Pro-Pain
Age Of Tyranny - The Tenth Crusade

Tenth studio album, as can be understood from the title, of the New York combo. And a tenth hit in a career that is impeccable and consistent to the bone.

Born in '92 at the behest of singer and bassist Gary Meskil, a former member of CRUMBSUCKER, a seminal crossover metal-hardcore band of the eighties, PRO-PAIN have distinguished themselves over the years for their musical attitude and consistency as much tied to 80s hardcore as to thrash metal. Always taking a stand against the rampant "American life" and all its disastrous consequences, with this album they create a sort of concept album, equating the ancient crusades to the modern US military crusade in Asian countries. Those who know Pro-pain know that their position is not dictated by an anti-Bush fashion but is rooted deeply in the very existence of the band for the past fifteen years.

Their albums, although accused of repetitiveness by those who listen superficially, have always encapsulated differences, transitioning from the crossover of the first album and "CONTENTS UNDER PRESSURE" (1996) to the THRASH of "THE TRUTH HURTS" (1994) and "FISTFUL OF HATE" (2004) to the HARDCORE'N'ROLL of "ACT OF GOD" (1999) and "ROUND 6" (2000).

The new album leaves the heavy metal sound of the last "PROPHETS OF DOOM" (2005) to return to a faster and more rock sound in a global context. Supported by Meskil's sandpaper-like voice, the guitar with plenty of solos by TOM KLIMCHUCK (along with Meskil the only original member of the first lineup) and ERIC KLINGER, and the new drummer (although this is his third album recorded with Pro-pain) JC DWYER.

Overall, "AGE OF TYRANNY" can be defined as a summa of the PRO-PAIN sound. On one side, we have classic hardcore blasts like "LEVELER" or the opening "THE NEW REALITY", while on the other, we find songs with a rock'n'roll setting like the fun (if it can be defined as such?) "ALL FOR KING GEORGE" and "COMPANY JERK", the more modern "BEYOND THE PALE" with MATTHEW BIZILLA of ICARUS WITCH on vocals, classic thrash songs like "PIGS IN CLOVER", or heavy and smoky mid-tempos like "IMPEACH, INDICT, IMPRISON" or "IRAQNAM"

So those who love Pro-pain, here in Italy very few people (I remember a concert at the Babylonia in Biella with about fifty people), know what to expect from them. For those who haven't yet gotten to know them, in Germany, they have a much larger market than in their homeland. This album could be a good start to discover a good band that has always worked on the margins of the music business, staying away from trends and commercial circuits even in times like these where hundreds of young bands proclaim themselves Metal-core without even coming close to bands that played that genre twenty years ago, with the true attitude befitting the genre.