RAVAGERS
In an age where “musicianship” merely means the quality of one’s auto-tune software, or the accuracy of one’s AI platform, it’s a rare thing to witness a band quite like Ravagers. One glance is all it takes to know this isn’t just a band but a straight-up, low-down goddamn gang. Denim, leather, sunglasses… the sort of image that made the best rock groups of late 1970s NYC the icons they were. But no, this ain’t the Lower East Side. This group could have only slimed its way out of the chaotic, corrupt, crime-ridden birth canal that is Baltimore City.
For over a decade, guitarist and vocalist Alex Hagen has been penning the sort of nightmarish yet anthemic punk rock that captivates the youth as well as yesterday’s heroes. Lyrical themes touch upon paranoia, violence, drug-induced chaos, and the thrill of urban nightlife. You can tell this guy read a lot of comic books at a young age; it’s the kind of content that most guidance counselors would find, well… troublesome.
Hagen launched his criminal outfit in 2014 with the premier EP Livin’ In Oblivion (Cricket Cemetery Records) and, after consistent touring and festival dates across the U.S. and Canada, doubled their debauchery with the followup 2015 Natural Instinct (Rock & Rule Records). Direct support gigs for The Damned, The Adicts and Fear began to solidify Ravagers as the real alpha hounds in the dog-devour-dog world of rock music.
Ravagers’ ascension was not without its mishaps and misfortunes. Finding a permanent guitarist was a challenge, set back by life’s little hurdles (girlfriends, failed record labels, suicide, etc.) until life-long compadre Matt Gabs (Fishnet Stalkers, Biters) filled the void. Gabs, who was raised on raised on Thin Lizzy, Alice Cooper and Kiss, proved to be a sorcerer of the arena guitar hook. A handful of one-off singles eviscerated any naysayers, culminating with the release of 2022’s debut LP, Badlands(Spaghetty Town Records).
Two state-side tours later, the time had finally arrived for Ravagers to make their European tour debut, toting along the newest member, NYC punk poster-child and bassist Sam Hariss.
28 gigs later (in roughly the same amount of calendar days), The “European Wasteland” tour left much of the continent ravaged, rattled, and ready for more. Where most bands would take a breather, Ravagers simply tightened up their leather gloves as if to say “we’ll tell you when you’ve had enough.”
Juggling numerous multi-week runs around the states as well as a month long domestic tour supporting Supersuckers, somehow the band found the steam to cut and release their second LP, On the Loose (2025, Spaghetty Town Records). The album coincided with a return European run across France, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, and Spain.
Despite setting the bar dangerously high with Badlands, Ravagers refused to play limbo, making their melodies more monstrous, the beats more brutalizing; they stayed true to their school and then proceeded to burn said school down. On the Loose blends ‘77 punk and hard rock with an addition of the macabre dark-wave sound Stiv sought in Lords of the New Church. It could soundtrack a gory horror flick or a sleazy action film one might have checked out in the ‘90s.
Like any good gang, Ravagers have the look and like any great group, they have the sound. It’s curated, but never forced. It’s messy, but sharp. It’s dangerous, but always propulsive. You want to be a part of it but understand the risks and repercussions right away.
Here is a group that doesn’t smile, so much as it snarls. It doesn’t sing so much as it sneers. Masters of their craft, these cretins play nicely but never play nice. They don’t entertain their audience, they engulf it.
Ravagers: the band that bites back.
-
![]()
ALEX HAGEN
VOCALS & GUITAR
-
![MATT GABS]()
MATT GABS
LEAD GUITAR & VOCALS
-
![]()
SAM HARISS
BASS & VOCALS
-
![RAY PETERS]()
RAY PETERS
DRUMS
