A fresh blend of punk, post-hardcore, and melodic bursts - dive into their boldest sound yet!
Hailing from Montreal, Canada, ‘H’ is No Real Hero‘s first release of new material since 2018. The band originally emerged in 2012 as a hard rock outfit, but have since progressed and gone through changes in both their line-up and their musical direction.
No Real Hero are:
Denis Joannette : Vocals
Phil Bélanger : Guitar
Fred Bizier : Guitar
Chris Joannette : Bass & synths
Luc Doucet : Drums
First track ‘Intro (Coming Home)’ is…something of an acquired taste. The emotive vocals, sparse guitar backing and synthesised beats are pleasant enough, but when the semi-rapped backing vocals kick in, the result sounds uncomfortably like Linkin Park. Not a great start, all told.
Thankfully ‘Fall With Me’ is much more promising. Those emotive vocals sound a lot more impressive with driving, melodic punk rock – plus the odd metallic and post-hardcore twist here and there – behind them, and the band certainly have a way with a catchy melody. There are also echoes of their countrymen Alexisonfire at times.
Third track ‘Let The Dark Consume Us’ features an eerie sampled-dialogue intro before bursting into some nimble-fingered riffing in a Rise Against meets Strung Out vein. The real appeal of this one, though, is its widescreen chorus, which will no doubt sound even more epic with packed crowds singing along.
‘Where The End Is Never Near’ is a mid-paced effort with some maddeningly catchy guitar work and another great chorus, whilst you can imagine many a fist in the air to anthemic closing track ‘Oxycontent’. Iron Maiden trying their hand at punk and post-hardcore? Yeah…kinda.
Overall, a very good effort that marks No Real Hero out as ones to keep an eye (and ear) on. Out now via Thousand Islands Records – stream ‘H‘ HERE
- INTRO (COMING HOME)
- FALL WITH ME
- LET THE DARK CONSUME US
- WHERE THE END IS NEVER NEAR
- OXYCONTENT
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I spend my days teaching English to foreign students, and my evenings attending as many gigs as possible. Raised mainly on a diet of 90s third-wave punk, my tastes have grown to include just about anything from trad ska to thrash metal. The Ramones are my musical gods.
Did you know that we are 100% DIY? We run our own game. No one dictates to us, and no one drives what we can or cannot put on our pages – and this is how we plan to continue!
