A belter of a debut EP from new crossover thrash kids on the block!
We caught Brighton skate-core crew RAD about a year ago, opening a local show for KNOFX (a NOFX tribute band), and were blown away by their take-no-prisoners approach. There were only a handful of people present, but the band gave it their all, and played a set so tight that you’d swear they’d been honing their craft for years. Finally, they’ve released this follow-up to their 2024 demo, and we can breathe a sigh of relief – not least because it’s totally rad (see what we did there?).
The intro track might be called ‘Mind Of Metal’, but make no mistake, RAD clearly love their hardcore punk as much as anything from the glory days of MTV’s ‘Headbanger’s Ball’ (ahhhh, MTV playing music, that takes us back). On the likes of the title track and ‘Gaslighter’, they fearlessly throw everyone from Slayer to Minor Threat (and all points in between) into a sonic blender, and the results come out sounding crisp, clear and highly compelling.
Much of ‘Toxic Slime’ brings to mind criminally underrated veteran NYC crossover crew Crumbsuckers, for the way RAD switch seamlessly from warp-speed hardcore attack to groove-tinged thrash riffing in the blink of an eye. Vocalist Andy also has a similar half-roar half-growl approach to that of ‘Suckers vocalist Chris Notaro, sounding like he’s been gargling paint-stripper on the all-conquering ‘Snake On The Take’
All sound a bit too grim and morbid? Nothing could be further from the truth. The band proudly take influence from “skateboarding, Wyld Stallyns, and all things gnarly and bodacious” and their ‘Bill & Ted…’ fixation even extends to naming one of their tracks ‘Bogus Journey’ (it also fucking slays, by the way).
Sure, their musical chops mark them out as a band to be taken seriously, but these are five guys on a mission to have fun, and both ‘Toxic Slime’ and their gloriously chaotic gigs stand testament to that. The EP is out now – check it out (and also check for future live dates) on the links below.
- Mind Of Metal
- Toxic Slime
- Snake On The Take
- Bogus Journey
- Gaslighter
- Dying To Live
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I spend my days teaching English to foreign students, and my evenings attending as many gigs as possible. Raised mainly on a diet of 90s third-wave punk, my tastes have grown to include just about anything from trad ska to thrash metal. The Ramones are my musical gods.
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