I think I make it clear as to what I’m looking for in music: either show me something new that’s going to demand my attention, or give me something of quality. In some genres, it’s a mixed bag: thrash metal, black metal, and punk all respectively don’t need to change anything, as the genre have unspoken rule books on how to write effectively; sometimes there just isn’t anything to reinvent and it’s better to keep the wheeling spinning as it always has.

Italy’s Raw Power do exactly that, having an extensive career already extending back to the 80’s. It’d be so easy to fall back on your influences like so many bands of an equal career length and phone it in, but Inferno is moreso the band serving hardcore punk in the way they did at the genre’s formation. Clocking in under 30 minutes with 15 songs, Inferno isn’t Raw Power attempting to try and stay relevant, and that’s because they’re still a driving force in hardcore punk, both past and present.

Let’s get this out of the way first, though: there isn’t a bad song on here. Some may end up being better than the others, but even the weakest of the songs are enjoyable and fun. There’s something refreshing about stepping back and just enjoying some high-gain punk music with no filler, no attempt to be “groundbreaking” or another fancy term that floods my promo box so often. Tracks like “The Jurassic Hounds” or “Sono Morto” are just so refreshingly enjoyable and don’t take any sharp turns or bend the genre in any way, giving light to what Todd Jones of Nails would describe as “no bullshit.”

One thing I noticed while listening to Inferno is that Raw Power’s songwriting seems to be on top of their game while using their native language. That’s like saying “water is wet” or “bears shit in the woods,” but the songs just naturally flow better, and when the vocals are just spewing words out in a furious manner, it comes across as more aggressive than the songs in English. Lyrically, at least in English, (to my knowledge) it’s rather simple and effective. It’s a delivery that’s straight to the point and doesn’t try to dress it up for the listener.

The production side of things are quite well done, too. Guitars on the album feel immensely filling and don’t let the album come across as paper thin in order to retain that 80’s OG sensibility. Raw Power fully embraced modern production means here, and it’s to the best of their ability. In the end, it allows them to liken to acts like Agnostic Front and Sick of it All, but still have their own image and identity in the process. The songwriting itself works on its own, but making it sound good is just as equally important and becomes an aspect that gets overlooked too often.

There is one aspect, however, that irks me about the album, and it’s a repeatedly done technique throughout. Raw Power make a repeated use of a cowbell throughout Inferno, and it quickly becomes… problematic. As mentioned, the songwriting and production are there, but when the cowbell starts to become a prominent aspect of the songs, one can only help but think that maybe it could have been substituted for a different cymbal to a much better effect. It’s not a conventional percussive instrument to utilize, but if not done effectively (Or too much) it becomes a bit of a weakness.

All in all, however, Raw Power are in fine form on Inferno. Hardcore punk isn’t being rewritten here, but not nor should the band have to. They’ve got a long-standing discography under their belt, and aren’t trying to remain in the past in a modern music landscape. Sure, there’s the cowbell annoyance, but with no filler tracks, a direct frame of mind, and a quick run time, Inferno is a welcome addition to their discography and keeps the spirit of hardcore punk alive.

Inferno will be available on June 9th on Demons Run Amok Entertainment. You can stream the title-track single, “Infero,” here.