Album Reviews
Pro-Pain must be among the fiercest proponents of the ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ adage. When I first heard 1994’s The Truth Hurts, I was won over by the band’s mix of pummeling drums and riffs, Gary Meskil’s raspy bark, short but effective solos and catchy choruses. I kind of lost track of the band following 2007’s Age Of Tyranny, when they were still churning out the exact same kind of tunes. Since then, they’ve released five more albums, the last of which was 2015’s Voice Of Rebellion.
Fast-forward 11 years and the band is back with Stone Cold Anger, their first album for Napalm Records and their sixteenth full-length overall. And guess what? Pro-Pain still sound very much like Pro-Pain as they burn through ten new cuts. Featuring the return of former guitarist Eric Klinger, the band storms out of the gate with punishing opener ‘Oceans Of Blood’ and keeps up the pressure until ‘Sky’s The Limit’ rounds the album out half an hour later.
In between, they treat us to bruisers like ‘March Of The Giants’, the equally bludgeoning ‘Demonic Intervention’ and the anthemic ‘Scorched Earth’. It’s all relentlessly driving drums, scorching riffage and Meskil, who still doesn’t sound like a happy camper. The only time they deviate from their musical course - which, like Meskil’s eternal scowl, seems carved in stone - is on the punky ‘Uncle Sam Wants You’, which even packs a catchy singalong section.
Thirty-five years into their career, Pro-Pain continue to show remarkable restraint when it comes to musical evolution. And judging by Stone Cold Anger, that’s hardly a bad thing.
Stone Cold Anger track listing:
- Oceans of Blood
- Stone Cold Anger
- March of the Giants
- Uncle Sam Wants You
- Demonic Intervention
- Rinse & Repeat
- Hell or High Water
- Scorched Earth
- Jonestown Punch
- Sky's the Limit
Lacking the talent to actually play in a band, Tom decided he would write about bands instead. Turns out his writing skills are mediocre at best as well.
