Fistful of Hate

My dear friends, there are two types of Pro-Pain albums. Those with very direct songs and those with even more direct songs. "Fistful of Hate" falls under the first category. The material possesses the necessary amount of anger and bitterness and the conventional song patterns are a matter of course. (Only the respectable instrumental with the almost philosophical name "The Better Half of Forever" connects many different parts.) The riffing paints pictures where dark colours dominate. But the more or less consistent mid-tempo approach prevents a more effective impact of the compositions. Due to whatever reason, Pro-Pain do not unleash the beast. I don't say that the album lacks energy, but the group has already proven that it can do a better job.

The lyrics reflect the well known attitude of Gary Meskil and his partners. Already the opener makes clear that the listener is entering a hostile territory ("So, are you sick of me yet? / Well I'm sick of you too") and "American Dreams", for instance, deals with the stereotype that US Americans prefer to discover the world by war. Speaking of this tune, it is one of two tracks with a surprisingly harmonic chorus. It almost seems as if the band had the intention to hit the charts. Pretty absurd idea. Be that as it may, I prefer the other relatively melodic track, namely "Godspeed". Its melodic chorus shines with a perfect flow and provides the reason why this song stands out. But these smooth sections remain exceptional. Generally speaking, the quartet acts like a steamroller, not overly fast, but rigorous and efficient. Pounding metal, already the Canadian legend Exciter knew it, will never die.

Due to the lack of speed, the album has not much in common with thrash metal and it also does not bother the listener with an overdose of groovy parts. It spreads some hardcore vibes, but after all, it's just pessimistic, bone dry metal. One can discuss whether this approach reaches the highest degrees of excitement, but in my humble opinion, it also does not result in a predictable album. Even better, the song-writing skills of the formation are beyond question and this guarantees a proper number of good pieces. It does not matter that Meskil's raw and throaty voice sounds pretty one-dimensional, because the formidable guitar work prevents a mediocre output. Even at the end of the running order, one finds well defined tracks like "Lost Horizons". No classics, but very coherent and strong songs.

Finally, the deep sound of the guitars creates a more or less depressive atmosphere. Pro-Pain level the ground and they do it diligently. I cannot say that the music reflects the band's joy of playing. I rather smell the sweat of these hard-working men. This does not exclude the successful integration of nearly emotional parts ("Cut Throat"), but they do not mirror the prevailing mood. If one wants to listen to a very representative track, I recommend "Save Face" with its dragging riff and its uncomfortable atmosphere. But it is definitely no mistake to lend an ear to the other tracks as well. This, my dear friends, applies at least if you like direct songs.

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.