Reviewed by:
labonza01, on june 20, 2006
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Sound: Nonpoint's "To The Pain" is a punch to the face, but in a good way. Unrelenting heaviness and a great sense of melody, along with brilliant instrumental work really make this album shine through the darkness provided by some similar acts. Their spanish influence provides a spark of creativness as well, as lead vocalist Elias will sing and scream in Spanish as in the song "Buscandome" where he chants "Yo soy, lo que soy, no me voy. Buscandome!" which translates roughly to "I am what I am, I won't go. Find me!" or "I find myself". Another part of their spanish roots shows in the song "Explain Yourself" where a blaring trumpet solo really livens up the song. // 8
Lyrics and Singing: The lyrics aren't necessarily musical genious here, but that doesn't make them bad. The lyrics are coded, so there is alot of confusion and different interpretations of what certian songs are saying. The song "Bullet With A Name" is, in my own interpretation of the lyrics, a song about a bank robbery. This idea comes from the pre-chorus/chorus lyric of "Gunshots clapping and people all running in every direction with their hands up, waiting for the drama to end. I got my hand out looking for some money to spend. The pricetag on the thing I need are getting bigger by the day. I've got a bullet with a name on it, bullet with a name." Everybody will have their own idea of what the lyrics are or are not. They usually incorporate a sense of imagery and some humor, as in the song " The Wreckoning" where Elias bitterly mocks modern culture and humorously sings "Mr. and Mrs. Popularity gotta be the life of all the parties, gotta be the first to be the bad ones, get f--ked up and have too much fun". The lyrics go hand in hand with the music, brutal, heavy, and clever. // 6
Impression: This album is very difficult to compare to any other release to date. "To The Pain" is a truely unique album, especially for the hard rock/metal genre. Unlike most vocalists in the hard rock genre, Elias has a distinguishable voice, so you never have to ask wether you are listening to Nickleback or Staind. I am a major fan of punk and hardcore music, but this album was amazing enough to appeal to me. The guitar work has a truely unique sound in itself, as there is only one guitarist, yet he can keep a brutal rhythym and play fast leads, as in the songs "There's Going To Be A War!" and title-track "To The Pain." Bassist, Bastard, is for the most part, just there to be the bassist, you very rarely hear him unless you listen to the 2 instrumental tracks of the album in which the primary focus is on his considerable bass skills. The drumming is also very nicely executed, double-bass, fast, and an excellent pace-keeper, the drummer definitely knows what he is doing. The only real downside to this album is the redundancy, as you tend to forget what song you are listening to on the latter half of the album because Elias never changes his tone. This copy would never end up getting stolen because my cd case is one of my most closely guarded possessions, but if it somehow slipped through my fingers, I would most likely buy this album one more time. Overall, it's an excellent album and should be listened to atleast once. // 9
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