To celebrate its 40th anniversary, Raxola has come full circle with an explosive new album, “Guts Out”.

As you can expect by its name (which means Revolution Axis Opens Lights Ahead), it delivers a smash of raw activist r’n’r, biting as ever with a seductive touch of glam. “Guts Out” also features Cape Town’s hip hop MC Mingus on two songs. Artistic direction as been assigned to Thierry Plas.

Raxola is a mythical group of the Belgian scene. They are, with The Kids and Hubble Bubble, one of the three Belgian bands to have had the opportunity to record an album from the beginning of the punk era. Frontman Yke Raxola is known for having played in another legendary band – Bastard, first band to ever set the proto-punk standards in continental Europe and from which some members would soon emerge as The Damned.

Raxola disbanded in 1979 after their record company fired them for becoming too progressive. Too soon, lads.

Yke went off the radars for years, wandering from London to New Orleans, Cape Town and Paris, became a journalist and philanthropist by taking care of a south African orphanage in Mpumalanga.

21th century began with a phone call: “The Japanese are crazy about Raxola, Belgium’s best punk band” it was said. A new release of the original album was set up and more than 4000 copies were sold in the next 2 years throughout Japan. Meanwhile, the original vinyl was rated as high as 450$ on the collector market.

A new Raxola emerged, resulting in a new single recorded in Brighton under Brian James’ direction (2004). The new line up performed some gigs in Belgium and the UK. The latter gave birth to a live CD entitled “Live in 0’Five” (2005).

Today, Raxola celebrates its 40th anniversary by pushing forward a new line up, a new album and many gigs ahead, as a herald of the punky soul of rock’n’roll. Would you miss that?

Raxola: The punky soul of rock’n’roll