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No Return - Biography


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1989-

Biography

The NO RETURN story starts in 1989 when Phil (vocals), Laurent (bass), Eric (guitar), Didier (drums) and Alain (guitar) met. It's the professionalism, the powerful and personal Metal compositions that led the new label Semetary Records to sign the band in 1990 becoming, then, their number one reference. NO RETURN was sent to Germany, at the Phoenix studio, to record their first album produced by CORONER's drummer, Marquis Marky. The result, "Psychological Torment", was a great hit both in France and Germany. This success was followed by tours and concerts with SACRED REICH, EXHORDER and many more ...

After creating even more powerful and faster compositions, the band flied to the notorious Morrisound Studio in Florida in 1991. Tom Morris is in charge this time, sound engineer for bands such as MORBID ANGEL, CORONER, SAVATAGE... The second album called "Contamination Rises" is released in 1992. It imposed the band as one of the jewels of Metal industry and it stays a reference in this genre. Followed tours and concerts with CORONER, NAPALM DEATH and SEPULTURA (Zénith, Paris).

After Phil's departure in 1992, Tanguy became the new singer of NO RETURN. The band travelled to Switzerland to record their third album at the "Studio des Forces Motrices" with engineer David Weber (YOUNG GODS, KILL THE THRILL, LOFOFORA, TREPONEM PAL...). the album," Season of the Soul", is released in 1995. The band played a few concerts before leaving for the Brutal Tour with MASSACRA, LOUDBLAST and CRUSHER, which proved that French metal interested a more and more numerous audience. The tour ended at the Elysée Montmartre venue in Paris.

Since their beginning, NO RETURN had toured through Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and of course France, with better and better gigs!

"Red Embers", a 6 tracks maxi CD, is recorded with David Weber again at the "Studio des Foces Motrices". The band hit the road once more in France and Belgium with LOFOFORA and did several concerts with LOUDBLAST, MOTORHEAD and EDGE OF SANITY.

Tanguy quitted by the end of 1998 and Laurent (KRISTENDOM) sang for NO RETURN until Steeve's arrival in 1999. The band began to work on their fifth album, "Self Mutilation". The songs turned out to be more brutal than usual and the samples added brought a new dimension to the style of NO RETURN. By the end of 1999, the band started recording the album in France in Alexis Phélipot's studio (drummer of MISANTHROPE). After the recording of "Self Mutilation", a second guitar player is added, Benoît, followed by Malko (samples) who joined just after the release of the album.

"Self Mutilation", released through the label Kodiak Records (CARNIVAL IN COAL), received a warm welcome from the specialized press, especially abroad where it hit the top of soundchecks in many magazines in Germany, Greece, Belgium, Spain ... Unprecedented since MASSACRA. The excellent gigs, more professional and more powerful than ever before, allowed the band to increase the number of fans. Numerous venues were done in France and abroad, like in Belgium and Austria, where NO RETURN attracted the attention at the Hell On Earth Festival. This show, convinced and fired with enthousiasm the audience and the other actors of the Metal scene who were there and allowed the band to get the proposition for a week tour in Europe with DARKSIDE, but it was unfortunately cancelled at the very last moment.

In October 2001, NO RETURN recorded the new album entitled "Machinery" at the CCR studios (Belgium), and mixed it in France at the FunMasters Studios. This concept album resumes the brutal efficiency of the band's Thrash/Death Metal and allowed the band to reach a modern dimension with an increased and well-integrated use of the samples, and with new melodic pieces. "Machinery" is definitely the most achieved album of the band, and confirmed its trademark, without betraying its roots.

NO RETURN got a 3 album international deal for "Machinery" with one of the greatest Metal labels, Nuclear Blast, in january 2002. A new member was filling the actual line-up : the bass player, Olivia. Tours, shows and festivals followed like the Summer Breeze festival, featuring more than 55 bands on the bill (among which DIMMU BORGIR, PRO-PAIN, TIAMAT, SAMAEL, SOILWORK, DARK TRANQUILITY, NIGHTWISH...), where the band is highly acclaimed in front of more than 6000 persons. They became one of the references of this 2002 edition.

The band then flied to Bergen (Norway) for the Hole in the Sky Fest. They were the first French band to play Norway and conquered the Norwegians with their great performance.

October 2002 : Malko left NO RETURN. In the same period, the band toured in Europe for a month with NILE and SINISTER. The excellent performances of the band showed that NO RETURN competed with the greatests.

In may 2003, Steeve left the band for musical disagreement. After several auditions, they found his replacement in Moreno (CELTIC BLOOD, INHERITANCE), who joined in september. The band then finished the composition of its new album and went in studios in november to record the new tracks, before the recording of the album scheduled in february 2004...

Olivia has left NO RETURN at the end of 2004 to concentrate herself on GARWALL and on her other Jazz projects. She is replaced by Loïc from SCARVE which joined the band to record the album and play next gigs. Loïc is the new NO RETURN's bass player,

December 2004, the new album is almost finished... news will come soon...

Official No Return biography: http://www.noreturn.fr.st/