Fifteen years has passed since Pro-Pain released their crushing debut album Foul Taste Of Freedom. During those times Pro-Pain has seen both the good side and the bad side of the medal, but with a frontman as Gary Meskil from the legendary Crumbsuckers you don’t quit that easily. Which resulted in already the tenth studio album of Pro-Pain called Age Of Tyranny / The Tenth Crusade, which is also a concept album. Who said that Pro-Pain isn’t innovative?

 

I hear you thinking a concept album isn’t that only allowed when you play Heavy Metal and wear leather pants and ditto jackets? Gladly it’s not, since several years many bands have put out a concept album. In that way Pro-Pain isn’t innovative at all. But with ‘Beyond The Pale’ they do give a different face of themselves. The combination of Gary Meskils vocals along with Matt Bizillia from Icarus Witch and the use of an acoustic guitar in the song takes this one up to another level. Another song that's worth mentioning is ‘All For King George’ in which Gary Meskil shows he’s not only capable of screaming.

 

With its typical style, Pro-Pain smashes itself through the album which handles mostly subjects about Iraq, President George W. Bush, American Politics, etc. Just the usual stuff most of the American bands complain about. Still, that doesn’t take a way the fact that all of the songs have the typical Pro-Pain sound, that great mixture between metal and hardcore.

 

Overall this is one of the better albums of Pro-Pain which gives them enough credits to go on for another, let’s say, fifteen years. The real fan will have this album probably anyway. For the rest of the metalheads and hardcore kids: if you want to buy an album of Pro-Pain, you’d better pick this one because it’s not only a great album, it also gives you a nice impression of the Pro-Pain style of all those years. I don’t know if they're coming to Europe this summer but if they do, try to catch them when they’re around.