| CD REVIEW Pictures Of Pain |
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Band: Pictures Of Pain Since this band was formed in early 2005, Pictures Of Pain haven’t released but two demos (in 2005 and 2006), yet they were able to perform live on stage with ‘major’ bands as Keep Of Kalessin, Ensiferum, Doro, Kamelot or Leaves’ Eyes. The formation, with (former or actual) members of MindCrime, Thundra or Endless, signed to Norwegian label Pitch Black Records in 2010, and their debut album The Reckoning, which was mastered at Sonic Train Studios by King Diamond guitarist Andy LaRocque, has duration of sixty seven (!) minutes (including the two bonus-songs, one taken from each demo, on the CD-edition only, not on the vinyl-version). The Reckoning turns out to be a very varying album, a modern one with elements from different styles and influenced from different genres. Opening song Betrayal, to start with, is a hyper-technical and progressive-rhythmic Cross-Metal hybrid, containing lots of changes in tempo and melody, the addition of acoustic parts, a well-thought contrast between aggression and emotion, and a wide range on vocal contribution. So many levels, so much variety – yet at the same time, and therefore, somewhat too incoherent? And this (meaning: variation in extremity) goes for the whole album. Second track, Far Beyond, sounds modern and somewhat catchy, yet of the unusual kind. The variation is enormous: the addition of Metallica-alike riffs, as well as Doom-Death-oriented ones, a Post-Rock intermezzo, Dark Rock-meet-Dark Metal pieces, it’s all part of one single song. Same approach for the other compositions as well: fast versus slow, brutal versus technical, updated versus traditional, complex versus even more complex, it is all of this, and none nevertheless. Breaks, anti-constructions and mass-constructions, unique performance skills, it is a hard one, this album, but it is a seducing one. 81/100 Ivan Tibos. |