Axminster has been a dependable fixture in Boston’s hard-rock undercurrent since 1983, and their new four-song EP Mad As Hatters shows exactly why they’ve endured. This is a band with history, swagger, and scars, and they bring all of it to the table in a tight, explosive release that hits harder than many full-length albums. The EP is a raw surge of frustration, angst and street-born adrenaline, driven by the muscular interplay of musicians who know exactly who they are and what they do best.
Guitarist Benny Fiorentino remains the band’s spark plug. With a backstory that reads like a pulp novel—bullets in Buenos Aires, triple-decker grit in Brighton, late-night jams with Aerosmith alumni—his playing still channels danger, precision and a lifetime of stubborn persistence. His Strat-and-Marshall attack brings the EP its ripping, unglued riffs, the kind you can only get from someone who came up sweating it out in real clubs, not YouTube tutorials.
Frontman Steve Sera matches that fire with a vocal delivery that feels physically thrown at the microphone. His voice carries the grit, humor and blue-collar theatricality that have always defined Axminster’s vibe, but on Mad As Hatters he sounds especially dialed in. He pushes the themes of modern frustration and creeping madness with a kind of full-body urgency, turning every chorus into a punch that lands just a little harder than expected.
Bassist Danny “Digger” Callan anchors the low end with the kind of attitude you’d expect from someone who once literally dug graves for a living. His lines thump, grind and punch through the mix, giving the songs a basement-rattling force that pairs perfectly with Fiorentino’s guitar bite. Drummer Xanon Xicay—whose timing is as famously precise as his smile is contagious—lets loose with tightly wound grooves and sharp, articulate hits that push the band forward without ever stealing the spotlight. Together, Callan and Xicay form the kind of rhythm section that makes a band sound dangerous in all the right ways.
The EP itself moves fast, hitting four distinct moods without losing its cohesion. “World Gone Crazy” opens the set with a tense, modern edge; “Rat Race” channels blue-collar exhaustion into a fist-pumping, street-wise rocker; “Down to the Wire” leans into urgency and grit; and “Ya Monkey” closes things out with the swagger of a band that has paid its dues, survived the grind and come back for more. Every track feels like a release valve—loud, hot-blooded and unapologetically rooted in the DNA of Boston’s hard-rock tradition.
Mad As Hatters isn’t just a quick collection of riffs and attitude; it’s proof that Axminster still carries the spirit of the era that forged them. Forty-plus years in, they’re not mellowing out or reinventing themselves—they’re sharpening the edges, tightening the screws and delivering exactly the kind of high-octane rock their fans have always loved. For a band with this history, the EP isn’t nostalgia; it’s a declaration that they’re still here, still loud and still swinging with everything they’ve got.
If this is a preview of the next chapter, Axminster isn’t just rocking since 1983—they’re rocking like they never left.
