Pro-Pain - Run For Cover
2003 - Spitfire Records
By Philip Whitehouse
Go to the Spitfire Records website.
I'm not too much of a fan of covers albums, unless there are some pretty obscure hits being reworked or the band are making a conscious effort to put their own individual stamp on the tracks within. Sadly, largely underrated thrash/hardcore stalwarts Pro-Pain haven't really done either here - admittedly, they cover Motorhead's 'Iron Fist' instead of 'Ace Of Spades', but mainly it's predictability all the way - Slayer's 'South Of Heaven', Celtic Frost's 'Circle Of The Tyrants', Sepultura's 'Refuse/Resist' - it's nothing you don't own already.
Admittedly, vocalist Gary Meskil does a fair impression of Tom G. Warrior and Max Cavalera, and his imitation of Lemmy is spookily accurate - it could be the hirstute warty one himself singing - but I'd rather hear a more original interpretation. I've got the original versions of these songs in my collection already, thanks.
On the hardcore side of things, we largely get covers of bands that Pro-Pain members either left or went on to join and the typical hardcore heroes - Crumbsuckers, Negative Approach, The Spudmonsters, and, of course, Agnostic Front, Operation Ivy and GBH.
Again, the tunes are faithfully represented (even down to Gary singing in German while covering 'Terpentin' by Bohse Onkelz), but not particularly interesting if you already have them.
Maybe I'm being harsh - it's a fun album to listen to, well played, and the songs are indisputably of a high standard throughout. It's just that I feel so much more could have been done here, and considering Pro-Pain have been fighting apathy to their quality thrash/hardcore output for some time, perhaps it's something of a tactical mishap to release something so easily ignored at this stage in their career.
5/10
2003 - Spitfire Records
By Philip Whitehouse
Go to the Spitfire Records website.
I'm not too much of a fan of covers albums, unless there are some pretty obscure hits being reworked or the band are making a conscious effort to put their own individual stamp on the tracks within. Sadly, largely underrated thrash/hardcore stalwarts Pro-Pain haven't really done either here - admittedly, they cover Motorhead's 'Iron Fist' instead of 'Ace Of Spades', but mainly it's predictability all the way - Slayer's 'South Of Heaven', Celtic Frost's 'Circle Of The Tyrants', Sepultura's 'Refuse/Resist' - it's nothing you don't own already.
Admittedly, vocalist Gary Meskil does a fair impression of Tom G. Warrior and Max Cavalera, and his imitation of Lemmy is spookily accurate - it could be the hirstute warty one himself singing - but I'd rather hear a more original interpretation. I've got the original versions of these songs in my collection already, thanks.
On the hardcore side of things, we largely get covers of bands that Pro-Pain members either left or went on to join and the typical hardcore heroes - Crumbsuckers, Negative Approach, The Spudmonsters, and, of course, Agnostic Front, Operation Ivy and GBH.
Again, the tunes are faithfully represented (even down to Gary singing in German while covering 'Terpentin' by Bohse Onkelz), but not particularly interesting if you already have them.
Maybe I'm being harsh - it's a fun album to listen to, well played, and the songs are indisputably of a high standard throughout. It's just that I feel so much more could have been done here, and considering Pro-Pain have been fighting apathy to their quality thrash/hardcore output for some time, perhaps it's something of a tactical mishap to release something so easily ignored at this stage in their career.
5/10
