REVIEW: Grail Guard - Still No Future
- Jasmine Longhurst
- Mar 4
- 2 min read
Hailing from the West Midlands comes a new British hardcore punk band with something to prove: GRAIL GUARD are steaming out of Coventry with spittle-flecked lyricism, shouting down the ridiculous yet sadly deep-rooted racism found among Britain’s streets, crying out for a change, and hoping for better for everyone who needs it. Debut album Still No Future takes its name from the infamous track No Future - released by the SEX PISTOLS in 1977 and yet still ringing true, it’s a fitting name for an album that is coming out 50 years from the start of British punk.
Whilst it usually feels mundane and unnecessary to comment on the heritage of a band and its members for a multitude of reasons, in this case it does seem not only necessary but in fact specifically important. Lead vocalist RIAZ RAWAT grew up as a British Indian muslim, and listening to second single Our Streets takes you right through his and his family’s story, and why it’s as important as ever to combat facism, racism, and discrimination of any kind wherever it may be found.
With a furiously frenetic approach to their music, the band play with the kind of frantic energy that can only come from the punk scene. Front foot forward bass lines run rampant underneath four-to-the-floor drums that pin the crunching guitars into place, whilst RIAZ’s yelled vocals hit like a truck and carry the potency of their message with both passion and a singularly commanding presence at once.
Third and final single Anxieties is a clear highlight on the album, with the chant of “Fuck you, you fascist scum” being ever so enjoyable to yell along to, and for this writer Alan also found itself high on the list with its similarities to GALLOWS’ guitar style and tone feeling ever so nostalgic and intensely enjoyable. The Rotten takes plenty of satisfaction from rightfully putting down the hollow elite class, from the lack of emotion and compassion to their penchant for warmongering, whereas those looking for something a bit more abrasive and guttural will benefit from finale Rats.wav, where the harshness of more modern metallic hardcore bleeds through that bit further into an intensely aggressive finish to the record.
The LP is built on foundations that were set five decades ago, and whilst to some that might sound like it’s being set up to sound old or nostalgic, the record feels as vital as anything else being released today. Whilst it certainly takes less influence from the current crop of hardcore heroes, and does hark back to an earlier sound, it’s written in a way that manages to be fresh and in-your-face, even without the pure assault on the senses of some of their peers.
All this goes to say that GRAIL GUARD have not only come out of the gates swinging, but they’ve done so entirely on their own terms by embracing their own style. Proudly, defiantly standing up to so many of the issues that plague the world today, the group are on for a winner with Still No Future - ironically, it may well be cementing their own future.
Score: 8/10
Still No Future will be released on March 6th 2026 via TNS Records.
Words: Jasmine Longhurst
Photos: Grail Guard
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