GRADE 2 SHARE ANTHEMIC SELF-TITLED ALBUM OUT NOW
United by a love of classic punk, ska and oi, UK based Grade 2 are bringing the raw power of old school punk to a new generation. Today the band unveils their third studio album, ‘Grade 2’ via Hellcat Records under the guidance of Tim Armstrong (Rancid). Appropriately self-titled, it’s their most representative work yet melding the uncompromising ethos of punk with the howl of contemporary injustice, personal identity and frustrations of Gen-Z youth.
Authentically told by three lads with punk coursing through their veins, ‘Grade 2’ make blistering punk music laced with passion, angst, humor and despair. Front man Sid Ryan explains, “Like everyone else, 2020 left us proper fucked off.” He continues, “Yet we were able to channel every ounce of that despair into every second of this record.”
From the complex rhythms and brutal two-note guitar of opening track “Judgement Day”, the record grabs by the scruff of the neck and never lets up. With a commitment to the cause, lead single “Doing Time” is a thunderous hardcore punk track screaming: “Spoon feed me corporate lies; I left that place with a noose to my neck.” Intertwined are upbeat bangers (“Under the Streetlight”, “Celine”), classic pop-punk (“Don’t Stand Alone”, “Fast Pace”), and savage old-school grit (“Parasite”, “Gaslight”). The result is a bone-crunching 35-minutes that agitates, intoxicates and liberates in equal measure.