Raw Power
Screams From The Gutter

We are in the early '80s, the punk had taken no prisoners, but left a trail of devastation and destruction, from whose ashes a new movement came to life, equally infused with fury and rage, but, unlike the English "rotten destructors", with a purpose: to scream to the world the anguish of a generation through politicized and constructively lightning-fast shards of madness.

Hardcore is born and Italy, whose "extreme" part has never achieved much success abroad, boasts groups of the caliber of Negazione, Cheetah Chrome Motherfuckers, Indigesti, and Raw Power, the latter still considered today, in America, the leading exponents of hardcore and crossover made in Italy.

This cannot help but fill every single listener of alternative Italian music with pride.

The mere fact of knowing that an Italian band was considered an inspiration for many bands and left a deep mark in the land of sacred monsters such as Black Flag, Corrosion of Conformity, S.O.D., D.R.I., Circle Jerks, Dead Kennedys, Suicidal Tendencies, Bad Brains, Agnostic Front, makes one proud, at least for once, to belong to the "Bel Paese":

Raw Power was formed in 1981, by the will of two brothers, Mauro and Giuseppe Codeluppi, who were joined over time by a large number of musicians, including Davide Devoti, guitarist later for Vasco Rossi and Steve Rogers Band (and I do not mention this as a merit, to be clear), Nicolò Bossini, later collaborator of Luciano Ligabue (and I do not think this is a merit either).

The first lineup, which included Devoti and drummer Helder Stefanini, recorded the first album "You are the Victim" in 1983, raw and pure punk hardcore, which prepared the ground for the posthumous masterpiece, dated 1984, "Screams from the Gutter", released by an independent American label, Toxic Shock.

This brought Raw Power overseas for a series of lucky concerts, where they shared the stage with the bands mentioned above and Guns'n'Roses themselves, still unknown, opened for them in Seattle in 1986, on a tour date (it is said that the Gunners were petrified in front of the fury and on-stage presence of Raw Power).

I apologize to the readers for the long prologue, but it seemed obligatory to shed the right light on a band that has made the history and pride of Italy abroad in the extreme independent field.

The album in question fully represents the hardcore spirit: 17 tracks for a total of 25 minutes and 54 seconds of pure fury.

"State Oppression" is still considered a generational anthem today, with pounding drumming that recalls the tightest thrash, obsessive and lightning-fast open guitar chords in pure punk style, mixed with an explosive solo, with the desperate and crazy voice spitting sharp fragments chasing the frantic rhythm of the track.

At times, they can remind one of the fastest, most distorted, and angriest Motorhead ("Bastard", "Army", "Our Oppression"), the rhythm is always at the limit of paranoid schizophrenia, with Giuseppe Codeluppi grinding riffs seeking the liquefaction of the strings and Devoti perfectly intertwining his guitar and fitting in wild solos.

"Raw Power" is a spine-chilling punk acceleration, eerily similar to what Cobain and company, not with the same fury, but with a bit more commercial astuteness, would pull out of the hat almost ten years later.

The voice, as in "Don't let me see it", is drawn to the breaking point, the spine-chilling scream rises to a clear master, while old-style thrash metal influences can be seen in the final compositions, "Nihilist" and "Politicians".

In 2002 Giuseppe Codeluppi died, at age 45, of cardiac arrest during a soccer match among friends, and one of the founding fathers of Italy's glorious post-'80s hardcore tradition left, but the group's activity continues to this day, always on the margins of the scene, never bent by market logics and always faithful to the line.

This album, for lovers of the genre, represents a true milestone of extreme music and especially a small reason for pride, as it was born from the minds of Italian boys and taken as an example by many bands from the American scene, as well as a true punch straight in the face with a glove to which fragments of glass have been glued.

Boys who now are approaching their fifties, but would have millions of things to teach the new generations, especially what it means to make music and believe in one's ideals.