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Raw And Off Its Head E.P.

      
         
         
         
     
             
Rawtism are a thrash metal band from Australia formed in 2019, releasing two singles in 2020 ('B.Y.H.A.S.T.F.U.' and 'Go Rawtistic!'), one single in 2021 ('Stay Metal'), with the band unleashing their debut E.P. 'Raw And Off Its Head' in the summer of 2021...    
             
...featuring six songs of bludgeoning thrash metal, and when I say bludgeoning, I mean BLUDGEONING! The ferocious fury with which Rawtism deliver their thrash, is on a par with nuclear devastation. With just six songs on offer to make their mark, the band actually make it after just six seconds! The rip-roaring riff that launches the E.P.'s opening salvo 'Go Rawtistic!', is nothing short of ballistic. It has energy, urgency, and purpose, and will immediately get heads banging. 'Go Rawtistic!' is an incredible way to announce your arrival on the thrash metal scene.    
             
The energy levels are kept extremely high with the more melodic thrash offering 'Thrasher's Endurance' - pitching the band into territory occupied by some of thrash metals greatest exponents, bands such as Destruction, Testament, and Flotsam And Jetsam. But with Rawtism, you get an unpolished rawness, which makes the band sound eager and hungry - not to mention a little menacing too! Slamming the listener into the wall, the band storm into traditional heavy metal land, and gallop furiously on with the "foot on the monitor"-esque 'You'll Get What's Coming'. Think 'Maiden and 'Priest with jack hammers and steam rollers - and you'll get some idea of the bludgeoning oomph of Rawtism.    
             
The band step on, and proudly ride, the anthemic bandwagon, with a new anthem for metal heads - 'Stay Metal'. Getting back to their ball busting thrash metal roots, Rawtism up the ante and deliver a bone crunching slab of all out thrash. 'Stay Metal' mixes fire and brimstone with dynamite for an explosive charge of epic proportions. Now if it's attitude you're looking for, you're gonna find it in abundance, with the high velocity and fierce 'B.Y.H.A.S.T.F.U.'. Pulling no punches, it's fast paced, aggressive, and in your face, showing the band at their most menacing.    
             
And to the final song, an absolutely brilliant cover of the Dire Straits classic 'Sultans Of Swing' - taken from the bands 1978 self titled album. Rawtism's version is brilliant - I know I've said that twice, but it deserves it - keeping to the pace of the original, and not thrash metalling it up. It is a brilliant (that's three times now) cover, just as infectious as the original, and I'm sure Mark Knopfler would be proud.    
             
Overall, a bludgeoning thrash metal assault with shades of traditional heavy metal thrown in - welcome to the world of Rawtism!    
             
             
Review by Iron Mathew Collins    
             
Reviewed for Metal-Roos    
             
             
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