When a band cites influences that include early Agnostic Front and Crumbsuckers its guaranteed to grab my attention, given the undeniable influence those US hardcore pioneers brought to the thrash scene back in the day. Despite having been around for almost ten years and being onto their fourth full length release the biggest surprise is that I'd not encountered Born From Pain before now, especially when you consider the fact that they take early hardcore/crossover and give it a modern edge.

Opening with  the aptly titled "Relentless", which builds from a "War, War, War" chant and a chugging riff intro into a full on double bass drum assault on the ears. In this mid-tempo grinder Born From Pain come on a little like "Beneath The Remains"-era  Sepultura. This is most definitely a good thing, that particular seminal album would certainly be in my, and many other peoples, all-time thrash top 10. Over the course of the next ten songs Born From Pain pummel the listener with a mixture of up-tempo thrashers ("Behind Enemy Lines") and slower, chugging, monsters ("Stop St Nothing", "Bury Me Fighting" and "Crusader"), adding some superb chant-a-long choruses to the mix which I'm sure will go down a storm live.

Another plus with 'War' is the production. The whole feel of the album sonically gives the music the requisite amount of power, edge and clarity to really hit home and make its point. The drums are thunderous, the bass fills out the bottom end nicely whilst the guitars are like twin sledgehammers, oh and Che's vocals add the final topping of aggression to the mix, truly excellent stuff.

A quick scan of the song titles gives a clue to what's contained within these grooves. It's true Born From Pain have a particularly grim and bleak world view and this is the catalyst for some extremely brutal music. The only criticism I will level at this record is that there's no real respite from the angst and aggression on offer. Luckily the length of the album is pitched just right at about 43 minutes, with most tracks hitting between somewhere between the 2 and 4 minute mark, thus meaning that the listener doesn't get the chance to get bored, but simply be carried along by the power, angst and downright nastiness that is Born From Pain. Highly recommended!

Let us know your views on 'War'

Track List

Relentless
Behind Enemy Lines
Stop At Nothing
Bury Me Fighting
Crusader
Grey Life
The War Is On
Scorched Earth Black
Eyes Of The World
Doomsday Clock
Iron Will

Line Up

Che - Vocals
Dom - Guitar
Karl - Guitar
Roel - Drums
Rob - Bass