How many times have you seen a band solely promoted upon the premise that they featured ex-members of some other band? It happens all the time. With that in mind, I was more than a little surprised that there wasn’t very much hype around Never Surrender. Why is that? Never Surrender features Porcell on vocals, who has spent time in bands such as Judge, Shelter, and Youth of Today. If this isn’t enough to pique the interest of hardcore fans, I don’t know what is. So why there hasn’t been much talk of this release, I don’t know,

This E.P. doesn’t come off sounding like some long lost Judge songs, which is a slight disappointment, but not exactly surprising, considering Porcell is just handling vocal duties this time around. Instead, this release takes on a bit of a thrash/metal feel, mixed with a healthy dose of hardcore. Porcell’s vocals take the form of screams, rather than shouts or yells; but that seems to fit the music better. The band’s name may seem cliché to some people, but it is actually a statement about the member’s own convictions. They’ve been sticking to their guns for a long time, while others have come and gone.

I had huge expectations for this EP, so I guess I was setting myself up for a bit of disappointment. However, it’s still a good listen for anyone who likes their music intense, yet catchy. Never Surrender most likely won’t ascend to the status of the aforementioned bands; but few bands do. If you come into this expecting an instant classic, you’re going to end up being let down, but if you just come into this looking for something that’s fun to sing and pump your fists along to, you’ll enjoy this.