Pro-pain FOUL TASTE OF FREEDOM - Vinyl

Pro-Pain: Gary Meskil (vocals, bass); Tom Klimchuck (guitar); Dan Richardson (drums).
Additional personnel: Mark Mays (guitar); Gary M. McCheyne (horns).
Recorded at Pyramid Sound Studios, Ithaca, New York.
When Pro-Pain's debut album, Foul Taste of Freedom, it fit neatly into the urban hardcore/rap-metal hybrid inspired by Anthrax and epitomized by Biohazard. The rap influence was subtle, apparent in the rhythmically shouted vocals and an occasional funked-up drum flourish, but it wasn't wildly different from hardcore/metal mosh bands like M.O.D. Its classification probably had more to do with the time-frame in which it was released -- Anthrax's duet with Public Enemy on "Bring the Noise" was fresh in metal fans' minds, and other well-publicized collaborations were in the offing, so the hardened, street-level aggression of Foul Taste of Freedom was perhaps credited to hardcore hip-hop a bit more than it should have been. Whatever its classification, though, Foul Taste of Freedom packs a wallop; even when Pro-Pain's riff-writing skills lapse, they have the power and aggression to remain a punishingly heavy sonic force. "Pound for Pound" was something of a success on MTV's Headbanger's Ball specialty show. ~ Steve Huey

• Format: Vinyl
• Genre: Pop