In 2026 UK punk will be celebrating 50 years. In 1976 the far right were growing strong. Politics was full of corruption. Newspapers spread lies and hate. Riots were common as huge sections of society felt marginalised and forgotten. The political and social background of 2026 shares many common features with the 1970s. Again we see the rise of the far right, but now more organised than ever, with huge global backers such as Trump and Musk and algorithms that promote and monetise far right content. Fingers of blame pointing towards foreigners stoking fear. Corrupt politicians lying and protecting their own. Cost of living crisis that highlights the rich getting richer; more billionaires than at any point in history; and the poor getting poorer. Forged in anger, solidarity and decades of shared experience, Grail Guard have today released their debut album, Still No Future, via TNSrecords.
Anger and rage are two well trodden paths in punk. These paths are used to navigate out of troubled landscapes and encourage new voices to emerge. Those voices continue to call out hypocrisy, and greed and shout for change. Protest has been the beating heart of punk and is needed now more than ever. Young people of today still face many challenges that are the same as fifty years ago. Racism. Sexism. Xenophobia. Mass unemployment. Poor working conditions. Misogyny. Transphobia. The Sex Pistols shouted No Future in 1977 and with their new album Grail Guard scream there is Still No Future as many are facing the same traumatic experiences as those of the last fifty years. Grail Guard‘s frontman and lyricist, Riaz grew up as a British, Indian Muslim in a working class midlands town. Regularly facing calls from racists to ‘go back to your own country’ he has been part of DIY punk, socialist, anti-fascist and anti-racism movements since he was a child in the late 90’s.
Marching for change, fighting for a better future, Riaz is seeing his three daughters face the same prejudice as him thanks to the continued rise of Britain First, Reform and the wide reaching anti-immigration sentiment that floods our screens daily. Still No Future is rage. Still No Future is anger. The album reflects the current political, social and economic climate but could have easily existed at the very start of punk: a timeless album that hopes to bring about positive change at a particularly negative point in history. The world needs to change.
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