Raw Peace No Hope LP

With such a strong record, I can imagine a lot of people will get into RAW PEACE. I had seen the name before but never listened to this Belgian powerhouse, and with such a moniker, I was expecting unabated shitlicking DISCLOSE worship with too much reverb on the vocals. RAW PEACE is clearly a band of their time, as they play a blend of beefy American hardcore (the singer also growls in the long-running band REPROACH) infused with D-beat hardcore. It is an objectively mean-sounding album with a thick production, and it sounds about as ferocious and subtle as a charging boar—listening to the band reminds me of that one time when I was chased by a massive goose on a school trip in 1989. As powerful and effective as No Hope (the band’s second album) is, I don’t love the thing. I enjoy it, and its hardcore intensity and relentlessness makes it quite compelling, but I cannot really love it. RAW PEACE sounds like US hardcore vets trying to play heavy Swedish D-beat. Even if a lot of D-beat tricks are indeed present and executed well enough, it still does not have a proper dis-feel songwriting-wise. And to be honest, this is probably the sound these guys are going for, an American hardcore perspective on dis things and as I said, this will definitely appeal to a wider audience than your average DISCHARGE clone would. This is still very solid and packs a serious punch. If they were actually American (the country where gods are made), I am sure they would be more widely-known.

• Reviewer Romain Basset
• Label Loner Cult
• Issue MRR #484 • September 2023