R.A.I.D, an abbreviation for Rueban and the Imperium Division, is an Indian

metallic hardcore Metalcore is a broadly defined fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, originating in the 1990s United States and becoming popular in the 2000s. Metalcore typically has aggressive verses and melodic choruses, combined ...

band that originated out of

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

, India.

History

The band would form in 2013 out of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, known simply as Rueban. The band originally was a solo project for Vocalist Rueban Issac that he created to work on music between working with his other bands. The project recorded an album, titled ''Indestructible'', which was set to release in 2013. In 2016, Rueban would also release a second album, ''Stronger Than Ever''. However, after the two releases, he decided to make the band a full lineup, which led to him putting an ad out for local musicians. Soon thereafter, the band became a six-piece band, consisting of Issac, Abishek Allapanda on guitars, Emmanuel Ojo on guitars, Shawn Vivian on guitars, Stephen Rahul on bass, and Bobbin Jaydev on drums. Rahul and Vivian departed from the band before recording any material, with Ojo taking up bass as well. With this new lineup, the band decided to change the name to R.A.I.D. The band signed with

Rottweiler Records Christian metal, also known as white metal, Jesus metal, or heavenly metal, is heavy metal music distinguished by its Christian-themed song lyrics and the dedication of the band-members to Christianity. Christian metal is typically performed by ...

, a record label based out of

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 census ...

. Once the band signed with the label, they recorded and released their debut album as R.A.I.D., titled ''The Strong Survive''. Following the band's release of ''The Strong Survive'', Ojo seemingly departed from the band, with the replacement of Sam Jaba taking on Bass. The band would begin to work on their sophomore release, releasing a few singles as EPs, including ''Unbreakable'' and ''Outrage''. The album was based around the story of

Samson SAMSON (Software for Adaptive Modeling and Simulation Of Nanosystems) is a computer software platform for molecular design being developed bOneAngstromand previously by the NANO-D group at the French Institute for Research in Computer Science an ...

from the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

. The band released their sophomore album, titled ''Imperium'' through Rottweiler Records in 2019. The band released their third studio album titled ''Defiance'' through Rottweiler Records in 2022. The album marked a shift in the band's sound incorporating elements of modern metal. The album received positive reviews, and as a result, the band won the prestigious Radio City Freedom Award for "Best Metal Artist" for the album single "Alpha.". Following the release of Defiance, the band departed from their record label, Rottweiler Records and went through another line-up change. The new line-up included David Samuel on Guitars and Amit Cornelius on Bass. In 2024, R.A.I.D released a 6-track EP called "Dominion." Dominion marked a sharp change in the bands sound departing from their old school raw hardcore style to a metallic hardcore/modern metal style. The EP covered topics on suicide awareness and prevention, and is considered to be the band's best offering to date. The EP's single "Death Is Not A Solution (D.I.N.A.S.)" was selected as the 15 best new metal songs for April 2024 by Metal Hammer.

Style and influence

The band has consistently been compared to bands such as

Madball Madball is an American New York hardcore band. Originated in the late 1980s as a side project of Agnostic Front, the band developed after Agnostic Front's vocalist Roger Miret would let his younger half-brother Freddy Cricien take the micro ...

and

Agnostic Front Agnostic Front is an American hardcore punk band from New York City. Founded in 1980, the band is considered an important influence on the New York hardcore scene, as well as a pioneer of the crossover thrash genre. History First era (1980– ...

. The band lists Madball, Agnostic Front,

Suicidal Tendencies Suicidal Tendencies is an American crossover thrash band formed in 1980 in Venice, California, by vocalist Mike Muir. The band has undergone various lineup changes, with Muir as the only remaining original member. Their current lineup includes ...

, Terror, Thrown,

Kublai Khan Kublai Khan (23 September 1215 – 18 February 1294), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizu of Yuan and his regnal name Setsen Khan, was the founder and first emperor of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China. He proclaimed the ...

Knocked Loose Knocked Loose is an American hardcore punk band from Oldham County, Kentucky, formed in 2013 and currently signed to Pure Noise Records. The band released their debut studio album, ''Laugh Tracks (album), Laugh Tracks'', in September 2016 thro ...

and

Hatebreed Hatebreed is an American metalcore/ hardcore band from Bridgeport, Connecticut, formed in 1994. The band released its debut album ''Satisfaction Is the Death of Desire'' in 1997, which gave the band a cult following. The band signed to Universa ...

as influences.

Members

Current *Rueban Issac - Vocals (2016–present) *Bobbin Jaydev - Drums (2016–present) *David Samuel - Guitars (2023–present) *Amit Cornelius - Bass (2023–present) Former *Abishek Allapanda - Guitars (2016-2023) *Sam Jaba - Bass (2018-2023) *Emmanuel Ojo - Guitars (2016-2018), Bass (2017-2018) *Shawn Vivian - Guitars (2016-2017) *Stephen Rahul - Bass (2016-2017)

Discography

Studio albums *''The Strong Survive'' (2018) *''Imperium'' (2019) *''Defiance'' (2022) *''Dominion'' (2024) Remix albums *''From The Ashes (Trap Mastery remix album)'' (2023) D45s *''Unbreakeable'' (2019) *''Outrage'' (2019) Singles *"Detonate" (2016) *"Soul of a Lion" (2018) *"Outrage" (2019) *"Unbreakeable" (2019) *"Blind" (2019) *"Alpha" (2022) *"Shattered Beliefs" (2022) *"Aftermath" (2024) *"D.I.N.A.S. (Death Is Not A Solution) (2024)

Awards and nominations

*"Radio City Freedom Awards Season 7: Best Metal Artist – ("Alpha") – Winner" *"The Indian Music Diaries Awards 2023: Best Album Artwork of The Year – ("Defiance") – Nominated"

References

{{Reflist

External links

R.A.I.D. WebsiteR.A.I.D. on Bandcamp
Christian metal musical groups Christian hardcore musical groups Indian hardcore punk groups Indian thrash metal musical groups Musical groups established in 2013 Rottweiler Records artists 2013 establishments in Andhra Pradesh