No Contest are an up-and-coming 4-piece hardcore punk rock band from Grimsby who have already shared the stage with of This Is Hell, The Living Daylights and Hildamay prior to the recording and release of ‘What Is Past Is Prologue,’ their debut album.
‘What Is Past Is Prologue’ is a self-recorded effort, a DIY record in all senses of the word. Whilst this leaves it undoubtedly rough around the edges production wise, it would be wrong to say that this lack of production hurts the quality of the record. On the contrary, the production matches what the band are trying to achieve here. I am a great believer in not over-producing for the sake of it and this is raw hardcore sound is lent extra charm through its’ production.
The tracks themselves are all generally short, fast and loud. There is some variation to the formula with ‘Manipulated’ which has a mid-tempo beat that lends itself to a moody and more reserved vocal performance.
<a href=“http://nocontesthc.bandcamp.com/album/whats-past-is-prologue” data-mce-href=“http://nocontesthc.bandcamp.com/album/whats-past-is-prologue”>What’s Past Is Prologue by No Contest</a>
‘Turning Chicken Shit into Chicken Salad’ on the other hand is louder and quicker, with a more traditional, shouty hardcore vocal. It is at this crossroads between a classic hardcore sound and something more punk rock in origin that this album is situated and this hybrid does enough to keep the interest piqued for the duration.
Tracks like ’28 Seconds Too Long’ and ‘Momento Mori’ are again brutal slices of highly energetic hardcore that are enjoyable, without offering any sense of progression or change however.
Closing track ‘His Name is Robert Paulson’ is a semi-acoustic number that bursts into life in its’ closing third. It comes as a welcome surprise at the end of an album with little deviation from a generic hardcore sound and hints at bigger things for No Contest. This is a good debut album that showcases an intriguing sound. A solid enough record that sits in a nice niche, straddling both hardcore and punk rock with more adeptness than most.
3/5
‘What Is Past Is Prologue’ by No Contest is available now on Bandcamp.
No Contest links: Facebook|Bandcamp
Words by Tom White (@whiteywitters)
