One of the mighty progenitors of Hardcore (and to some extent, crossover), PRO-PAIN is a name sometimes overlooked. Spearheaded by the dedicated and tireless Gary Meskill, the band have, through thick and thin, soldiered on with stunning release after stunning release. "Voice of Rebellion" is a new opus for the band, and features an immaculate yet raw production and meaty tracks with hard-hitting lyrics and vibes from groove, to Hardcore, to modern Thrash.

While the last album, "The Final Revolution", contains one of my favourite riff-monsters of all time in "Deathwish", the new piece, while it follows a similar mode of heaviness and progress down a similar musical path, I immediately noticed improvements in mastering and production. The first two tracks of the album, the title-track and the deathly-poetic "No Fly Zone", will throw that fact in your face; initially I had trouble believing I was actually listening to a Hardcore band. Gary is yet again showing his amazing talent as a lyricist, applying syntax and rhythm to his lines that only emphasise his delivery; "consider this a WAR-NING-SHOT, MOTHERFUCKER!" is one of the more powerful moments you'll experience on this album. Who knew such an extreme track could be so catchy?

The album's Heavy Metal tendencies take off on an upward curve for a few more tracks to go, especially the choppy headbanger "Souls On Fire", almost coming off as something from a modern CARCASS record. Two thumbs up from me, and a third when a wedge in the steel slab is shoved in with the 100% pure Hardcore track "Take It To The Grave". From here on in, the album tends to deviate between Metal and Hardcore with rather unexpected outcomes; the Thrashy "Bella Morte" into the up-beat, radio-friendly "Cognitive Dissonance" and, my favourite track on the album, the riff-tastic "Blade Of The Cursed". I can't emphasise enough, the molecular edge on the riffs churned out in this track, with masterful bass-vs-guitar instrumentation harkening back to "Deathwish" from the previous release. "DNR (Do Not Resuscitate)" provides an almost-pure Thrasher towards the end of the album, not too unlike something you'd find on a DESTRUCTION album. "Fuck This Life" ends the album on a rather poignant and hard-hitting note, summing up the band's wild and wide-spanning influences with a stellar belt-out of Groove and Hardcore.

In a way I have to thank the band, because the release of this album has essentially opened up both my mind and my ears to the weird and wonderful realm of Hardcore, and why I should give the music a chance because of stellar acts like PRO-PAIN.