency and moved people but moved them in the direction towards finding hope and wanting to fight for their lives and care about themselves and those around them.
It’s a song that recognises one day we’ll die but if the end comes what’s the pont in giving up? Why not push to be better everyday and leave this world better than the way we found it and stop being told who we are by our culture and media and everything that we’re surrounded by in day to day life.
How does “Point of Defeat” reflect your growth and evolution as an artist?
I’ve always listened to music that aims to inspire and move the audience. In this song I wrote a song that I needed at the time but it’s a reflection that I know if I need it than I’m not the only one in the world who can possibly feel like this. It’s that awareness of the relationship between having those private moments with the song in creating it followed by letting the audience accept and take what it wants from it and what it means to them and respecting that relationship that it’s only our song until it’s out there
Can you describe the mood and energy of the track, and how you wanted listeners to feel when they hear it?
I was inspired to write a song that reflects the duality of pain and rather than succumbing to that anguish and depression when life gets to hard, to see it as a gift and a challenge to grow and push past that pain and through adversity towards strength and resilience. I want people to feel accepted with who they are and know that they’ll still be accepted into our community even if they change their minds or who they are that they don’t stand alone. It’s our nature to grow and evolve through adversity rather than remain rooted and stuck in these ever-looming mentalities and life struggles and cycles that someday feel useless to try and break and push back against.
What was the creative process like for this song?
I was sent the music, along side other tracks for an album. And this was the first track in that list. And I felt it move me. I had just moved into a new house so had this fresh energy and I wanted to write my best but also something so raw and open about how I was feeling in life at the time. There was and still is a lot of pressure that seems like it won’t go away but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned that’s part of nature and these hard times do pass if you stick with it.
I sat in a room by myself for a couple of hours with this little journey and I came up with “ring around the Rosie” first, it just matched the dark tone haunting tone of the intro that I was feeling, and I wanted to match the energy lyrically and everything built from there. I read a lot of movies and pay attention to a lot of scripts and messages people put into their own art and I sometimes echo those messages myself while intertwining my own beliefs into the lyrics.
Did the lyrics or the music come first?
The music came first on this one as it does to most of our songs. It helps me feel the energy and feel inspired to write the words.
Did you experiment with any new sounds, techniques, or collaborations on “Point of Defeat”?
I experimented more with trying to build intensity into the song and changing the melodies regularly to remain interesting and captivating while building that energy. I always see writing the song as the music is like building the house, laying the foundations putting up the frame and walls.
The vocals and lyrics become the furniture and the colour scheme and the quirky little things that people recognise and go “Oh I like that” and I’ve always loved singing and writing and have so much inspiration in experimenting with trying new ways to do things. I was hesitant to add the screams in the bridge, but it felt right and demonstrates our ability to go from these beautiful melodic moments like the intro to this heavy range that some people identify with and were also parts of the bands that have inspired us.
Are there any personal experiences or emotions that influenced the writing of this track?
I lost my best friend of 1 years to depression a few years ago and whenever I write a bit of my grief in losing him makes its way into the lyrics. He struggled his whole life with strong mental health issues, but he was always my guiding compass keeping me on track when I was doing the wrong things. But he struggled in himself to feel good, and part of this song is that questioning of why should we just give up?
What would it solve, maybe something out there wants us to give up and our very act of existence is a defiance and a rebellion, and we won’t be told how we should live or who we are. And I want those messages to reach out to anyone that feels like him. It’s for people at that moment of breaking and going I can’t do all of this anymore to go why should I give up? If I give up like who benefits. Pain and grief and depression are hard to live with, but one day we all get that reprieve when we pass, so why not do something worth fighting for that the greedy and power grabbers of society don’t expect and fight on and push on and make our very act of existing a rebellion with compassion to ourselves and each other.
How does “Point of Defeat” fit within your overall musical style and your upcoming projects?
Most of us have our roots in punk and hardcore and stadium rock. This is an energy that we want to carry forward as music becomes easier to make and the industry becomes more flooded with artists which has its dual positives and negatives. It makes it hard to stand out but with so many artists not willing to get a little angry and get a little human and emotional and trying to soften the mood.
There is a place for music with peace and chill vibes which I am all for, but then there’s a place for us in providing that punk spirit we grew up in and looking at making people feel alive and angry and ready to push past their pain and change their narrative and the narrative of the world around them to be better.
Part of my personal philosophy is when I’m home I’m with my son and my dog and this is my have and my peace but when I walk out the front door to go to work and I create and release into the world, it’s almost a war and a battle and a movement against the powers that fight for the individuals attention and data and tries to sell people or sell things to people and fight any powers that push people down. Bob Marley said it “The people who are trying to make this world worse aren’t taking a day off. How can I?” Our project is to move people to stand up for themselves in a healthy way and start caring about each other again in that community which reflects the community we all grew up in musically as well.
Can you share any memorable moments or challenges from the recording or production of this song?
I started this song months before release and had to put it down for a while as I got distracted with other projects. But when I came back, I felt this would be one of the best songs I was going to put out there. Like it feels so natural to me to write and sing to music and songs like this like this is what I had been waiting for my whole life. I’ve been in other projects, and I didn’t think I’d be in a band again for a while as it gets harder to get multiple people into the same room at the same time. But the fact the music was there, and I’ve got so many ideas it becomes this natural connection and relationship with the project and the rest of the band that helps build it.
My studio is in my lounge room, and I remember the day I finished recording it, I had the screams for the bridge as my last part. And I sent my son from the lounge room for a few minutes (he’s 8) and he knows I’ve done screams in projects before but I was like “just for a few minutes, I don’t want to scare you” and I get self-conscious sometimes that my neighbours will hear and call the cops as well but it hasn’t happened and everything’s been going so well.
What message or takeaway do you hope fans gain from listening to “Point of Defeat”?
I want them to know whether they feel stuck where they are, if they feel at an edge or tipping point or if they want to make a drastic change to improve their life which means losing people around them, that our songs and our band will be there for them. There is a place and a community for people who still care and who still give a damn about other people, their environment and the world around them however that looks.
I want them to feel the hard days are worth fighting through and meeting, that they never need to be lonely and that there are people out there who still give a damn and aren’t giving up on them and that this energy and spirit isn’t being defeated or told to shut up. We’re going to be hear, we’re going to be loud and the people listening are allowed to get as angry and push back as hard as they want.
Are there any plans for a music video or live performances of this song coming up?
Yes, we just dropped our lyrics video and we’re actually starting the process of making a band performance style music video. We’ve lined up shows starting in October travelling around the south eastern areas of Australia throughout October to December this year with hopes that we’ll be able to work our way around the country a bit over the next year and really grow our platform and community around the band and the music.
