Across the emerald isle, hardcore has undergone a renaissance. Local scenes from north and south of the border have become amass with a vibrant array of acts pumping out killer riffs and relentless basslines in abundance. Indeed, one such band which has helped to cultivate such a feeling within Belfast comes in the form of beat down merchants No Great Loss.
The Belfast quintet have enjoyed a steady rise this year with appearances alongside Cork City’s BAILER, as well as Belfast contemporaries Dream Awake and Towers – to name but a few – and have topped off a successful year in style with the release of their debut E.P. ‘Eternal Sleep’. Consisting of five tracks, NGL’s debut is a freight train akin to a twelve-round title bout with Mike Tyson: it’ll hit you hard, fast and will invariably knock you down… but you can’t help getting back up and wanting even more.
Commencing this release with the largely instrumental ‘No Great Loss’ offers a solid indication of the rest of the E.P. with its various tempo modulations and hard-hitting instrumental style that’ll fill you with adrenaline. ‘Eternal Sleep’ slams down upon that big red nuclear-launch button in your mind with a bludgeoning riff segued into with a juicy guitar-bass combo that opens the song. The E.P.’s title track also provides the first real listen to NGL’s duel vocalist ensemble in action: a complimentary and balanced pairing which blossoms throughout the entire record.
A slower but no-less heavy offering, ‘Trust/Reality’ is beatdown at its finest. With memorable lyrics, an awesome downtempo breakdown and an even better reprisal, the E.P’s third track will bring bodies into what is sure to be an already bustling pit. Likewise are the pounding heavy riffs in the penultimate track, ‘D.T.A.’: another truly excellent effort. Plus, if you feel so inclined to get your dancing shoes on, the E.P.’s finale ‘Web’ has a certain groove factor about it that rounds off a great debut record – as well as reminding all us oldies how much we miss the charming sounds of a dial-up internet modem.
Too young to know what that mysterious “dial-up” contraption is? Well, there is only one thing you need to do: check out No Great Loss’ ‘Eternal Sleep’ now!
