It feels like a lifetime ago that the first Rat Cage demo tape was spat into the Hardcore Punk underground. Maybe that’s because for the past 10 years Bry Suddaby has been relentlessly chucking out a slew of pummelling records, arming many Punks worldwide with a soundtrack to survival in the modern age of death and destruction.

Fourteen bloody releases later, the third Rat Cage LP comes crashing in as the state of global horror reaches a grave pinnacle. In true RAT CAGE fashion, the drums relentlessly hammer away under rollercoaster riffs, while Bry’s viciously cynical bark spills the trials and tribulations of trying to get by in 2026.

For the uninitiated, Rat Cage pulls influence from 80’s Northern European Punk like Missbrukarna or Appendix, contemporary Swedish sweet spot Hardcore like Heratys of Fyfan, ripping USHC a la Poison Idea or Out Cold, while naturally adding a classic British injection of GBH or The Varukers.

As always, there’s the constant apprehension that you never quite know what’s around the next bend, and with ‘Not Asking for Much’ Bry has cast the net even further. There’s moments that get as heavy as Bastard, as melodic as the UK Subs, and even a title track that gets as rocking as the Pink Fairies. All amounting to a distinctive and characterful sound that’s unmistakably Rat Cage.

With little to be hopeful about as we all suffocate within the authoritarian nightmare, this LP could once again be your beacon of fire. So, light the match and burn alone at maximum volume.