Review of Born From Pain - In Love With The End

Founded in 1997, this five piece out of the Netherlands has been making quite a name for themselves by touring with giants such as Hatebreed and Madball. After a plethora of performances and a few releases under their belt, they've found a home in an unlikely place - Metal Blade Records. With any luck, they'll get a bit more acknowledgement from the metal crowd. Both punishing and passionate and armed with improved production from Antfarm Studios, Born From Pain are continuing where they left off by creating another album full of more neck-wrecking metalcore.

With their hefty riffs, tight production, and unfaltering drumwork, Born From Pain map out their plan for your annihilation with a series of moshy rhythms, gang vocals, and even a few guitar solos. "Rise or Die" combines thick head-bobbing riffs with a bit of Slayer, while "Judgment" begins with one of those aforementioned solos before delivering their effective brand of easily grasped and pulverizing metallic hardcore for fans of Hatebreed, Terror, and The Promise. "Renewal" has a lot of distinction comparatively, featuring a real raw vocal performance. I'm unsure if it is handled by their usual singer, Che. There's also a slower ringing guitar part that maintains the usual detuned sound you've come to expect by the time the song makes its way to your speakers. The appeal found in In Love With The End is fairly rare and worthy of attention for the fact that it preserves the metalcore sound so well, but plays around with a few ideas that are unusual to the genre without bordering on the unsafe side. These songs, maybe expectedly, turn out to be the more memorable ones - the drawn-out and resonating riff from "Raging Heart", the thrashy beat that leads into intense gang shouting on "Dead Code", and the doomy feel of "Hour Of The Wolf" are what make the album great for repeated listens. They show Born From Pain's method of progressing without compromising.

To a lot of people, this is another meathead metalcore album, suited for burly guys in basketball jerseys, eating a chili dog, and inserting the word "respect" into their daily conversations. Regardless of who the target demographic may be, I'm positive there's a hell of a lot of people out there who have never learned that metalcore once referred to something completely different. Definitely a great album to get someone started on the sound. I commend Metal Blade for nobly picking these guys up and potentially exposing them to a different audience.

Release Details

Born From Pain

In Love With The End

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