No Turning Back "Damage Done" CD
[Gangstyle]
Fuck yes. Vicious metallic hardcore from The Netherlands. I liked their last record but the recording was way off, and that killed it for me. Thankully this thing sounds a million motherfucking times better! The bass tone is thick and bangs along behind the crystal clear heaviness of the guitars, and the shouting vocals sound perfect. The drums are the only thing barely off, a little thin and lacking natural density, but it works out. Fuck it, it's a mere few steps from sounding like a million bucks. Their style is still reminiscent of Madball and that whole angle of the NYHC sound to me, based around midpaced chord progressions and chunky breakdowns, and no bullshit. The opening riff in "Holding On" is almost a little rocked out, "Count on You" and "Never Give Up" are faster and clock in at less than a minute, the chord progressions and melodic lead in "Stay Away" definitely stand out (plus the breakdown is fucking huge), tracks like "I Owe You Nothing" and "Take Control" are a bit catchier... this is just a rock solid fuckin' record. I really like the layout on this one. It's pretty simple, with a few band photos, lots of shots of records and posters in a trashed living room, etc. All in black and white with a minimal amount of red. Not bad. Lyrically it's all straightforward and song titles like "Never Give Up", "Don't Cross the Line", "Holding On", and "No Regrets" should give you a pretty dead on idea of what the songs deal with. Good stuff. Fans of the genre would be foolish not to check this out. Another reason why Europe's the fucking hot spot for this shit these days, kids. Gangstyle chalks up another winner. (7/10)
Running time - 28:37, Tracks: 14
[Notable tracks: Never Give Up, Take Control, Stay Away, I Owe You Nothing]
Gangstyle Records - http://www.gsrmusic.com

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