PAIN OF MIND

The groundbreaking post metal band Neurosis started out as a hardcore band. The style here on their debut is influenced by early hardcore bands like Discharge, Carnivore, Suicidal Tendencies and Beowülf. Which means fast angry punk-like songs which usually lasts for 1-2 minutes each.

There is one exception to that concept here on Pain of Mind. Black is a bit different as it is a bit more melodic but the rest of the songs are primitive and generally pretty fast hardcore. There are slower parts in some of the songs though. The vocals are extremely aggressive. Scott Kelly and Steve Von Till share the vocal duties and it sounds great in my opinion. Really angry stuff. The musicians play pretty sloppy and there is a lot of noise and feedback on Pain of Mind. It suits the style perfectly.

The production is garage like, it sounds like the songs are recorded live in someones garage/ Basement. Really raw and primitive sounding.

Let´s lay the cards out on the table here. This is not progressive music. It´s quite the opposite really. I would call it anti-progressive and primitive. It´s an aquired taste if you like this kind of music. My guess is that not many people who come here on Prog Archives would enjoy this. Personally I enjoy it very much as I like this style of music. It´s not something I would listen to every day, but when I do it´s great. I will only rate it 2 stars though as this is clearly only for the diehard fans of Neurosis or fans of the eighties american hardcore scene.