Having formed in Sydney, Australia in 2005, Paindivision have been going from strength to strength, adding Pete Hunt on drums to the line up (ex-Dragonheart/Dragonforce, Marshall Law) and Mark Hobson on lead guitar.
What you have is a general all-round metal album, not strictly limited to a particular genre; it just rocks pure and simple. ‘Face It’ has a strong vocal with a ripping guitar solo and the many riffs that are going on in the background make for a satisfying listen. The sound on this track is much fuller than that of the first track proper ‘Flames of the Reaper’ that had me worried for a moment but rest assured, there are more powerhouses to come. Each track builds up nicely, there are some breakdowns that I don’t really like, well that’s not fair, it just was not what I expected in some places, which is a good thing right? The common feeling found is that it’s a foot tapping workout in one album. You can see their recent touring supports with Sebastian Bach and Black Label Society have paid off in inspiration, although not strictly a pigeon holed copyist, Paindivision certainly bring out some elements of pure “Britishness”, especially on ‘Beyond the Pain’. Once again, the guitars go crazy, it appears the new members were a great choice, melodic shredding is in abundance. In a way it reminds me of the Paul Dianno album ‘Nomad’ with Megadeth playing solos over the top. I do like the arrangements on offer, no cold turkeys rear their heads; it thankfully remains fresh and attentive. ‘Wasting Life’ is the only track for me that I don’t feel much connection, but I put that down to it being a swirling slower track that I am not that much of a fan of, but I bet this will sound heavy as hell live even if a little grungy in places, there’s a good earthy guitar sound. The albums title track squarely puts things back into perspective in a metal vein, harmonically driven guitar riffs does hold a flame for the Zakk Wylde sound whilst the arrangement comes over like the ‘Subhuman Race’ era of Skid Row, but as I have said before, sounding British all the way. This is even more so on the opening riff and drumming on ‘Of Flame and Fury’, Iron Maiden meets Black Label Society where Dan Quinlan’s vocals do justice to Mr Wylde himself, oh and did I mention the guitars are on par with this statement too!
The guys provide a blinding cover of Accept’s ‘Balls to the Wall’, whilst the original is one of my all time favourite songs, Paindivision do this track a great justice and pay homage to one of their favourites too.
This was a nice surprise for me, make sure you give this band a chance; there are good elements in all the music on offer and a well rounded metal release for modern times.
www.paindivision.com
www.myspace.com/paindivision
