Game
No One Wins
Quality Control HQ
April 22, 2019

Three years after their debut release, Who Will Play?, Game releases their full-length LP, No One Wins. In the build up to the release, the band put out a four-track promo cassette featuring four tracks from the album.

The band has experienced a great deal of growth in terms of their sound between Who Will Play? and No One Wins. Their influences blend together much more seamlessly this time around, creating a more polished cross-generational sound.

Consisting of members of Career Suicide, Arms Race, Fucked Up, Violent Reaction, Shrapnel and Subdued, Game blends hardcore punk and metal, like many of their contemporaries in North America. But the thing that really makes Game standout is their singer, Ola’s, vocals.

Ola seems much more powerful on No One Wins, with her singing mixing perfectly with the instrumentals without being overpowered.

Like on Who Will Play? Game perfectly combines Polish and English lyrics. I feel like the shifting between languages is more distinct, without losing any of its fluidity.

Favourite tracks include ‘Medusa,’ ‘Curse,’ and ‘Chimera.’ ‘Medusa’ was the opening track on the promo cassette and it’s the one that got me really excited about this album. Overall, Ola exhibits a lot of presence and strength throughout this album, but ‘Medusa’ is one of those tracks where it really stands out to me.

The singing style on ‘Chimera’ has a very 80s New York hardcore feel to it. The singing is very Cro Mags stylistically, while still being distinctly different.

The final track, ‘Foundation & Empire,’ has great buildup and doesn’t lose any of the steam of previous tracks, despite being the longest track on the album.

With lyrics like “the end of eternity” being shouted as the tempo starts to drop, this makes a great ending track. It contains an outro, but they work their way up to it, without just cutting to an end.

While the physical album isn’t available until April 22, you can run to Quality Control HQ’s bandcamp and get the digital album now.

The band will be touring the East Coast and Canada in August.

-Linsey McFadden