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While sitting in the basement of Sudsy Malone's with local Metal band Pain Link, an atmosphere of anxious energy and unbridled excitement about the near future hangs thicker than the cloudy haze of cigarette smoke. It's understandable why the band is eager to watch how the next few months unfold. Not only have they just started the new year with an unexpectedly raucous show at Radio Down that should add even more devotees to their ever-increasing fan base but, more importantly, they're on the eve of the release of their first full-length album, The Burden of Sin. Using the positive ground the band (vocalist Brandon Neeley, guitarists Chris Brown and Greg Neeley, bassists Paul Parece and drummer Dave Bauer) has gained since their inception in the summer of 2002 as foreshadowing of the future, saying they're excited might be a vast understatement.
Just last September, Pain Link won the annual Bogart's "Rumble," a 48 band, all-genre competition where the winner is decided by the votes of judges and the audience. "We never expected to win," Parece explains matter-of-factly, with the rest of the band nodding in unison. Why would they? They're not exactly the mainstream band known for being easy on the ears like many of those in the contest. In fact, they're pretty much the exact opposite of Pop music. They're an unflinchingly brutal quintet Brown describes as "the Heinz 57 of Metal.
A little bit of everything." By resurrecting the chaos of classic Bay Area thrash and intertwining it with new elements ranging from Metalcore to Gothenberg Metal, winning the popular vote at the contest was unlikely. But, as Brown says, "For that one night everything came together."
And it's stuck together ever since, maybe due to the fact that they craft their music so that any Metal fan who listens can take away something he likes. "We just try to draw off the best power sections, trying to mix it all up basically so that we can appeal to a wider variety of people," Brown says.
Pain Link's draw since the Rumble has continued growing to an undeniably strong point. Fans at their shows range anywhere from 15- to 45-year-olds and they're now sharing the Sudsy's stage with national acts like Metal Church. The group hopes this translates into success for The Burden of Sin and the planned extensive Midwestern touring behind it. Granted, the album is a tough pill to swallow.
"It's symbolic of the shit everyone carries around with them from day to day," explains Parece. "As you go through life you tend to have to do a few things maybe you're not proud of and everybody has to live with that. If you have any kind of conscience whatsoever you live with a burden of sin or negativity and you can't get through life without it."
With Pain Link's local label, Peace or Die Records, inking a distribution deal with Neoblast and Enforcer Records, The Burden of Sin will be released on an international scale. With Internet stores like Amazon and major chains like Target and Sam Goody carrying their album, a lot of their distribution depends on the initial hype it garners. "The time is right for it," Brown says. "The attitude of the people is a little more aggressive now. They're having to deal with harder issues every day and the music just helps to soothe that."
One might think that the added pressure of a larger scale release would scare most bands shitless. But Pain Link isn't like most bands. One main reason they're five of the coolest Metalheads around is because they show absolutely no fear. In fact, they're brimming with confidence. They also understand that just having the opportunity to play the music they love, to spread the sound of Metal and to have potentially anyone in the world hear them, is a luxury that most bands never see. Pain Link focuses on the ride more than the destination and hopes that their fans are having just as much fun as they are.
"It's all about the Metal," Neeley sums up. "It's just hard Metal, fast music ... whatever brings a mosh pit is what we like to do."
PAIN LINK (
Dale M. Johnson
Pain Link
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While sitting in the basement of Sudsy Malone's with local Metal band Pain Link, an atmosphere of anxious energy and unbridled excitement about the near future hangs thicker than the cloudy haze of cigarette smoke. It's understandable why the band is eager to watch how the next few months unfold. Not only have they just started the new year with an unexpectedly raucous show at Radio Down that should add even more devotees to their ever-increasing fan base but, more importantly, they're on the eve of the release of their first full-length album, The Burden of Sin. Using the positive ground the band (vocalist Brandon Neeley, guitarists Chris Brown and Greg Neeley, bassists Paul Parece and drummer Dave Bauer) has gained since their inception in the summer of 2002 as foreshadowing of the future, saying they're excited might be a vast understatement.
Just last September, Pain Link won the annual Bogart's "Rumble," a 48 band, all-genre competition where the winner is decided by the votes of judges and the audience. "We never expected to win," Parece explains matter-of-factly, with the rest of the band nodding in unison. Why would they? They're not exactly the mainstream band known for being easy on the ears like many of those in the contest. In fact, they're pretty much the exact opposite of Pop music. They're an unflinchingly brutal quintet Brown describes as "the Heinz 57 of Metal.
A little bit of everything." By resurrecting the chaos of classic Bay Area thrash and intertwining it with new elements ranging from Metalcore to Gothenberg Metal, winning the popular vote at the contest was unlikely. But, as Brown says, "For that one night everything came together."
And it's stuck together ever since, maybe due to the fact that they craft their music so that any Metal fan who listens can take away something he likes. "We just try to draw off the best power sections, trying to mix it all up basically so that we can appeal to a wider variety of people," Brown says.
Pain Link's draw since the Rumble has continued growing to an undeniably strong point. Fans at their shows range anywhere from 15- to 45-year-olds and they're now sharing the Sudsy's stage with national acts like Metal Church. The group hopes this translates into success for The Burden of Sin and the planned extensive Midwestern touring behind it. Granted, the album is a tough pill to swallow.
"It's symbolic of the shit everyone carries around with them from day to day," explains Parece. "As you go through life you tend to have to do a few things maybe you're not proud of and everybody has to live with that. If you have any kind of conscience whatsoever you live with a burden of sin or negativity and you can't get through life without it."
With Pain Link's local label, Peace or Die Records, inking a distribution deal with Neoblast and Enforcer Records, The Burden of Sin will be released on an international scale. With Internet stores like Amazon and major chains like Target and Sam Goody carrying their album, a lot of their distribution depends on the initial hype it garners. "The time is right for it," Brown says. "The attitude of the people is a little more aggressive now. They're having to deal with harder issues every day and the music just helps to soothe that."
One might think that the added pressure of a larger scale release would scare most bands shitless. But Pain Link isn't like most bands. One main reason they're five of the coolest Metalheads around is because they show absolutely no fear. In fact, they're brimming with confidence. They also understand that just having the opportunity to play the music they love, to spread the sound of Metal and to have potentially anyone in the world hear them, is a luxury that most bands never see. Pain Link focuses on the ride more than the destination and hopes that their fans are having just as much fun as they are.
"It's all about the Metal," Neeley sums up. "It's just hard Metal, fast music ... whatever brings a mosh pit is what we like to do."
PAIN LINK (thepainlink.net) releases The Burden of Sin with a show at Sudsy Malone's on Saturday.