One of the best crossover albums in many years…
Review by Stephen Brophy
Release date: 22nd June 2015
Rising from the ashes of seminal New York crossover band Crumbsuckers, Gary Meskil (bass and vocals) and Dan Richardson (drums) formed Pro-Pain in 1991. Although his tenure in the band didn’t last long, in the early years the band briefly also contained fellow Crumbsuckers guitarist Chuck Lenihan, and with Richardson moving from the band in 2007, the driving force in Pro-Pain has always been Meskil, a fact established early on in the band’s existence when he took on vocal duties on top of playing bass. Their initial output of Foul Taste Of Freedom and The Truth Hurts were big hits with me, especially the latter with ‘Make War (Not Love)’, ‘The Truth Hurts’ and personal favourite ‘Switchblade Kife’. They have had their ups and downs, possibly fallen between genres, and they have certainly speeded up their delivery and the aggression, which is no bad thing with the style of music they deliver.
Voice Of Rebellion is a powerhouse of an album which has really pleasantly surprised me. Having not really paid much attention to the last couple of releases, to be pummelled from the opening bar of the title track was just brilliant. You are left in no illusion as to what will follow and where Pro-Pain are coming from in 2015. Meskil sounds truly angry here and there must been something that has been injected by the relative new blood of Jonas Sanders (drums) and Adam Philips (guitar). Whatever has happened to solidify this particular lineup, it’s definitely made a huge difference. This album might see them hitting their stride and releasing the best quality albums of their twenty-four-year career.
Along with the excellent title track which drags you back for more time after time, other highlights are ‘Righteous Annihilation’, ‘Bella Morte’ and ‘DNR (Do Not Resuscitate)’. All over we have some excellent guitar work from Stephens and Phillips, the riffs are solid and crunchy. But that’s not all; there are some terrific solos here too. The guys aren’t held back, the freedom and being included in the creative process has clearly aided the band as a whole to create something special. Meskil’s vocals fit so well with the general tempo and theme of the tracks, nothing necessarily different with the delivery, but it’s sharp as a tack. The lyrical content handles issues that must almost write themselves in our modern times and everything works like a charm. The drums are on point from start to finish irrelevant of the tempo of the song in question and add to the overall sound.
If you lost touch with Pro-Pain do yourself a favour and add this to the collection. It’s an absolutely cracking album, not cheery, not designed for the easy listening section; it is one of the best crossover albums in many years and has that ability to transport you back 20 years straight into the pit.
9 out of 10
Track Listing:
- Voice Of Rebellion
- No Fly Zone
- Righteous Annihilation
- Souls On Fire
- Take It To The Grave
- Age Of Disgust
- Bella Morte
- Cognitive Dissonance
- Blade Of The Cursed
- Crushed To Dust
- Enraged
- Hellride
- DNR (Do Not Resuscitate)
- Fuck This Life
