PRO-PAIN - "STRAIGHT TO THE DOME" (Hardcore Silverbacks from the NYC back in 2012 via "RAWHEAD INC." & "SUNNY BASTARDS", CD-Release)

PRO-PAIN - "STRAIGHT TO THE DOME"
("Rawhead Inc." & "Sunny Bastards Records"; CD):

Oh fucking yeahr, damn bloody whoaaaa, yes, baby, that's what I'm talking 'bout!!! Yeahrrr!!! Hm, okay, okay, before it gets here and now too euphoric and too out of hands at once, uhm, let me take a deep and calm breath, huuuuuaaaaah, okay, maybe also a second one, huuuuuuaaaaaah, yes, now it's better, and then which means from now on slowly one after another, so here we go: Here it is, my review on the new PRO-PAIN full length album release. And all of you who read this blog at last a little bit more regulary and frequently and this now maybe also already for a little bit longer may already know, that this band is and always was really and truly damn important for me, something that I used to point out so far already in two ''Videos'' tribute postings to PRO-PAIN in the past (one in 2010 and one in 2011 I think) as well as in the mighty "NEW YORK HARDCORE TRIBUTE" post I did at the end of 2010 and which also, only logically and more than just somehow justified and surely also damn necessary, featured PRO-PAIN beside many other legends and great bands then and now of the NYHC movement and scene from out of the Big Apple, the city that never sleeps. And so now here it is, the new album of the silverbacks grouped around the PRO-PAIN mastermind Gary Meskil. My last experience with this roughnecks had been the "NO END IN SIGHT" album some years ago, but to my dislike and misfortune this was some sort of a dissapointing let down for me. By far too much Metal, mostly all the Hardcore and with it all the PRO-PAIN typical unique characteristicas had been suddenly wiped away just for the showcasing of some advanced Thrash Metal affair that could have been done by any Modern Metal band of today, after also on the albums before this one, especially "FISTFUL OF HATE" and "PROPHECIES OF DOOM", were by far more metallic than what PRO-PAIN once created by themselves (and trust me, I know that PRO-PAIN had always been a pretty metallic Hardcore band, and no problems with that), and "NO END IN SIGHT" then finally set the ''crown'' on it all, and while it was in no way a anyhow bad album it was in the whole PRO-PAIN context a (big) let down. The follow up album, "ABSOLUTE POWER", then I just listened to shortly here in the local record store and in my perception back then- but it's just a very ''short'' perception and so if it is terribly wrong then sorry, my fault, my ignorance last year or so I guess- it was also still too much done in the nearly pure Metal way of "NO END IN SIGHT", at least for me, very modern or something like this for sure but anyway by far too much generic, and so it really gave me nothing and so it is the first and so far only PRO-PAIN full length that is not a part of my collection so far (even I will surely change this some day, if only for reasons of making my collection one day complete again). So, yes, since some years this new one here, "STRAIGHT TO THE DOME", is my first experience with this legends again since quite some years. I was suprised to see that this album saw some to me drastic changes of the band line up; so where the hell is Tom Klimchuck gone?; as well as a new unexpected record label behind it (damn it, I would have not expected "SUNNY BASTARDS RECORDS" to put out the new album of a band like PRO-PAIN, really not), and all in all my curiosity awaked heavily again when I saw this disc and got it without a second thought, and so now here we are, me and the new PRO-PAIN album "STRAIGHT TO THE DOME" and here's also my review on it. So, okay, I bought it last month and I took it with me and I was really damn curious. What would I have to expect? What would be coming for me? I grabbed it without listening to it, thinking about it in the record store I only came to the simply only conclusion that I fucking need to have it and call it my very own as soon as anyhow possible. I felt that it was about time, that finally a new PRO-PAIN album joins the ranks of my finally again (even it's slowly) evergroing record collection, and so I bought it and the album did join my already mentioned record collection, excited and curious about it. This time I even spared it me off (hopefully you understand what I want to say with this words, I have not a single clou if I can say it this way in english...) to take already a first listen to it in my car during the drive home, I really wanted to wait to give it at home a full blast first listen on my stereo, and so I did, even I nearly couldn't wait for finally listen to it. So I just came home and turned on my stereo, hammered the CD down in the player, cranked the volume up, pressed play, and... Whoooaaaaa, what a damn fucking blast nailed me with my back to the wall without remorse, without regrets: Bang!!! Bang!!! Bang!!! The opener and title track "STRAIGHT TO THE DOME" was and respectively is such an enormous jackhammer of a song that will really leave only burned earth and bloody splattered remains, a statement that PRO-PAIN are back as strong as before in their heydays and that they are back for more, back to stay, in it for the long haul, and that's just so damn great, a statement like this is always good and fine and necessary. And so it goes on and on, eleven new tracks long in total plus some bonus tracks, four at all, which are "EGG RAID ON MOJO" which is in fact a BEASTIE BOYS cover tune to honour the this year on cancer died Adam "MCA" Yauch (or how his name was, hm, and I think he did died this very year), then also "DESTROY THE ENEMY" in a early demo version from 2010 (a song pretty unknown to me, so I would guess it's from their "ABSOLUTE POWER" full length album if I'm not totally wrong currently), and then two live tracks, "STAND TALL" the opener track of their "ACT OF GOD" masterpiece recorded live in 2011 on their "20 YEARS OF HARDCORE" tour and their larger than life classic "POUND FOR POUND" recorded live back then in 2001 on tour at a concert in Sittard, Netherlands. All four bonus tracks are cool and nice shit and make this album even more worthful and valuable, but what matters really and most are the eleven new tracks, from the opener "STRAIGHT TO THE DOME" to the last new track "ZUGABE", and here they know incredible heavy to convince and this also as much as they didn't for now some if not maybe even long years already. And what shall I say, I love this album, this band anyhow, but also finally again their brandnew album. So here's what you get from "STRAIGHT TO THE DOME": Finest Hardcore from out of the backstreets of the NYC the original PRO-PAIN way par excellence!!! They are really and definitely back to their old strength and glory, and for this they get a extra big ''Hell yeahrrr!!!" from me here and now. All filled with roughless energy and a raw and harsh forceful delivery, all truly pretty damn skilled and made grapping and exciting, kept fresh and lively. Thumbs up!!! This album brings me back into the times when I held with curious and excited feelings albums like "CONTENTS UNDER PRESSURE", "PRO-PAIN", "ACT OF GOD", "ROUND SIX", and "SHREDS OF DIGNITY" in my hands and listened to such albums with huge excitement and curiousity. And also the musical approach of "STRAIGHT TO THE DOME" is pretty comparable to their mentioned period, so they go somehow a little bit back to their roots after their experiemntal Metal phase over the last decade. So expect tons of mercyless stunning massive and harsh and heavy guitar work, incredible heavy and also pretty diverse (from straight moshing Hardcore sledgehammer attacks like "STRAIGHT TO THE DOME", "PAYBACK" and "FALLEN SON", just to name a few, to metallic thrashing and also slightly by SLAYER inspired massive assaults like "BLOODLUST FOR WAR" and "A GOOD DAY TO DIE", also just to name a few, to the melodic, catchy and anthemic sing a long compatible über-hit "ZUGABE" we find a lot of pretty different stuff on this one here, all heavily dominated by the strong guitar work on all levels, riffing, lead, solos, and also all pretty nicely varying in pace and structure), as well as a incredible heavy and (again) massive, very beefy and bulky and damn precise and tight rhythm section, and the totally charismatic lead shoutings by Gary Meskil, backed up here and there by roughnecked gang shouts. All done by veteran musicians totally in command of their instruments and with a strong songwriting ability, keeping it all intense and grapping over the complete distance. On top of it all we get also a big bunch of cool and damn good lyrics, from personal fighting issues to pretty political topics, finishing it off with their ode to the life on tour and their homage to their fans in "ZUGABE" we find a lot of different stuff that they give us here to celebrate and sing a long with them to. The production sound is very heavy and tight and just pure gold and the artwork is maybe not the best and especially not the most creative one in the world but it's still an pretty okay done job after all. So, all in all, what can I say more that I haven't said already, maybe just that this is a great amazing album, I love this stuff, and so be sure that you will find this album definitely in the ranks of my top ten list of this very year of 2012. Good to see that they are back, so cheers to PRO-PAIN!!! Old School moshing, metallic, heavy, thrashing Crossover styled Hardcore from the NYC at its damn fucking very best!!! And: Buy it!!! HARDCORE!!! FIST!!! (10 of 10 points)
(http://www.pro-pain.com/)