PRO-PAIN

Few things bring a smile to the face of an old metalhead than a new PRO-PAIN album. Over a decade has passed since the New Yorkers last released a full-length record, but on "Stone Cold Anger", founding frontman Gary Meskil reveals that he has lost none of his fire, fury or unerring ability to write riffs that will cause irreparable damage to your neck muscles. It was always this way, of course. Although they have never received the recognition they deserve, PRO-PAIN have been one of the world's most consistent metallic hardcore bands for the last 35 years. From the stupidly exciting crossover clatter of 1992 debut "Foul Taste of Freedom", to meatier and more heavyweight latter-day releases like "Absolute Power" (2010) and "Voice Of Rebellion" (2015),Meskil's crew have always stayed true to their subtly distinctive formula, wherein an endless stream of incendiary riffs and lyrics that throb and spit with real world rage are slammed together to make perfect, three-minute acts of musical violence. Despite countless lineup changes over the years, PRO-PAIN have never made a bad album or lost their compositional thread, and so it is anything but surprising that "Stone Cold Anger" is more of the magnificent, pit-inciting same.

Within seconds of the opening "Oceans Of Blood", it is clear that this is business as usual. PRO-PAIN have such a simple, stripped down and ruthlessly rugged sound that messing with its essence would be a disaster. Instead, "Stone Cold Anger" touches upon every cherished aspect of the band's catalogue to date, from the brutish hardcore that Meskil first propagated with CRUMBSUCKERS, to the skull-rattling thrash metal aggression and singalong punk vibes that have long been a part of this band's singular approach. On the thunderous title track and the crushing "March Of The Giants", PRO-PAIN are a runaway bulldozer, hell-bent on inciting a riot. On the forcefully melodic "Uncle Sam Wants You", they revel in the street-bound simplicity of the New York hardcore scene, and on the garrulous groove metal of "Demonic Intervention", they evoke the muscular riff worship of early MACHINE HEAD and SKINLAB.

Every song comes with at least one irresistible hook, fistfuls of great riffs, and the sound of Gary Meskil losing his shit at the state of things. "Rinse & Repeat" is a righteous, mid-tempo, punk-metal beat-'em-up for the ages; "Hell Or High Water" is a pummeling slow-burner with strong echoes of HATEBREED's darkest material; "Scorched Earth" is elite level thrashcore with a glorious, classic metal guitar solo; "Jonestown Punch" is the perfect soundtrack to necking poisoned Kool-Aid in the jungle; and the closing "Sky's The Limit" is simply one of the finest hardcore songs anyone will release in 2026.

Impervious to passing fads and permanently locked into the tightest, tautest of riff-driven blueprints, PRO-PAIN may have been routinely overlooked in the past, but "Stone Cold Anger" deserves to be played loud and often by anyone that appreciates a good riff and a jolting dose of NYHC reality. It's fantastic to have them back.