It’s been a decade coming, but finally Dutch melodic death metal quintet Purest of Pain are unleashing their debut album. After so much time – the majority of which was spent honing the songs live – the band were able to record all 14 tracks in just 6 days. And while some are short, there’s a very technical element to its makeup. ‘Sound wizard’ Jens Bogren, who mixed / mastered it, is seriously digging it, apparently, and he’s worked with Opeth, who PoP have supported. Well, he’s not going to say it’s shit, is he?
I shouldn’t judge, but I’m uncomfortable with the concept of ‘melodic death metal’. It’s to their credit that Purest of Pain, while exploring expansive territories and draping their songs with some epic guitar breaks, the melodies are largely confined to the lead guitars, with chugging rhythm guitars and guttural vocals propelled by rapid-fire double-pedal kick drumming.
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‘Solipsis’ is definitely not shit. And while there are some moments that do revel in excess, perhaps placing musicianship over compositional flow, the songs themselves do very much have a forward-driving trajectory and there’s more than enough force, aggression and abrasion to throw the emphasis onto the metal side of the fence.
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