No Warning officially called it quits in late 2005, but for most of us, the band died when this photograph surfaced. I figured No Warning was headed for a career in rock-n-roll's vast array of mediocre bands that came from a hardcore background, and then put out incredibly crappy albums. Remember DYS's Fire and Ice, or Uniform Choice's Staring into the Sun, or maybe even Leeway's Adult Crash? If you do, you probably shouldn't, because they all sucked and you can add No Warning's Suffer, Survive directly onto that pile of filth.
Luckily, we have On the Outside to take up the mantle of tough-as-nails hardcore with a no bullshit attitude. On the Outside sounds so much like Ill Blood era No Warning that I had look to see if there was any members of No Warning in the band. There aren't any members of No Warning here, though there is one of the guitar players from Outbreak. Neat.
Tragic Endings is to No Warning's Ill Blood as Ill Blood is to The Cro-Mags' Age of Quarrel with its menacing down tuned metallic approach to hardcore. I can see tons of violet moshing and some synchronized two-stepping in pits all across North America. Damn, you had better learn to hold your arm out or duck; if not you might take an unneeded fist or foot to the face. 90% of the songs on Tragic Endings are centered on how many mosh parts a band can throw into a two to three minute song. The other 10% are just around for filler fast parts and one extremely wanky guitar solo in "Everything I Used to Be."
Tragic Endings is a decent albeit somewhat generic tough guy hardcore album. There's really nothing new on here that you haven't heard in the last three or four years. You know exactly when the mosh part or the two step part is coming. You know at the exact moment when the big gang vocal part is going to take place. Certainly nothing new under the sun here but the production is crisp and clear and it's a fun listen. If you aren't expecting much from your typical mosh mayhem hardcore band then On the Outside will be perfect for you as you try and forget the lead singer of No Warning is actually sporting a scarf in the picture above. Hopefully, On the Outside will never put out a rock album, either. One can only pray.
