The Formative Years – Raw Power
Italian hardcore punk from the 1980s is something to savour and Raw Power is just one example of how much of a trailblazing scene it was.
My first exposure to Raw Power was via the Maximum Rock’n Roll’s fantastic international punk and hardcore compilation, Welcome to 1984, but it was not until I heard their debut album Screams from the Gutter that I fell for them hook, line and sinker.
Released by Toxic Shock Records after extensive tours of the US, where the album was also recorded, Screams from the Gutter is not only graced with artwork depicting a melting mutant courtesy of Vince Rancid but was imbued with an unrivalled and unhinged venomous spirit, which reflected the disgust for the uglier sides of this earthround.
The album kicks off with State Oppression and catapults one into an unbridled crossover whirlwind, which with its energy, powerful double-time drumming, dual guitars and deranged Lemmy-esque vocals upped the ante a year before bands like Corrosion of Conformity and Suicidal Tendencies releases their respective first albums. The album peaks with the song Raw Power, which is an anthem that combines all the elements I love about hardcore punk from Italy.
Crazy to think that Screams from the Gutter was sold more than 40,000 times through independent distribution alone and that Guns’n Roses opened for Raw Power in 1986.
