NEVER ENDING GAME "Outcry" LP

It’s often typical in hardcore for a band to rep where they’re from, but Never Ending Game are Detroit. From lyrics to influences to imagery, the band owe everything to the city they call home. On their upcoming albumOutrcry, out this spring on Triple B Records, the band has created a sonic blast to soundtrack those cold Detroit mornings, exuding a feeling of hopelessness and optimism at the same time.

“Detroit is everything to the band. I wouldn’t write the way I do if we came up anywhere else”, states vocalist Mikey Petroski.“From the influence of how to structure a song growing up hearing Motown, the emotion of a Bob Seger song on a summer's night on the radio, and the value of honest hard work. There’s decades of influence from all that’s come before us out of Detroit in our band's DNA. We have bands like Negative Approach and Cold As Life from here that paved the way for someone to even want to pay attention to a hardcore band coming out of Detroit. There’s a sense of pride that people from Detroit carry that’s unlike most other places. We try to wave that flag as much as possible and pay it all forward.”

Looking past the sentiments that shape the record, the songs find Never Ending Game taking their sound to the next level. Having broken out in 2018 with the release of their EP,Welcome To The…, it was the 2019 full-lengthJust Another Day that really cemented the band into a force to be reckoned with in the hardcore scene. Stemming from there and 2021’sHalo & Wings EP,Outcry comes across as absolutely immense. Fusing hardcore with more traditional metal elements, there’s big intros, catchy choruses, striking guitar solos, and still plenty of breakdowns.

The band knows they’ve created something special, leading the release with two singles - “Memories” and “Never Die.” “Memories” pulsates from the start as Petroski’s gruff vocals add to the sense of reflection offered in the lyrics, while “Never Die” compels to be a pit favorite and features Trapped Under Ice’s Justice Tripp providing guest vocals and guitars composed by Sam Trapkin, recorded by the band. Furthering into the record, the hook-driven “Tank On E” lingers in your head and closer “Something Wrong” gives a furious and melodic send-off.

WithOutrcry, Never Ending Game have created a memorable album that pays tribute to where they are from and pushes old school hardcore through a modern lens.