Old school strikes again: Riot Squad attack in the name of Bad Brains

How far can a punk get?

From the sunny and hot Ferrara area, here’s the very first effort of a not-completely brand new band. In fact, they seem familiar for anyone who often goes to shows. Riot Squad were born in 2007, from ex members of Impact, Death On/Off and Yes, We Kill, mainly to have some fun playing Bad Brains tunes. I even shared a stage with them a couple of years ago. I will definitely not refer to them as a ‘tribute band’, ‘cause I find this particular terminology offensive, reminding me of the worst thing ever happened to tons of venues and alternative clubs, getting the quality and the message of the underground music just more and more weak and impoverished (I can only refer to the Italian situation. Things may differ elsewhere, I hope).

Ok, let’s stay on point. As I said, I would not define Riot Squad a tribute band, just a band of real fanatics instead, that just want to have some great time blasting and playing their favorite songs. Oh, I said ‘want’, I should have said ‘wanted’. Yeah, because after a line-up change they decided to write their own songs. And you can’t buy class, you lot!

Even if Bad Brains are still their main source of inspiration and their main vocal influence, Riot Squad have started to show their own personality, that’s summed up in these 10 songs, 9 original tracks and a Damned cover of Melody Lee. Solid, fierce, no-compromising sound, armed and dangerous with stop-and-goes and fierce guitar riffing. All this, sustained by a good quality recording. Yeah, I’m a caveman recording freak too, but in cases like this a proper sound gets the things done in the right way.

But wait, there’s not only the Bad Brains here. The marks of the ‘furious days’ of Italian hardcore are far from fading away. When things got fast, when you bow your head and just hit the accelerator, in Mangy little inked dogs for example, it’s impossible not to hear elements of the Impact sound of the ’Attraverso l’involucro’-era.
Pure amphetaminic and manic sound. No joke guys. So rob your mom’s purse and grab this record now!
Rash

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