Pissing Razors

Pissing Razors is an American groove metal band originally formed in 1996.

History

The band was started by Danny & Eddy Garcia in the early 1990s and was originally named "Back Door Cyclops". They then change their name after a coined phrase thought up by the original vocalist.

In the late 1990s, the band's original vocalist quit and Joe Rodriguez was brought on. A short time later, drummer and brother to Eddy Garcia, Danny decided to move from El Paso, TX to New York City, NY. Eddy took this opportunity to switch from playing lead guitar to drums while Matt Lynch then moved from bass to lead guitar. This left the band looking for a new bassist. Rick Valles, a long time guitarist who used to be part of another project with Joe Rodriguez was then hired as the new bass player. This line-up proved to be progressive as the four began to work on new material.

In 1997, after submitting countless demos to record labels across the globe, the band was signed to German/Los Angeles-based Noise Records and released their self-titled CD the following year. Five more albums were released in the band's four-year existence and the band got the opportunity to participate in several festivals and shows across the world. In 2000, the band was asked to contribute a song for a Pantera tribute album, entitled Panther: A Tribute To Pantera from Eclipse Records. They provided the opening track, Domination. Shortly after their first major tour, Mat Lynch decided to depart the band as the toll of being away from his wife and child grew heavy. The band would recruit then-guitar tech for Lynch, Cesar "Achmex" Soto into his place. This only made sense as Soto was already familiar with the material. The band continued writing material for the Fields Of Disbelief album where Soto’s classical style contributed to the now modified sound of the band. Later in 2000, singer Joe Rodriguez quit the band as well, due to his growing family and financial needs. He was replaced by Jason "Dewey" Bragg from California. Bragg who only recorded on the 2001 album "Where We Come From", left shortly afterwards due to conflicting personalities that were not discovered until they were on the "Where We Come From" tour. Jason Bragg was quickly replaced by a local vocalist from El Paso; Andre Acosta who did not have any touring experience. Some say this was a missed opportunity to hire a seasoned member who could help level off the group’s lineup changes while providing insight to the music business. Andre's first contribution to the band would be the live album "Live in the Devil's Triangle", titled after the nickname given to the area of town where Eddie Garcia grew up in and featured the band's actual touring RV on the cover.

2002 brought yet another detrimental line-up change when Cesar "Achmex" Soto abruptly quit the band in October due to financial issues with the founding members. He contacted the widely popular Roadrunner Records site; Blabbermouth.net to publicly announce his departure even though he was asked to keep it under wraps as the other members figured out the bands next step. Shortly after, it was announced on the same site that he had joined fellow ex-members of the band; Matt Lynch and Joe Rodriguez in a new unsigned and short lived project titled "Fueled II Fire". Before the end of the year, founding members, Eddy and Rick contracted Matt Difabio, from Langhorne, PA as Soto's replacement. Difabio, although an experienced musician, was also involved in leading a band of his own as well as his own small business. Difabio & Acosta contributed to the 2003 "Evolution" CD. The band then followed the release with a short tour that confirmed their 15 minutes were up. In 2004, Pissing Razors quietly disbanded following the less than enthusiastic response of the band's final record "Evolution". Some blame the constant lineup changes, bad management and the lack of contracted talent that would take the music seriously ultimately contributed to their down fall.

In 2014, Pissing Razors announced their return after disbanding 10 years earlier.

Current Line-Up

• Eddy Garcia – drums (1996-2004, 2014-present), guitar (1994-1996)
• Matt Lynch - bass (1994-1997), guitar (1997-1999, 2014-present)
• Joe Rodriguez - vocals (1995-2000, 2014-present)
• Geo Gomez - bass (2015-present)

Former Members

• Dave McNutt - vocals (1994)
• Rick Valles - bass (1996-2004)
• Danny Garcia – drums (1994–1996)
• Rick Valles – bass (1997-2004)
• Cesar Soto – guitar (1999–2002)
• Jason Bragg – vocals (2000–2001)
• Andre Acosta – vocals (2001–2004)
• Matt Difabio – guitar (2002–2004)

Discography

Studio Albums

• Psycho Punko Metal Groove (Independent, 1996)
• Pissing Razors (Noise Records, 1998)
• Cast Down the Plague (Noise Records, 1999)
• Fields of Disbelief (Noise Records, 2000)
• Where We Come From (Spitfire Records, 2001)
• Evolution (Spitfire Records, 2003)

Live Albums

• Live in the Devil's Triangle (Spitfire Records, 2002)

External links

• https://www.facebook.com/PissingRazorsEPTX
• Pissing Razors from Encyclopaedia Metallum
• Pissing Razors from All Music
• https://www.reverbnation.com/officialpissingrazors