PRO-PAIN – Run For Cover

PRO-PAIN (yeah, all caps). Not only is it a combustible play on words, but hey, there is pro-choice, pro-life, and then, PRO-PAIN. Whose side are you on?

PRO-PAIN is a Hardcore Punk/Metal outfit, not cut from the same cloth as say, Good Charlotte or American Hi-Fi. There are few bands out there more brutal and aggressive than PRO-PAIN, and if they are, then it’s a facade. PRO-PAIN is uncompromising honesty, in a musical world full of fakes. It’s refreshing, to say the least …

Run for Cover is PRO-PAIN’s homage to their forefathers, to their influences. And with the list of bands they pay tribute to running from the well-known like Slayer to virtual unknowns like Operation Ivy, you are in for an eclectic head-butt.

The cover of Celtic Frost’s “Circle of Tyrants” is their first foray into the avantgarde. Celtic Frost was one of those bands you couldn’t quite nail down, whether they were punk, black metal, heavy metal, or anything besides poetic madmen. Front man Gary Meskil describes Celtic Frost’s “Circle of Tyrants” as, “this must be what Hell sounds like.” They do an excellent job of staring into the abyss, here.

The only truly “happy” sounding song on Run for Cover is “The Crowd,” a fast, heavy, punkishly-brief (2:17) cover of Operation Ivy. Two members of Operation Ivy went on to form Rancid, and you will hear that in the music. Of course, PRO-PAIN lends their own darkness to the track, and it turns out as one of the strongest on the CD.

The cover of Motörhead’s “Iron Fist” is believable as well. The bass intro is dead-on, and Meskil’s version of Lemmy is almost as good as the real thing. The good thing about this CD, all the way through, is that PRO-PAIN doesn’t try to do anything as pompous as “reinterpret” the songs. They just play them, and for the most part, do them justice.

If anyone can cover a Black Flag song, trying to match the unadulterated hatred that Henry Rollins could spew from his maw, it’s PRO-PAIN. You can tell by the whole band’s delivery that it is a rabid pleasure to cover this song.

Showing a side you probably didn’t know they had, the band covers German group Bohse Onkelz, and sings everything in German. Sure, you won’t know what the hell they are saying, but you can tell they mean every word.

The CD ends with a cover of Slayer’s “South of Heaven.” While Meskil doesn’t quite get the whole Araya-vibe down, you will be amazed that someone can take a song as HEAVY as “South of Heaven” and make it heavier. This is a perfect way to close the CD.

If you have never heard PRO-PAIN before, this would be an excellent introduction to the band. If you have heard them, then everything else here is pure gravy. Plus, exactly where the hell else are you going to hear covers of the Spudmonsters?