No Turning Back

In an era when punk and hardcore often rely on stripped-down formulas, distinguishing one act from the next can prove challenging. An unusual blend of location and musical roots sometimes enables a group to transcend a stack of handmade 7-inch records and land support slots alongside punk’s most revered figures. That path describes the trajectory of the Dutch quartet No Turning Back. Since forming in 1997, the band channeled its devotion to N.Y.C. hardcore into more than a decade of full-length albums, EPs, and split releases. Their earliest recording, the 1997 demo Shadow of Darkness, surfaced soon after the group’s inception. The first widely available title arrived in 2000 with the EP Beautiful Lies, issued on the band’s own Bust! Records imprint. Subsequent EPs and cassettes kept the name circulating until 2003, when the debut long-player Revenge Is a Right appeared as a co-release with Reality Records. A second album, Damage Done, followed in 2004. Continued shorter releases helped solidify their presence within European punk circles. The 2006 album Holding On expanded that reach, prompting tours across North America, Japan, Brazil, and much of Europe. Those shows placed No Turning Back alongside such icons as Bad Brains, Sick of It All, Hatebreed, and Gorilla Biscuits. Capitalizing on the momentum, the band revisited earlier material in 2007 and assembled the retrospective 1997-2007 for release on Bust! Records. The lineup—Martijn on vocals, Emiel on guitars, Giel on bass, and Robin on drums—returned to original studio work with the April 2008 album Stronger.