Review of Born From Pain - War

When I was first introduced to Netherlands’ Born From Pain a couple years back by way of their first Metal Blade release – In Love With The End, I don’t remember walking away feeling like I had taken a brass knuckle to the throat, a combat boot to the face – or any other PR scripted bit of sticker-front jargon. Rather, I remember thinking to myself – ‘Hey these dudes are like me back in high school – they listen to a lot of Hatebreed.’ Fast forward to Born From Pain's newest opus of dance floor stomp mosh and guess what? They’re still livin’ hard, screaming for change, keeping a positive outlook and yes, spinning Satisfaction is the Death of Desire three times daily.

While typically that would be an obstacle for me, in this case – it’s probably the record’s most attractive feature. War might be typical breakdown riddled, quick riffed, double bass tough guy by the numbers, but goddamn, if they don’t do it just well enough to make it enjoyable. If you are content with your current tough guy collection and aren’t accepting any more applicants well then, you can write off this band now (and probably forever). However, if you still need to break in those new sambas or just really love this style of hardcore– here is the band you’ve been looking for.

After nearly a decade of experience in a scene known for anything but complexity, Born From Pain use every moment of War to leave no doubts that the years of recording and near endless touring have lent themselves to the band by way of noticeable expertise. Yes, the thrash riffs are where you’d expect them; the sing-alongs follow the choruses and the approaching breakdowns are no less subtle than a looming hurricane in Louisiana. Yet, where you’d expect these elements to be met with a yawn and a ‘heard it all before’ quip, being delivered by a band that obviously knows it’s shit – it actually succeeds. There are moments of genuine testosterone surges that even had an old breakdown enthusiast like myself wondering where I had packed away my camo shorts and Ak-47 Cap. In short, it can be fucking ferocious.

A single word of warning however, the production leans heavily towards the more standard and clean metalcore rendition of general slickness. There isn’t much by way of that hardcore, ‘recorded in a basement’ feel. In fact it kind of takes on the same metal feel through its production that Terror has employed to no avail on their last two records – although not to such a distracting extreme.

Overall War is, at its core, a very simple album – but one that is the result of years of experience and meticulous craftsmanship. Sure, it won’t be the best thing you hear this year but it’ll be a fun listen during the downtime. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for mosh heavy, metal coated hardcore and is fine knowing that it isn’t pushing any boundaries. But then again, who says all good things do?

Release Details

Born From Pain

War

Comments

Related