REVIEW: PAIN PRINCIPLE, WAITING FOR THE FLIES

Fans of raw slabs of neo-thrash in the vein of bands like Machine Head and Dew-Scented are gonna dig Pain Principle’s Waiting for the Flies. While neither earth-shatteringly original nor orgasm-inducingly kick-ass, Flies is a solid offering in every sense of the word: well written, with memorable hook after memorable hook, chock-full of exceedingly competent musicianship, and – thanks to Erik Rutan – recorded with notch production, it’s hard not to say nice things about this offering from the Orlando quartet.

Actually, the more I listen to them, the more these dudes really do remind me of Dew-Sceneted (seriously, vocalist Kevin “Bull” Bullock probably owes Leif Jensen a royalty check), with maybe a touch of Kataklysm or even DevilDriver. If any of the aforementioned bands appeal to you, then it’s hard for me to imagine you won’t like Pain Principle: they’ve got the same kind of superbad blast beats, elasticized buzz-saw riffs that owe more than a passing debt to the Bay Area sound, and tense, choked vocals that can make those sort of Dethrash bands so appealing. This music in no way, shape, or form is intended for those that would kung-fu their way through the pit; it’s meant for dudes with long hair to get drunk and windmill to ’til their necks are sore.

And, oh yeah: Rutan makes it all sound massive but completely authentic. Big shock. Give the guy a challenge, why doncha.
ANYWAY, I guess I do wish that these dudes were either a little more original or, barring that, could write something as mind blowing as, say, “Davidian,” but in terms of what these dudes have created, there’s very little to criticize. I’ll pay close attention to Pain Principle in the future; there’s a very strong chance their best work is still ahead of them.

(three out of five horns)

-AR