The Raging Mabels – Behold!
The Raging Mabels – Behold!
Self-Released
Release date: 01/05/2026
Review by: Alun Jones
9.5/10
At last – the wait is over! The clouds part, a glorious beam of light pours through, and finally the golden gift is bestowed upon us. Yes, it’s the fabled and long-awaited new album from The Raging Mabels! I’ve plugged these three Shropshire shred-a-billies for quite some time, having become a fan of their unrelenting, joyous Punk’n’Roll mayhem on the local live circuit. But is it any good?
“Behold!” sees The Raging Mabels attempt to follow up their staggeringly effective, seven song “Obey” EP with a full album of more, but better. And so Marc “Sparky“ Davies (guitar, vocals), Matt “Matty” Morris (bass) and Tim “Timmy Gee” Galashan (drums) step up to the plate, obviously primed and well-rehearsed, but with great expectations on their shoulders.
And with great expectations comes great Rock’n’Roll – or something like that. The Mabels throw off the shackles in fine style with opener ‘Fucking Beautiful’, roaring from the start with their trademark hypersonic riffs and warm melodies. Sparky’s DIY chopping board guitars cut through perfectly on ‘Pangolin’, an ode to their spirit animal. Both Tim and Matty keep the whole cacophony on the rails, punctuating the mayhem and driving the machine.
The band’s talent for melody is on full display on ‘Danger Boy’ which also has the songcraft to let the pace slacken and breathe in the mid-section. ‘Give It Up’ starts with a rumbling bass that develops into a Clutch-like, pounding funkathon before ‘Sticks n’ Stones’ revs everything higher – think Supersuckers playing on the back of a speeding flat-bed truck.
Elsewhere, ‘Body Parts’ features a gorgeous intro that sounds time-warped from the Pacific North West circa 1994. Raging Mabels are growing in confidence, unafraid to add light and shade throughout the whole record. The times when the foot is off the gas are almost as thrilling as when they’re at full speed. ‘Terminator’ shows that funky side again, as if they’re channelling RATM. Rage Against the Mabels, perhaps?
The production is faultless, all of the instruments flow through beautifully. A top quality job by Nino Errico who has effortlessly captured the live sound of the band. The real triumph here though is not just the performance, but the song writing. The Raging Mabels have shown that they can create a full album of varying textures and influences – and make it FUN. “Behold!” is out just in time for summer, and it may well be the perfect soundtrack.
TRACKLISTING:
01. Fucking Beautiful
02. Pangolin
03. Danger Boy
04. In Love With ME
05. Human
06. Bitten
07. Give It Up
08. Sticks’n’Stones
09. Body Parts
10. Terminator
11. Big Foot
12. Stuck
LINKS:
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