Jam Pain Society

Black Light Messiah

Written by: PP on 03/09/2008 16:26:54

What? A new, real nu-metal album on my review desk in late 2008? Did I miss something here? Apparently not, because Jam Pain Society's "Black Light Messiah" sounds about exactly how nu-metal used to sound around 2001 when it was still good, complete with the industrialized sound effects, groovy riffs borrowed from various hard rock outfits, pre-"Issues" koRn-era screeching guitar solos, and the familiar pseudo-heavy guitar riffs that are meant to sound 'crushing'. What surprised me even more, however, is the fact that "Black Light Messiah" doesn't really sound (too) outdated.

Instead of utilizing the half-growled half-screamed male vocalist to the genre, we're offered some real grrrl power here. Jam Pain's vocalist Leash Kirby sings angrily but it's still clearly a female voice, though delicacy is usually pretty far from her voice. She can go into raging-mode in the songs, yelling angrily with scratched vocal, but in an interesting contrast, she can also sing on pretty god damn high notes as evident in "Wasted".

Instrumentally, the band relies on pretty simplistic hooks and general heaviness in their guitars, hoping that the listener will find something they'll stick by until the industrially-melodic (yeah, I just made that up) choruses arrive. As a noteworthy addition, the Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley offers some of his signature soloing on "The Ride", instantly separating himself from the band's own guitarist Chris Hill, placing a 70s/80s glam/hard rock feel to the song.

Overall though, I'd be lying if I said "Black Light Messiah" is a particularly good album. Although it only sounds about four years old instead of the seven to eight years most other nu-metal bands these days, you can't help but think the golden era for their kind has gone long ago. Furthermore, the girl power vocals just don't really fit into their music at all (do they fit to any music?), so that's a big minus from my side, marking Jam Pain Society's new album as a terribly average album.

5

Download: The Ride, Wasted
For the fans of: koRn, Linkin Park, other 90s nu-metal
Listen: Myspace

Release date 18.07.2008
Locomotive Records

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