Amongst the other monoliths in the current Boston straight edge hardcore scene—groups such as The Rival Mob, Boston Strangler, and so forth—No Tolerance remains slightly in the shadows. Sharing members with the above aforementioned bands, No Tolerance has only just released their first “full-length” release after their demo and a 7’’ on Youngblood Records (not to mention a European compilation of these two previous releases). There was much anticipation for this record by hardcore aficionados, especially considering the four year gap between this release and their previous one. Given the people involved, no one should be surprised by the contents on “You Walk Alone.” This LP consists of 12 tracks of uncompromising hardcore in less than 20 minutes. 

Upon first listen, the music does not deviate too much from the ensemble’s previous releases; the listener is treated to tight, well-executed hardcore heavily influenced by SSD and Confront. Justin DeTore’s vocals especially call to mind Springa’s quick, indecipherable delivery on SSD’s classic releases. No Tolerance does add more variety to their assault on this release, however. In tracks such as “Victimized” and “Judgement Day” there is a strong youth crew/NYHC vibe that infiltrates the lightning fast delivery of the album. Unlike in the past, several tracks exceed the 2 minute mark, allowing moments of mid-paced delivery to break up the monotony. This variety allows the band to explore more depth of sound compared to their past endeavors where tracks rarely exceeded one minute of stop/start brutality. The end result is a an excellent selection of hardcore that draws from the best elements of Boston and NYC, while also retaining a hint of Infest-esque bursts of pseudo-powerviolence in tracks like “Losing Control.” The album closes out with the slow building title track, incorporating the different hardcore tropes present throughout the album, and rising into a burly crescendo until slowly fading out. With “You Walk Alone,” No Tolerance have created an excellent reputation of hardcore both old and new while also cementing themselves as the best band currently going in the Boston scene.