Bandits Taking Over Riddim – Volcano Records

Bandits Taking Over Riddim on Volcano Records brings together Henry Lawes’ 1981 production with a tight three-track selection from Scientist and The Roots Radics, The Wailing Souls, and Toyan. The cut list is compact but varied, moving from Scientist and The Roots Radics’ eerie The Corpse Rises to the title track Bandits Taking Over and Toyan’s Capital Offence. Lawes was one of the key forces behind the Volcano label’s early-’80s run, and this set shows the hard, stripped-down Roots Radics sound that made his productions so distinctive. It plays like a concise clash of deep bass, militant drums, and sharp vocal delivery, with the Scientist cut giving the riddim a darker, dubwise edge.