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Hello and thanks for reading. Does RAT CAGE need an introduction? They first hit the scene in 2016 with their demo. While the style on this demo is what you can pretty much consistently expect from the one-man machine, he really picks up speed and locks in even tighter as RAT CAGE progresses. Admittedly, I had never listened to the demo until today. The songs are great, and I love the ‘raw’ sound that is not typical for his releases that followed. When I think of RAT CAGE, I usually associate it with top-notch production that sounds like it’s about to hit the red. I first heard them on their vinyl debut ‘Caged Like Rats.’ The six tracks of blazing hardcore really caught my ear, and it had me waiting for more! They followed up with a four track EP after that really hit the spot for me, ‘Blood On Your Boots.’ The songs on this one are just nasty. Following the EP, they released the LP ‘Screams From The Cage’ and I think anyone that had been under a rock for the previous releases had RAT CAGE’s full attention. The tightness, the groove, the riffs, the speed, the pissed-off vocals... ahhhhhh!! RAT CAGE of course didn’t stop there, soon after they followed up with a monumental split with another one-man D-beat machine from Macedonia, NERVOUS SS. This is the best split I have heard in who knows how long... It made my “Top 10” list of 2021 and it was also dubbed Record of the Week by Daniel. Before the year was over, RAT CAGE released a two-song banger as a benefit for their space The Lughole. The release was only a small run of 50 lathe-cuts entitled ‘In The Shadow Of The Bomb.’ Those are probably impossible to find now, and LVEUM has just properly released these songs for us all on a 7"! While RAT CAGE is a band that perfectly combines speed and catchiness, he busts out kind of a new vibe on the A side of this 7". The melody comes off rather “epic” instead of “catchy”. On the B side you can find a pit-opening, pure head banger track. There is a reason why LVEUM has given this 7" a proper press, so check it out and grab one if it strikes your ear, as well as the other RAT CAGE releases that our now back in print! Before I go, I’d like to mention something else that I am not sure I’ve mentioned here. Later this year there will be a 4-way split 12" featuring RAT CAGE, DISSEKERAD, DESTRUCT, and SCARECROW. It’s going to be insane… wait til you hear the tracks!!! Keep your eyes and ears peeled for that shit, out in 2023 on BPDT and Skrammel Records. Alright then, thanks for reading and thanks to everyone for the support!