One listen and you soon realise that Velvet Razor simply enjoy making music. There are no cynical motives, just a genuine passion for what they do. Unlike a lot of other bands Velvet Razor’s music shows great diversity in genres, the styles within and in their arrangements. Their songs strive to expand beyond the boundaries of the simplistic forms of the popular song. Here you will find haunting melodies, rich compositions that are full of lyrical grandeur. You will find much more than the usual meaningless ditties and incoherent grunts that is the typical bland fare frequently on offer from a lot of bands today. Here are a collection of short stories in musical form. This is not to say that their music isn’t contagious. Like all great music you will find yourself convinced that there is something strangely familiar about it, yet when you search through your contemporary and classic collections nothing seems quite akin to it. Not satisfied with just writing the kind of songs that remain firmly embedded in your mind (long after even the most perfunctory listen), Velvet Razor infuse every note with a passion that endures. Here you will find songs of love, songs of sorrow, of regret, lust and avarice in fact the whole gamut of emotions and catalogues of human aspirations and frailties. It’s these qualities that ensure that Velvet Razor’s live shows are an epic experience; “I think that what separates us from a lot of other bands is our live work. Studio work is great, though somewhat clinical and it doesn’t capture the vibe and audience feedback is everything,” states Dave Kent, “We don’t just stand there looking glum and moody, just going through the motions. When we play live, we put every bit of ourselves into it”. Velvet Razor is beginning to enjoy something of a cult status, as can be seen by the quantity of friends on myspace and the number of visitors daily to velvetrazor.com which sometimes go in the thousands. Obviously loved by their fans but the uninitiated also find their songs captivating. They are no strangers to power and volume, but Velvet Razor is not afraid to play clean and beautiful soft harmonically rich melodies and then follow on with distorted screaming thunder. They live and strive for contrast. Don’t expect non-stop balls-out rock, if that is all you want, then there are plenty of other purveyors available. Velvet Razor shares uniqueness as with the truly original bands like Led Zeppelin, Floyd, Yes and early Genesis. Don’t expect them to be another Sound garden, Nirvana, slipknot or Metallica clone as so many rock bands today. The band was formed over four years ago, by founder member Dave Kent (Vocals/Guitar), who has been joined by the talented Mr Ian Pickering (Piano/Keyboards), the gifted Ian King (Drums & Percussion) and more recently by the enigmatic Martin Wise (Vocals/Bass). Velvet Razor haven’t wasted time in trying to establish themselves as a fixture in the South’s live music scene. 2006 saw the band play Guilfest 2006, they went in to the studio to record their EP “Razor’s Edge” in the middle of June 2006. The recordings showcased a few of the bands awesome and diverse live set, which will add fuel to their ever-growing reputation as a band on the ascent. 2005 saw the band play at Guilfest 2005 and proving to be a minor sensation of the festival. They were relative latecomers to the festival, playing the notoriously difficult first slot on the “Surrey Advertiser” stage. Initially they played to a nearly empty marquee, but half way through their set, the crowd started to pour in from outside. The band followed Guilfest 2005 by playing at “the Global Battle of the Bands GBOB 2005” Now in 2007 they are set to go in to the studio again in June to finish off their CD Album. Also there is work a foot to do a video for their song “Through the looking glass” Likely to go on youtube as well as a DVD release. Velvet Razor have been invited to play at a number of gigs: One is a charity concert is planned in July 2007 in Ashford, Middlesex. Another is to play at Fordhamfest August/September 2007. A very important big gig (and a series of club gigs are planned in Helsinki, Finland in September 2007. It looks like they will be busy with a number of festivals around the country. Not that there’s any risk of this going to the band’s head, Velvet Razor are as self-effacing as they are musically powerful; “We’re not trying to change the world”, says Ian King (Backing Vocalist/Bassist), “we’re just four musicians who want to make great music that might stand the test of time”. You can find more information and listen Velvet Razor’s demos on their website velvetrazor.com or on myspace.com/velvetrazorrocks