Rough Edge: Pain Link CD Reviews

PAIN LINK

"The Burden of Sin" (Peace or Die Records; 2005)

Pain Link, hailing from Cincinnati, Ohio, are a classic metal band with substantial influences from '80s thrash (Testament comes to mind) and modern metal (such as Chimaira). "The Burden Of Sin" features eleven tracks of heavy metal in the old-school style with the obvious modern influences mentioned previously.

Great tracks on "The Burden Of Sin" include "When Sand Turns To Glass," "Seal Of Disapproval," and "Forfeit The Hate" which all bring together the past and the present in a cohesive whole. Pain Link definitely has the ability to appeal to a wide variety of metalheads due to their merging of classic metal genres. In fact, the neat thing about Pain Link is their ability to draw so many influences together without ever sounding too confused about which style they want to make predominant in their overall approach.

One of the good things about "The Burden Of Sin" is the crisp songwriting. Aside from the two brief piano instrumentals you basically get nine tracks of traditional metal in just over a half hour. Even the two piano instrumentals give the CD an epic, timeless feel. Besides, any band that can deliver a consistent level of metal where brevity is an asset gets a plus in my book.

"The Burden Of Sin" was produced by Pain Link and Darrell Marcum. The overall production leaves a bit to be desired as it could be a bit more punchy, but it sounds like a traditional metal album should.

Pain Link: Brandon Neely on vocals, Greg Neely on guitars, Chris Brown on guitars and vocals, Paul Parece Bauer on bass, and Dave Bauer on drums.

For more information visit http://www.thepainlink.net.

Rating Guide:

A classic. This record will kick your ass.

Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.

So-so. You've heard better.

Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.

Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.

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