Taking the best of Hatebreed and other classic hardcore bands and mixing it with metal and a dash of hip-hop, the latest release from hardcore crew Pain Of Truth, Not Through Blood, is a swift kick to the groin, with beatdowns, vitriolic callout lines and movie samples. Speaking of the mix of old and new, 80s NYC hardcore legends Madball feature on the gut-punching ‘You and Me’ – one of the many, many guest spots on an album that has more features than the Sistine Chapel (but obviously a lot less pretty).
The album starts with a meaty bass rattle and drum groove, as ‘Lifeless on the Ground’ sees the band rev their engines for the coming onslaught. ‘Too Late’ and a few other songs feature an extended Hatebreed-style vocal section that triggers rapid adrenaline production and will no doubt spawn a horde of karate choppers in the pit of the venue (or floor of the local Denny’s, depending on location).
Many of the blistering tracks on this full-length come across like hungry dogs chained to a fence, snapping at your feet, and the short run time of each track adds to this feeling of anger. As the album makes headway, there is unsurprisingly very little room to breathe, with the band packing it in tight. This works well to create an intensity that elevates the band up to their contemporaries in the scene, but also works against them for the same reason, making the songs blend into one another and lose a little of their punch.
The album was recorded and mixed by Andy Nelson at Bricktop Recording, and his expertise has been utilised on this album to create a fantastically heavy mix of punchy drums, aggressive guitars, in-your-face bass and pristine screamed vocals. Drums and vocals especially shine on the record, with harsh yells and genre-appropriate lyrics colliding with the tornado of hi-hat hisses and fat snare hits to create a dense sledgehammer sound straight to the head.
Pain of Truth are clearly only getting started in their rage-fuelled journey to hardcore stardom, but prove themselves worthy of respect already with a loud, in-your-face LP that puts enough meat on the table, before kicking the table into you as hard as it can.