Raism – “The Very Best of Pain”
The fellas at RELAPSE are billing this as an “evil SKINNY PUPPY”, and they’re not entirely wrong in saying so. Anyone who has listened to SKINNY P. more than once will notice a few similarities. However, there is a lot more going on here musically. While SKINNY P. lean toward simple mechanical rhythms, and vocals that seem cold and almost devoid of any humanity. RAISM offers a dizzying variety of sounds and musical textures, not to mention the vocals sound different in just about every song. Before this starts to read like a SKINNY P. review, let me elaborate on RAISM…. THIS IS A REALLY KOOL ALBUM!!! And since it is brought forth by the same geniuses behind IMPALED N., x-ROTTING C., and DIABOLOS R., what else can you expect but excellence? Beware though, this is not for everyone. If you’re a closed minded asshole who won’t listen to anything but death metal, you probably will not like it. On the other hand, if you like DIABOLOS R., or SKINNY P., or anything in that vein, then I totally recommend it! RAISM shows diversity and uniqueness, something that’s sorely needed in the music scene these days. This is definitely one of my picks for 97, and I look forward to hearing more from RAISM in the future.