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One of the fiercest, most violent punk sessions ever recorded, the legendary Italian hardcore outfit’s 1983 ‘Brown Studio’ demo has unbelievably never appeared on vinyl in its original form (although you’ll recognise ‘Fuck Authority’, culled from here to appear on MRR’s ‘Welcome to 1984’ comp). Nineteen songs of feral thrash in 23 minutes, kicked out with unreal fury, chainsaw guitars and savage vocals. Remastered by Raw Power freak James Cavalluzzo (Malhavoc) from an original copy of the demo, this has been beefed up without sacrificing the essential rawness. Ugly Pop is proud to present this killer 12”, released in a limited pressing with the band’s cooperation, spring 2019.
Our take: First-ever vinyl release for Raw Power’s legendary 1983 demo, often called the “Brown Studio Demo” after the studio where they recorded it. These tracks have surfaced on previous CD reissues and this version of “Fuck Authority” appeared on the Welcome to 1984 compilation, but I’m pleased to have a stand-alone vinyl release of this session in my collection. What to say about this record? While by the time of Screams from the Gutter, Raw Power will have morphed into one of the tightest, catchiest, and most powerful hardcore bands of all time, this demo tape captures them at their earliest, most primitive stage. They re-recorded a lot of these songs several times, but many of the tracks are substantially different on this recording, which has more in common with the unhinged sound of early Negazione or Wretched. Beyond the visceral thrill of hearing a band playing this wild and loose (which is a big part of why I’m such a big fan of early Italian hardcore), many of the little quirks that would become signature aspects of Raw Power’s sound are already apparent here: the drummer’s creative use of cowbell, the wild lead guitar, and those thrilling moments when guitarist Giuseppe grabs the mic and delivers one of his throat-shredding vocal performances. If you love early Italian hardcore, I can’t imagine you won’t be stoked to pick this up.