Ratking is a hardcore band from Perth that we first covered on No Echo back in 2019. Since then, the Aussies have released an album, All Bite, in 2022, along with several standalone singles. Not to mention their extensive road work during that time.
“We’ve toured Japan again and played a heap of shows with bands like Comeback Kid, Drain, Terror, even Drowning Pool and Alien Ant Farm—which was weird and cool,” guitarist Nic Finch tells No Echo. “We’ve stayed pretty busy other than the two years we were in lockdown in Western Australia during COVID.”
Despite the growing profile, Ratking’s internal approach hasn’t changed much. “We’re still constantly playing shows, putting out new music regularly, and just enjoying being in a band together,” Nic explains. “If anything, we’ve just gotten better at doing all of those things.”
That chemistry shows up clearly on the band’s upcoming self-titled EP, due out in July. “The writing on this record feels very ‘Ratking,’ which is short, fast, and full of resentment and anger towards the world,” he says. “Without trying to push a certain style, we very much sharpened the blade on our own sound.”
Ratking have released a couple of teaser tracks from the forthcoming EP, including one last week called "Bitter Irony":
The collaborative process also became more defined this time around, with guitarist AJ and bassist Tom contributing heavily to the songwriting. “Everyone writes music and collaborates together,” Nic says, “but AJ and Tom really took the reins and wrote a ton of songs that all complement each other.”
Ratking entered 2026 at full speed, kicking things off with Perth’s Froth & Fury festival alongside Nailbomb, Soulfly, Archspire, and Aborted before joining Comeback Kid and Gridiron for the 20th anniversary celebration of Wake the Dead. They also opened for King Parrot once again—something Nic says has practically become tradition at this point. “We’re always grateful to play with international tours when they come through little ol’ Perth,” he says.
The band also recently witnessed something that felt almost surreal from a hardcore perspective: watching Turnstile play an amphitheater-sized show in their hometown. “That was such a crazy and awesome thing to witness,” Nic says. “Like 4,000 people going off to a hardcore band.”
That excitement extends to the current Australian underground, which Nic says is overflowing with newer bands worth paying attention to. Among the names he highlights are Forged By Fear, Lokka, Warden, and Wetwork locally, alongside international favorites like C4 and San Antonio crossover band Life Cycles.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Ratking update without at least one absurd story attached to it. In 2025, the band’s singer, Josh Reeves, suffered a brutal e-scooter accident that nearly ended far worse than it did. “Josh off an e-scooter and nearly broke his neck/died,” Nic says. “He had to miss our single launch show for ‘Bing and Burn,’ and now he’s got a fucked up eyebrow and we sometimes call him Meat Face.”
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The self-titled Ratking EP will be out on July 10.
Ratking on social media: Instagram
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