No End In Sight

It's really quite mind-boggling to think that Gary Meskil has been toiling away in the underground for 25 years now, ever since starting out playing bass for crossover hardcore legends Crumbsuckers. He's been fronting Pro-Pain 1992, and during that time the band have put out an impressively large discography, taking in eleven full-lengths and two best-ofs. No End In Sight is my first venture into their music, and from what I gather they're all fairly similar to this. So, mid-paced hardcore chugging with the odd burst of keyboards and horns in there from time to time. Hardcore's admittedly a genre I'm inexperienced in, and my taste is probably far less discerning than those who listen to a lot more of this sort of thing. So, don't take anything written here as gospel, of course. We kick off with Let The Blood Run Through The Streets, one of the thrashier tracks here. With odd little dissonant riffs scattered here and there. Meskil's barks are very similar to that of Phil Anselmo's, and indeed there's a great deal of Pantera influence throughout in the grooving, chugging, almost hip-hop-like riffs that drive most of the album on. Of course, a whole album of this would be utterly tedious, and to their credit the band attempt to mix things up from time to time. Hour Of The Time is the most unusual track here, being the most melodic and straight up punkish. There's something of a Misfits feel here, no doubt because of the Glenn Danzig-esque clean vocals (Provided by a chap called Stephen Weidman of BA-HSE ONKELS, if that means anything to anyone). What's more, the band employ good use of organs and horns, to add an extra layer of melody to the track. A little bit daft it may be, but it's outrageously fun and catchy, and I defy anyone not to have the almost ska-punk chorus looping around their head. Having a moderate interest in more melodic, anthemic punk, I definitely appreciated the more uptempo tracks here a lot more. Go It Alone is another fast-paced holler-along, with another unsual synth-line towards the end. But there are a few drawbacks here and there. Halo is a grumpy, midtempo track that seems content to merely cough up a few uninspiring riffs and have Meskil bark some iffy lyrics over them (admittedly it's the only real “bad” song here). Speaking of Meskil, there a few points where he tries to sing properly here, and his voice sounds strained and forced. At times on Where We Stand and To Never Return, his voice falters, and sounds worryingly close to failing out all together at times. Also, despite being only 36 minutes long (not counting the bonus track, which is just an alternate mix of Where We Stand), the record still feels quite a bit more lengthy than it really is, and some people may well lose interest towards the last couple of songs. The final negative point here is the production, which is flat out awful. Everything sounds far too bass-heavy and soggy, the music not kicking you in the face like it should. It's not perfect, but it's a solid slice of groovy hardcore, and for a band on their eleventh record is incredibly impressive. I don't know if it'll set the world on fire, but fans of the band will eat this up, and who knows, it may well win them a few new fans in the process. And as a bonus, it'll sound great live.