For Gary Meskil and his bandmates, the last few albums have been anything but convincing. You had to wonder what the hell had become of Pro-Pain, a band that helped spearhead hardcore in the 1990s.
There were simply too many experiments that did not fit. Nothing against experiments, of course: It’s good when a band is evolving. But this typically happens from one album to another. With Pro-Pain, however, it was practically from one song to another — and therefore it sounded forced. The good news is that they have significantly tightened their music, compared to the thrash-infected predecessor Straight to the Dome. Metal riffs fight thrillingly against tight bass play — and occasionally, they lose.
The bad news? With The Final Revolution, they may have gotten a little too comfy. Over a dozen songs, a sameness begins to reveal itself — beginning with the powerful and groovy “Death Wish.” A song for the mosh pit, if you are a fan of the brutal circle, it’s not all that different from “Southbound.” And so it goes, until after four songs you need a break from the sheer repetition. Unfortunately, it looks as if the age in which they wrote straight forward, yet still engaging new songs is over.
Of course, for those who hoped that Pro-Pain’s seemingly endless experimentation was in the past, that kind of consistency might be welcomed, anyway. They’re certainly doing their thing again, without regrets. The usual tour will follow, fans will once again smash heads during the concerts — and everything will be in order, if not quite so interesting anymore, in the Pro-Pain universe.
- Josephine Foster – I’m A Dreamer (2013) - January 13, 2014
- On Second Thought: Bruce Springsteen – High Hopes (2014) - January 11, 2014
- James Vincent McMorrow – Post Tropical (2014) - January 10, 2014
