LARIN – World Of Pain

George Larin, from Melbourne, Australia, is the kind of guy who shared his writings with other bands that he had taken part of. He rose to the level where you want to do everything yourself without help and the chance to create your own stuff without being judged by others – what is yours goes. The truth is that, after hearing Larin’s material in his new record, World Of Pain, it’s not too bad making Metal all by yourself. But after all, it still depends on if you can actually do it all and fulfill all the roles by yourself. Larin could and did.

Larin’s project may be young, but Larin himself took a few rounds around the block before his own creation was born. In 1984, Larin formed the Aussie band, New Religion, in his hometown that played Heavy Metal. The result was a short-lived thing. In that same time Larin was also involved with the Power / Thrash Metal act Nothing Sacred, who got to release only one full-length, but without him. Sometime after that, in the late 80s, Larin had another involvement, this time with the German Heavy / Speed Metal band, Backwater.

Larin’s next stop was back in Australia, when he joined, in 1990, the Power / Thrash Metal act, Taramis. With the band, he recorded their second album, Stretch Of The Imagination. After Taramis, which disbanded in 1993, Larin formed, in 1997, Amethyst, which played Heavy / Progressive Metal. With this baby, Larin recorded an EP and a full-length in 2001 named, Flames In Eternity. After this lengthy history, Larin took matters into his own hands and formed a single man deal. In 2006, he recorded Postcard From Hell, which introduced to the Metal world Larin’s influences. The first and main influence that comes barging in is Annihilator and Jeff Waters, then you have a bit of Exodus, Megadeth, Coroner, Black Sabbath and Testament. Let’s say Larin is not short of influences also as a guitarist, starting from Hendrix and Clapton to Randy Rhodes and Akira Takasaki. Two years later, after the postcards were sent, World Of Pain was introduced. Like its previous, it’s the same showcase of Larin’s longings for Heavy and crushing music of Thrash / Heavy Metal – The old school way.

Since the project’s beginning, Larin was a one man show not just regarding the instruments but also the whole production. It seems, Larin is a capable producer that any, Aussie Metal bands out there, can check in with. The quality of the overall recording is top notch, but you can see what instrument got the most attention. The guitars are the most powerful thing around, with deep and heavy gained distortion that is just perfect for you heaviness addicts. The heaviness rate of the riffs is more like Exodus and even Iced Earth in their mid 90s era.

The solos are the special stuff among the cracking rhythms. Those made with a lot of feeling like Steve Vai’s style but with more speed – very similar to Jeff Water’s style. The bass work is minor, its purpose is only to give the guitars a rougher edge – sorry dudes not much lead bass here.

Larin’s drumming is basic and not like a Mike Terrana, the sticks and beats sound like its artificially made, but you can sense that there is a human touch here and there.

The vocals, at first, are hard to comprehend because Larin shadows his voice with an effect that makes his vocals more rough, although if you can differentiate his real voice from the effect, you can hear that he is not a bad singer at all, not as melodic as Jeff Waters, whom he sounds like, but he’s got something good going there.

World Of Pain won’t let you down for a second, it’s way more than a solid album. If you like straightforward heaviness, this stuff is for you. Highlights from this one: The opening “World Of Pain”, takes to what the world is really like out there and the pessimistic truth that it holds within. Bear the mighty riffs of pure Thrash Metal – Annihilator style.

“Trapped”, which was featured on W.Y.A.T, is another blasting Thrasher with no remorse when you feel stuck in a broken elevator or a crowded room full of Rappers. “Nobody Wins” is in the vein of “Hell Is A War” by Annihilator, war is a true hell and Larin came to let you know about it with doomy grooves of sheer Thrash and Heavy Metal. In addition, the acoustic verse is quite nice before it’s torn asunder by the powerful solo. “Overture In A Minor” is a great heavy instrumental with a variety of rhythmic and solo verses. “Addiction” is a lesson for all addicts and just for the good things in life, “Addiction, conviction – you know it’s all true…”, the chorus of this one is more than a suggestion, it’s a recommendation. “The Shadow” is an interesting track, in the vein of Sabbath’s “Hand Of Doom” but with a different subject. The riffs are extremely heavy and the maniacal Speed / Thrash verse is an amazing headbanger. “One Vision” is like something taken out of Refresh The Demon by Annihilator, a true Heavy / Thrash Metal kicker.

Well, if you like Fabulous Disaster, King Of The Kill and Refresh The Demon, Larin is all for you. If you don’t know these albums, check Larin out anyway because he has a lot to offer in regards to Old School Thrash.