No Warning hit the scene hard in 2001 with its self-titled debut EP and came back in 2002 with the full-length
Ill Blood, refining its rowdy but precise take on New York-style hardcore punk.
No Warning's sound is far from melodic -- singer Ben Cook is a vitriolic, atonal screamer in the grand tradition -- but it's more complex and nuanced than that of many of the group's contemporaries. The tempos are fast but not generally headlong, and the lyrics are generally audible, for better and for worse (to summarize: He doesn't know why things always have to be this way; he doesn't care what you think; don't think he's going to change for you; you talk too much). Both lyrics and sound are comfortably predictable, except for the faint hint of optimism on the title track, which includes the lines: "Always keep the future in mind/Always fighting to make it right." It's probably a good idea not to read too much into that, though, in light of other lines like: "We can't win/They're everywhere" and "Here I am, here I hate, here I go." There's not much you can say to that, which is fine with them, because they just wish you'd shut up anyway. ~ Rick Anderson