Let me preface this review by saying that I am not into this kind of music. I am a middle aged princess from the wilds of suburbia who considers camping having to check in to a Super 8. I also bruise very easily, which rules out moshing. Anyone who knows me is laughing right now at the very thought of me in a mosh pit. I'll give them a second. Yeah, it's that funny. So, all this being said, let's get on to the CD.
I ordered "The Burden of Sin" from cdbaby.com a couple of days ago and it arrived yesterday. They are quick, and they write very witty, pithy comments on their invoices. Almost worth ordering something just to read those, considering how the world is currently populated with a preponderance of witless tittering idiots and just plain mean people. But that, as they say, is music from another room. Back to the cd. I tried to prepare for this experience by borrowing some Pantera and Slayer from a friend. I listened. Went to some websites and listened there as well. Okay, I have a frame of reference now.
Pain Link is in a class all it's own. Where they could, ostensibly speaking, be classified in the same category they are a world apart. The violin alone is a jaw dropper. Buy the cd just for that. Then read the liner notes. Lyrics. That. Have. Substance. What a shock! Great fucking lyrics. "Forced religion clouds your vision/you live a lie because you want to believe/be a martyr win a ticket to heaven." In this Madison Avenue, MTV, oops I did it again society we have been sold mediocrity for what we would have gladly paid for excellence. We have been conditioned to accept ineptitude and ignorance and subpar as standard, and that's partially our faults ... people are pretty lazy pretty often, but it's also the marketing machine and you need to wake the hell up and become of aware of its power over you. They sell us shit for so long we start to accept shit. Ninety six piles of shit, some with corn, some without, on a rack in a music store. We are supposed to pick the least offensive piece of shit, buy it, listen, sing it as we drive down the road in our cars and eventually recommend it to our friends and family. It's insidious, but it's true. What else could explain Ashlee Simpson? Survivor? (The tv show, not the band) How about the fact that Paris Hilton's single is getting airtime and has sold a bajillion copies? WHATTHEFUCK??
That's what is so refreshing about Pain Link. They are NOT mediocre. They actually dick slap mediocre several times on The Burden of Sin, and even though I am a suburban princess who should loath the slightest hint of misogynistic language, much less use it, it's the only way to describe it ... "Distorted Perception" and "Seal of Disapproval" evoke something visceral and seminal, caked with blood, smeared with dirt and missing a tooth. It's raw and real, and you should buy it for your husband. Tell him to stop trying to remember what that one hit of acid he accidentally took his junior year of high school felt like by playing Tool on his mp3 player while he lawn tractors the back yard and listen to Pain Link.
After that, he won't have to pretend to be cool anymore cause he won't give a shit.
Pain Link is: Greg Neely/Guitar, Brandon Neely/Vocals, Paul Parece/Bass, Chris Brown/Guitar and Vocals, Dave Bauer/Drums
Proof positive that there is more than meets the eye when you are dealing with this middle aged princess. Just goes to show, you never can tell, can you?
Namasta, The Suss
Read more...