Pro-Pain – Absolute Power (2010)

Formed in the early nineties, Pro-Pain has been playing their Thrash infused Hardcore since their first release “Foul Taste of Freedom” until now with “Absolute Power”. The band’s style has not changed much over the years and continues to put out solid releases, but we feel that their sound is getting quite old to be honest. “Absolute Power” is yet another one of those good-but-sounds-tired kind of albums that we encounter every month.

Don’t get us wrong, there is nothing bad about “Absolute Power” the album has over ten songs of catchy riffs, solid vocals and powerful drumming. It’s the similarity to their older stuff what bothers us. Even while listening through this album, you will get the ‘I already heard this’ kind of feeling as the songs keep flowing.

The guitar work in “Absolute Power” is solid, providing enough riffs and solos to keep you entertained for over 30 minutes (the album duration). The song structures are very similar and like we said, the band sounds repetitive after the first 4 songs, but if you don’t mind this, then it will surely keep you engaged. There are some moments like on “Hell on Earth” that the band even hits Melodic Metal levels with their guitar work. You also get the typical Punk-ish sound like on “Divided We Stand”.

Vocal wise, Gary Meskil provides deep and solid pipes that go perfectly with the music. However, sometimes the vocal harmonies get repeated over songs making you feel that you’ve heard them before. There is a guest appearance by Schmier of Destruction on the Thrash Metal anthem “Stand My Ground”.

The rest of the music is well crafted and the drumming is particularly good, shifting through the different styles the band plays (i.e. going from Thrash on “Stand My Ground” to the Punk-ish “Divided We Stand” to the anthemic “Gone Rogue (I Apologize)”. The bass guitar is somewhat prevalent and sounds well mixed, giving it time to shine at some points.

If you are a fan of Pro-Pain, you will not be disappointed by “Absolute Power” since it sounds exactly like what you’ve heard from them in the last few years. If you are looking for a diverse album that has many things to be discovered, we advise you to shun from this one and get something else since Pro-Pain is as straightforward and ordinary as they come.

Release: June 15th, 2010

Country: USA