Raw Power

Taking their name from the seminal 1973 Stooges album, Raw Power is an Italian hardcore punk unit in the vein of upstart American pit producers like Gang Green, D.I., and JFA. Based out of Reggio Emilia, the group was founded in 1981 by brothers Mauro (vocals) and Giuseppe Codeluppi (guitar) -- the band has endured multiple lineup changes throughout the years, with the Giuseppe brothers operating as the core. Raw Power debuted in 1983 with You Are the Victim, with Screams from the Gutter, which was recorded for the California label Toxic Shock, arriving two years later. The group followed with an EP called Wop Hour, the title a curious dig at themselves, with the full-length After Your Brain arriving in 1986, again via Toxic Shock. Subsequent LPs Mine to Kill (1989), Too Tough to Burn (1993), and Fight (1995) were released on different labels, but the band returned to Toxic Shock (now called Toxic Ranch) in 1998 for the release of the well-received Reptile House. Raw Power followed up with a successful American tour, and in 2000 they released Trust Me via Hello Records. Two years later, to celebrate the band's two decades together, they released Still Screaming After 20 Years, but tragedy struck just a few months after its release, when guitarist and founding member Giuseppe Codeluppi died after suffering a heart attack while playing soccer. The band took two years off before reconvening in 2004 for a European tour. They wouldn't enter the studio again, however, until years later. In April 2010, Beer City Records released a box set called The Reagan Years, and later that October P.I.G. Records issued the brand-new studio LP Resuscitate, which featured a pair of Stooges covers, "Raw Power" included. Tired and Furious arrived in 2014, followed in 2017 by Inferno, the latter of which was released by Demons Run Amok Entertainment. ~ James Christopher Monger, Rovi