{"id":24345,"date":"2015-02-26T00:01:06","date_gmt":"2015-02-26T00:01:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=24345"},"modified":"2015-02-26T16:08:21","modified_gmt":"2015-02-26T16:08:21","slug":"album-review-no-return-fearless-walk-to-rise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-no-return-fearless-walk-to-rise\/","title":{"rendered":"NO RETURN – Fearless Walk To Rise (2015) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

NO RETURN
Fearless Walk To Rise<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nMighty Music (2015)<\/span>
Rating: 7\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Now here\u2019s a blast from the past! No Return is one of those very late 80s bands whose 1990 debut platter Psychological Torment<\/em> I recall hearing, and enjoying the technical thrashing energy. Fearless Walk To Rise<\/em> is the band\u2019s ninth full-length album and the follow-up to 2012\u2019s Inner Madness<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Some of the more technically gifted bands from the 80s and 90s have always had that ability to progress through the decades \u2013 avoiding fads and choosing their own direction \u2013 which is why the latest album from this French act fits nicely into the current scene. Although I\u2019m often left cold by contemporary metal, there\u2019s some modern dynamics here which really do work, allowing the instruments to remain crystal clear and the vocals to shine. <\/p>\n

The vocals of Mick Caesare are a positive; he joined in 2013 and replaced L. Chuck D. The former singer had been a member for a three-year period, but when one flicks through the history of No Return we\u2019ll find an outfit that has never had a settled formation. With only guitarist Alain Cl\u00e9ment still remaining from the original line-up, No Return is something akin to death metal masters Death in that as an entity they seem more potent and inventive by constantly changing personnel. It\u2019s no real surprise then that this new ten-track album is another masterclass in blending thrash and death metal. <\/p>\n

There\u2019s a nice varying of pace through this opus, the band finding an incredible progressive balance. This is most notable on \u2018Stronger Than Ever\u2019, which is littered with some fantastic guitar work and the ascending percussion of another relatively new member in the form of Jo\u00ebl Barbosa. <\/p>\n

Fearless Walk To Rise<\/em> is an album that will not be instant on the ears, mostly because of its complex arrangements and dehydrated vocal tones, but the more contemporary and, dare I say it, accessible side comes to the fore with tracks such as \u2018Submission Falls\u2019. Initially pacey with a stronger death metal vocal growl, the injection of melody on \u2018Submission Falls\u2019 \u2013 particularly in the voice \u2013 is a surprise, and not necessarily a welcome one. <\/p>\n

As the album progresses there are some multi-layered moments which remind me of Coroner, particularly on \u2018Face My Dark\u2019, while \u2018Bloodbath Legacy\u2019 begins with a Slayer<\/a>-esque brutality in its riffage. The latter is the best assault on the opus, charging out of the blocks rampantly and featuring some killer riffs and deathly vocal sneers. But No Return is never a band to sit with one style \u2013 even if the vocals rarely drift from their chesty sneer. <\/p>\n

The mid-tempo intensity of \u2018Sworn To Be\u2019 is another top-notch track and again features a Slayer-styled attack, but while these guys are masters of their art for me there\u2019s just not enough outstanding material. That\u2019s not to say it all operates on the same level, because there are some excellent harmonious passages \u2013 again, I refer to \u2018Sworn To Be\u2019 \u2013 and segments of rushing ferocity, but although this is a skilful metal album, there appears to be a distinct lack of thrills. I simply do not see this as a record I\u2019d be playing a great deal.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NO RETURNFearless Walk To Rise Mighty Music (2015)Rating: 7\/10 Now here\u2019s a blast from the past! No Return is one of those very late 80s bands whose 1990 debut platter Psychological Torment I recall hearing, and enjoying the technical thrashing energy. Fearless Walk To Rise is the band\u2019s ninth full-length album and the follow-up to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1652],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-no-return"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24345"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24345\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24349,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24345\/revisions\/24349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}