No Warning – “Torture Culture” [Album Review]

It is hard to describe how perfect the production is on Torture Culture. It exists on the golden edge of nostalgic intensity, contemporary brutality, and a sound that was embodied by a band that put Toronto on the map of underground hardcore proper. While the band may have burned brightest before their quiet dissolution in 2005, this LP is a clear signifier that the group is ready to take on the world in glorious heaviness. Recorded in an Ontarian native reserve and Toronto’s east end, the album plays like an unholy indictment of the ills facing that city today while appealing to the citizens of urban blights across the globe.

I have to say it, it’s kind of ridiculous how heavy this album is. It relies on solid riffs and a power that only crossover thrash has ever been able to claim as its own. Listen to “Hell Realm” and try to keep your head from banging, I dare you. See? Can’t do it. It’s a testament to the musical prowess and genre awareness that the band has that they are able to wield this kind of power in effective and awe-inspiring ways.

This album is an instant classic, and if you don’t think so, you are fake fucking news. Go pick this up and just enjoy it. It’s a goddamn treat, if only to see how well paired everything is: the vocals are guttural, yet soar to the rafters. The guitars sound like they came off an Earth Crisis record. The drums sound like they were ripped from a Cro Mags album. The whole band sounds better than ever, and it is exciting to see a Toronto act rise from the ashes to release something that I already know will be in regular rotation for myself for a long time to come. I know I won’t be the only one.

Torture Culture Track Listing:

01. Headless
02. In The City
03. Unreality
04. Beyond The Law
05. Total Surrender
06. Hell Realm
07. Like A Rebel
08. Alleys Of My Mind
09. Sanctuary
10. Animal
11. No Influence (From The Outside World)
12. Torture Culture

Run Time: 41:03
Release Date: October 13, 2017

Get fired up with the guys’ newest single, “Like A Rebel”