• New Music Reviews
• |
• Archives
• |
• News
• |
• Submissions
• |
• About
• |
• 
• |
• 

May 2025

• The Flower Kings: Love
• Maestrick : Espresso Della Vita: Lunare

March 2025

• W.E.T.: Apex
• Alliance: Before Our Eyes
• Ginevra: Beyond Tomorrow
• Phil X & The Drills:
  Pow! Right In The Kisser
• IQ: Dominion
• Heart Line: Falling Heaven
• Gotthard: Stereo Crush
• Defender: Dying To Live
• Streetlight: Night Vision

February 2025

• Robin McAuley: Soulbound
• Perfect Plan: Heart Of A Lion
• Craig Brooks: Desolation Freeway
• Mantric Momentum: Alienized
• Pattern-Seeking Animals: Friend Of All Creatures
• Crazy Lixx: Thrill Of The Bite
• Ginger Evil: The Way It Burns
• Dream Theater: Parasomnia
• Tyran: Tyran's Oath
• Saber: Lost In Flames

January 2025

• Wildness: Avenger
• The Ferrymen: Iron Will
• Labyrinth: In The Vanishing Echoes Of Goodbye
• Bonfire: Higher Ground
• The Big Deal: Electrified
• Landfall: Wide Open Sky

December 2024

• After Lapse: Pathways
• Illusion Force: Halfana
• Powell-Payne: Voilá

November 2024

• Sunstorm: Restless Fight
• Storace: Crossfire
• Voodoo Circle: Hail To The King
• Lionville: Supernatural
• Starchaser: Into The Great Unkown
• Empires Of Eden: Guardians Of Time
• Lonerider: Down In The Dust
• Seventh Crystal: Entity
• Neal Morse & The Resonance: No Hill For A Climber
• Beardfish: Songs For Beating Hearts
• Impellitteri: War Machine
• Brothers Of Metal: Fimbulvinter

[ More Music Reviews ]

Pain City: Keep It Real

Heavy Metal Rock

3.5/5.0

Website Facebook Instagram
Pain City Records
Released: 25.01.2019
Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 23.01.2019

Pain City is new band from Norway, formed in 2014 by Stian Krogh, formerly the main songwriter and lead guitarist of The Carburetors. Essentially a power trio the band features Petter Haukaas on drums and Morten Nilsen on bass. Keep It Real is their latest and second album.

Pain City

If you have some knowledge of The Carburetors, Krogh and Pain City stray little from that band's version of heavy metal rock. Pain City blends sharp metal riffs with rock rhythm and groove, and then adds some punk energy and pop sensibility. The songs hard and heavy, but also have a shot of rock and groove to give them some AOR accessibility. You'll hear this mixture in songs like Alive And Free, Today I Ain't Myself, Rock Them All, or Cannonball On Fire, a firecracker of a song that has some brisk speed with groove. For something different, Swallowed By Flames, another metal rocker features fine vocal harmony and, about two-thirds in, a fine breakdown with light guitar over drums. If I could make a strange comparison, Pain City sounds like a less angry, more friendly, Motorhead. Yeah. Weird, huh? Essentially, with Keep It Real, Pain City offers some brisk heavy metal rock with some get up and groove. Check them out.

Inglorious: Ride To Nowhere

Melodic Hard Rock

3.5/5.0

With little doubt, England's Inglorious is riding the wave of their own success. 2017's II was a chart buster for the band, reaching number one on UK rock charts. Now the band ... [ Read More ]

Note: All Amazon advertising in this review first benefits the artist, then Craig Hartranft also receives a residual. Click, and thanks for your support.

Essentially, with Keep It Real, Pain City offers some brisk heavy metal rock with some get up and groove. Check them out.

Alphabetical Index

Here's a fun fact about Swiss legends, Gotthard: their last 16 releases, excepting their debut album, went to number one in their home country, making them one of Switzerland's most successful acts and ... [ Read More ]