MAINPAIN – The Empirical Shape of Pain
- by Matt Coe
- Posted on 20-05-2015
Receiving a wider push through the Punishment 18 Records distribution channels, this second studio album from Italy’s MainPain is a journey into conventional meets semi-crunchy metal. "The Empirical Shape of Pain" is a 63 minute affair, unafraid to flex a little bit of free-flowing instrumental openness and allow bassist Daniele Tamborini a chance to be heard right from the start in the second cut "The Healer". Their overall style straddles a NWOBHM foundation with US power metal influences, I’d say everything from Iron Maiden and Jag Panzer to mid-tempo Metallica comes to mind.
Unfortunately a lot of the riffing and main hooks are just there – nothing super exciting or out of the norm you’ve heard from their influences. Beyond that, vocalist Ronnie Borgese has a little bit of his Italian accent that when reaching for the higher notes of "Kiss of Death" or "The Spiral" sound off kilter and pitchy, or mirror the riff a little too closely. The guitar playing elevates things beyond average, but little else… making MainPain an act that hopefully will improve on their next outing.