Oh yes it’s a flashback alright, first song here ‘Deathwish’ states that clearly and what we get on these 12 tracks are Pro-Pain at their best harking right back to the sound that defined them all those years ago on 1992 debut ‘Foul Taste Of Freedom.’ As they have on recent years they are pitching us straight into the warzone and doing it for the troops who have supported them over 14 albums. I have to admit their last one Straight To The Dome which appeared on the unknown Sunny Bastards label in 2012 completely escaped me. No doubt I shall have to track it down as every time I hear a new album by the New York heavyweights I get completely re-energised and want to dip back in and play them all. The Final Revolution sees Pro-Pain sounding stripped down and raw with a similar well suited production to match. The 12 songs are all to the point with no fucking about in the slightest as they hit you hard, averaging at just under the three minute mark and move over allowing the next anthem to bounce on in.
We start with the aforementioned ‘Deathwish’ a right catchy bastard with chugging guitars brooding in over a roar and the guttural vocals of Gary Meskil sounding like someone you certainly wouldn’t want to fuck with. Apparently he wrote all the lyrics to this one himself and boy does he sound pissed off and indignant at times. The leaden groove here is complemented by some powerful surging guitar solos from newest recruit Adam Philips and the band really sound on fire here. Listening to this it’s so obvious that it has been far too long since I last caught the band live, in fact with the last UK dates falling through its been bloody years and that needs to be rectified as the band are one hell of a force when they are up close and in your face.
This album does not let up in the slightest, the anger, violence and pace sees it firing on all cylinders. It’s the sort of disc you put on headphones to go on what should be an hour long walk and find yourself arriving at your destination in 30 minutes leaving a trail of wreckage in your wake. It’s nigh on impossible to choose a favourite track. ‘Problem Reaction Solution’ is certainly a contender as it steams along in the vein of classic number ‘Make War Not Love’ and delivers a whiplash inducing chorus and one of those fiery guitar solos for good measure. We hope that ‘The Final Revolution’ is just the name of the song and album and not a statement that the band are packing it in, the number itself certainly takes hold and steamrollers over with rousing gang shouts backing it up. As for ‘All Systems Fail’ well even if things are FUBAR with a mass mosh mind-set at least everyone’s going to go out chanting along to chorus in a blaze of glory. And the songs keep on coming without any mercy. Want Some? Yep bring it is the only answer to that one! That’s definitely the single / cover-mount track of the album in my book. When it’s over 36 minutes after it started it seems like the album has been rushing towards completion on a mad dash since right at the beginning. But that’s not a problem as it just makes you want to play it again, which I have been doing lots!
Well the truth certainly did hurt when we heard and wondered what the hell Meskil was doing on his shockingly bad Darkhaus project of “Euro dance pop rock.” This has definitely made up for that and as far as Pro-Pain are concerned keep lining the albums up and we will keep happily knocking them back; great stuff.
(8/10 Pete Woods)
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