PICTURES OF PAIN – The Reckoning
- by Matt Coe
- Posted on 09-02-2011
This is a Norwegian melodic progressive metal band with atmospheric and epic tendencies on their debut album "The Reckoning". “Eternal Rage” opens with the familiar Black Sabbath devil’s triumvirate riff bending before progressing into a clean/scream vocal 9 minute, 20 second tennis match and musically evolving with epic power parts and challenging drum passages. Eight main songs and two demo track bonus cuts equals a long-winded album. It’s as Pictures Of Pain want to impress with genre diversity, yet can’t meld sonically into something cohesive for most listeners to grasp and retain.
Next time I hope Pictures Of Pain really take a microscope to their writing and seek fluidity over piecemeal arrangements and twenty riffs per song.