Way back in the mists of time, or as it’s more commonly know the mid-eighties, as Thrash metal was starting to explode, some enterprising US bands (namely D.R.I., C.O.C., Agnostic Front, The Crumbsuckers, Beyond Possession, The Accused, Clown Alley, Sacrilege BC, Gang Green and a whole slew of others) thought that it would be a wheeze to blend the ferocity, energy and speed of Hardcore and the precision and technicality of the new aggressive metal movement and thus Crossover was born. While it didn’t have quite the same impact as the genres that had given birth to it, Crossover still made one hell of a dent in the collective psyche of those of us who were exposed to its glorious ferocity.

In the three and a bit decades since it first to prominence, Crossover has been locked in a vicious circle of waning and increasing popularity, but has never reached the same kind of highs as it did after it first made its presence felt. Sure, there are some great bands who have championed it – Municipal Waste, Technocracy, Bones Brigade, Holier Than Thou? etc, but it’s never managed to find a band who harnessed HC and Metal in equal measure and who were able to push pure, unadulterated, undiluted Crossover forward with purpose and passion. Until now that is.

Rash Decision have finally fulfilled their potential and Karoshi is their definitive, for now at least, statement of intent. Blazing through fourteen songs in around twenty minutes, they hit hard, they hit fast, bring the mosh and push the speedometer to breaking point with their tight, direct and sharp crossover that’s been moulded by Discharge, Pennywise, Strife and Nuclear Assault. Seriously, these guys have more chops than a Chuck Norris Karate Class, more breakdowns than a fleet of Alpha Romeo’s on a Land’s End to John O’Groats relay race and the sort of effortlessly catchy and infectious tunes that most bands would sell their souls to Satan to be able to write. You don’t want this record, you NEED it. Crossover has found its new champions and they’re called Rash Decision… Tim Cundle