INTRODUCING: No Relief

Last year was a big one for NO RELIEF. Building on the momentum of their debut EP Ritual Oppressor from the year before, the Brighton metallic hardcore outfit shot to the forefront of their hometown’s thriving BN1 scene, landing support slots with some of the best bands hardcore has ever had to offer like TERROR and MADBALL alongside all manner of outstanding UKHC groups like GROVE STREET, LAST WISHES and the legendary KNUCKLEDUST. Bassist Joel Riddington and guitarist Jonny Tate tell us they would be happy enough if 2024 was a repeat of the same, but with another killer EP up their sleeves in the form of Destroy Your World it could well be even better.

It’s all happened pretty quickly too, as Riddington explains, “I was always into punk and stuff growing up, and then me and the vocalist Ethan [Barry] were mates pretty much through that. He introduced me to a lot of hardcore because his old man’s into it. We got into some deep dives and that’s pretty much how the band started. It was a bit of a lockdown thing and then at the end of lockdown we found Jonny, wrote some more bits and started playing shows together.”

“For me, getting into hardcore dates back to my dad showing me punk stuff when I was really young,” adds Tate. “There were your household names like the RAMONES and THE CLASH, even early GALLOWS and stuff, so that was kind of the point where I realised it was something that I wanted to get more into. And then growing up just dabbling in stuff like metalcore, hardcore has always been on the horizon for me.”

The band went through a few members before the release of Ritual Oppressor, even pursuing more of a metalcore sound inspired by the likes of RENOUNCED at first, but soon enough they settled on their current line-up, with Tate and fellow guitarist Oscar Rainy taking the lead in writing the music. “We were into an amalgamation of different types of hardcore at the time, and I think we were so excited to get anything out that there wasn’t much of a thought process of what we wanted to sound like,” offers Riddington. “I think the sound really came about as soon as Jonny joined.”

And it’s developed since then too, the band growing increasingly sure of who they are and what they want to sound like with every passing show. “Ritual probably isn’t the best representation of the band now,” suggests Tate. “I feel like although it’s been a year and four months since that release, we’ve come such a long way. We’ve played all around the UK, supported some of the best bands in hardcore full stop – not just in the UK scene – and I think Destroy Your World is more of what we want to keep doing for the foreseeable.”

Seeing as they’ve hinted at it, we have to ask – what was it like playing with MADBALL and TERROR? For Riddington, “it’s a bit of a tricky one because it’s like you’ve got something to prove when you’re playing with legacy bands, but then also you don’t want to break from the mould of what you do every other show. It’s a bit scarier for sure, but I think you play the same way you would if you were playing in the corner of a pub – it’s always gotta be the same thing.”

“With MADBALL you can tell that they’re having a great time on stage,” adds Tate. “As soon as they see the crowd participating, getting the lyrics and stuff, they’re into it just as much as we are when we see our mates knowing the words. So I guess what we learned from them is just to stay passionate about it because it’s important, and to try to put on a good show. There’s no ego there whatsoever, they see us in hardcore merch and they just see a younger version of themselves and that’s it. There’s no cool guy aspect or anything. The crazy thing about this genre is you can look up to these people but you’re in touching distance of them.”

Of course, that’s what’s always been special about hardcore, and it’s exactly what makes NO RELIEF’s beloved BN1 scene such an exciting place at the moment. Riddington and Tate are quick to pay tribute to the bands that paved the way like PLASTICS, IMPOSTER, STONE HAND and SALT WOUND, and indeed the promoters, photographers, videographers, zine-writers, showgoers and everyone else that makes Brighton hardcore happen. “I think it’s accessible,” suggests Riddington. “Brighton’s quite an open-armed place anyway, and I think our scene definitely embodies that.”

“It’s not just a load of straight males,” concurs Tate. “The fact that when we play a show we look up and there’s all different people in front of you I guess makes it more inviting, because Brighton collectively isn’t just a straight male city really so it just means people are more comfortable coming to shows I guess.”

And long may it continue. UKHC is crushing it up and down the country at the moment and NO RELIEF are one of our very best, even if they’re far too humble to say it themselves. “We’re just a bunch of a bunch of dickheads just trying to write cool stuff,” smiles Tate. “We’re just trying to take things step by step and see where it gets us because it’s already taken us to a point where we didn’t think it was gonna go.”

Destroy Your World is out now via Rest Assured Records.

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