Fistful of Hate

There is a level of respectability with Pro-Pain, mostly because in spite of all the wild stylistic shifts that metal’s mainstream friendly offshoots have gone through; they’ve yet to really deviate from their original formula. Their hair is short, their lyrics are downright pissed off, and while their songs are short and their riffs tend to be more groovy and thrashing, they do lend themselves a bit more to a metal mindset than the homeboys gone wild excrement that Biohazard unleashed on the NYHC scene. Be this as it may, in spite of a few well placed shouts and all the catchiness in the world, there isn’t really too much about these guys that outright dazzle the ears or crush one’s skull the way an Overkill or a Destruction might.

As one might gather from past experience with this band, what ensues on “Fistful Of Hate” is unfettered lyrical angst, directed primarily within the context of its time, the 2004 election cycle. While I can’t fault the band for jumping on a bandwagon that extended such a wide range of artists, from reputable ones like Dio to 2-bit hacks like Disturbed, they didn’t really succeed to the level that one would expect given the contempt-worthy subject matter. The music is plenty pissed off, loaded with raging barks of indignation, but manifests more in that dry, tired sort of anger that was heard on “Reinventing The Steel”. Occasionally you can pick out a few diamonds in a seemingly endless pile of mundane coal, but for the large part this just comes off as a slightly better version of Pantera in the mid 90s.

The opening song “Can You Feel It?” basically sets the tone for about 80% of the album. Stuck in just slightly above mid-tempo land, this fully embodies the half-thrash spirit as exemplified by early Machine Head. The riffs are a little better though, definitely leaning towards a slower version of what was heard out of Bay Area bands 17 years prior to this album, rather than the really tedious, slowed down speed metal riffs that occupied most of “Burned My Eyes”. Essentially they use “Davidian”, the best song on the aforementioned album, and dressed it up with better guitar solos and an occasional reference to Pantera’s blander brand of groove. It gets a bit tiresome after the first 3 songs, but the band carries it fairly well and made the smart decision of continuing with the same punchy, heavy but not muddy or grating guitar tone they’ve displayed from the band’s birth.

They break out of this formula occasionally, essentially culminating in the two best songs on the album. “American Dreams” upholds the mid-tempo trend present through the bulk of this opus of angst, but parades out downright classic hardcore chorus that just commands you to shave your head and shout “Fuck Uncle Sam” while punching the sky in time with the snare drum. “The Better Half Of Forever” is something of a rarity for Pro-Pain in that it’s a full out instrumental that has just a few too many riffs and is way too fast and fun for run of the mill groove metal. There’s groovy parts to it, just like there might be groovy sections found on “The Years Of Decay”, but it’s definitely a full out thrash number, complete with fancy solo interchanges and intricate, rather than lame and ball shrinking breakdowns.

If you’re in complete, head over heels, I’m gay for Rob Flynn love with “Davidian” and want to hear it 8 or 9 different ways, with the occasional moment of brilliance, you might want to look for this in your local bargain bin. A better course of action would be individual song download at your reputable, legitimate mp3 dealer, particularly concerning “The Better Half Of Forever”, “American Dreams”, and the title track. These NYHC veterans may win the award for consistency, but they’ve yet to discover the fine art of subtlety and variation that made Suicidal Tendencies and Corrosion Of Conformity mind blowing.