Never Again are another French hardcore band from Dijon. Again, they feature Bertrand Baudrion on Who Needs Maps? and Orchidscent Records. Their eight track album was released in March of this year and has long since sold out. It was a joint release between Orchidscent Record and Old School Records.
Tracklist -
1. Take It Away
2. Beer Color
3. Di - way
4. Infection
5. Fred & Jamy
6. Buddy
7. The Wheel
8. An Empty Diary
Never Again's sound if very different to that of Who Needs
Maps?, the music is more akin to garage punk than to hardcore. The main vocals
are made of very fast spoken word as well as hardcore screams. The guitar is
pure rock n roll and sometimes they have a bit of psychobilly about them. Take
It Away is a quick intro of a song and it's pace carries through to Beer Color.
When the hardcore screams kick in, the sound it pretty
caustic, but there are moments quiet reflection, when the guitar is left to
play. The recording sounds like it was done live, as the drums sound like their
in the room with you. Never Again keep up a very frenetic pace and their
punkier edge shine through during third song Di-Way. Like Who Needs Maps? from
earlier, they too don't use Americanised vocal influences to emphasise their
brand of hardcore, choosing to make sure their native accents do the talking
for them.
The songs don't stick around for long either and before you
know it your at the midway point of No! Infection seems to be more brutal in
it's delivery, the mixture of clean spoken and shouted vocals works really well
and those pounding drums battle with the raging guitars for supremacy. The way
the band slows things down and grooves halfway through is good to hear and they
even throw in some subtle ska influenced sections too. It's all good in the
variation stakes. They show their off-kilter skills towards the end of
Infection, which sees them end on a moody note.
The second half of the record follows a similar formula,
with the speed Fred & Jamy showing their rock n roll credential once more,
leaving you in know doubt that they could rouse a great party and pit at the
same time, especially with that guitar solo that ends the song. I'd liken this
to a lot of old skater punk that used to be on the soundtracks to the Tony
Harks Playstation games at time, although Never Again do have more musical
intelligence and use it well, to craft great songs, with energy and emotion
coursing through them.
The Wheel is full of big sounding, chunky riffs and more
breakneck drumming. The undercurrent of melody from the guitars helps make this
an easier listen, especially for newcomers to hardcore but it should also
appeal to seasoned hardcore fans, who appreciate something different. By the
time you reach An Empty Diary, you've been put through the ringer just by
listening to this record, as you can't help but bang your head with abandon as
the good time vibes take hold! I thoroughly recommend that you either track
down a copy of this record if you can, or just listen to it on their Bandcamp page, as it's great fun!
So as I mentioned above, you can stream the whole record via Never Again's own Bandcamp page below:-
Never Again can be found on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Never-Again.
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