Not Asking For Much

It feels like a lifetime since the first Rat Cage demo tape tore through the hardcore punk underground. In the 10 years since, Bry Suddaby has kept up a relentless pace, delivering 14 pummelling releases that have given punks everywhere a soundtrack for surviving modern life’s death and destruction.

Now the third Rat Cage LP arrives as global horror hits a new peak. On Not Asking for Much, drums pound beneath rollercoaster riffs while Bry Suddaby’s cynical bark takes in the trials of getting by in 2026.

The record pulls from 80s Northern European punk like MissbrukarnaI and Appendix, Swedish hardcore such as Heratys and Fyfan, USHC in the vein of Poison Idea and Out Cold, plus a British charge from GBH and The Varukers. There are moments as heavy as Bastard, as melodic as UK Subs, and a title track with the rock of Pink Fairies.