Review of the Album Thrashed to Kill by Dutch Thrash Metal Band Project Pain

Utrecht area thrash metal band Project Pain has aroused my interest once again and for those of you that liked the album Brothers in Blood may enjoy the band's second studio release called Thrashed to Kill released in 2015. These Dutch guys that have created lyrics that deal with gore and other gruesome topics may have released a better album than their latest one.

This album starts off with the well-written song called Betrayal and this song is pretty self-explanatory discussing about how some people can betray us and they cannot be trusted. The song has the chant of the word betrayal as this is a solid way to start off this album. There are times that some people will panic so much that their panic turns to rage. However, the first few seconds of the song remind me of the song called Ides of March by Iron Maiden but this is not some cheesy form of thrash but rather thrash metal that hits the eardrums right away with melody + aggression!

What is seen on this album is thrash metal that once again works and these guys do not use the same kind of aggressive play like Cannibal Corpse but rather they use a more melodic approach, no growling, no guttural vocals and just high-quality European thrash metal. The Netherlands is a country that now has more than beautiful fashion models or good tasting cheese. It is slowly becoming a nation in Europe with a growing thrash metal scene.

These guys also use riffing that resembles Slayer but with a more modern touch to it. The album has that feel that these guys are ready to define themselves as a thrash metal band that has lyrics that could be used in horror movies and the song Zero Tolerance has that tough guy kind of feel. The song titles may have the feel of a band such as Cannibal Corpse but these guys also have a narration style part in the song called Sent off to Die which turns from a mid-tempo song until the song really speeds up and I'm sure that Tom Araya would be proud if he heard these guys play. “Fear the Reaper” may as well have been influenced by the band Children of Bodom. The Reaper is a monster that has only one mission in mind and that mission is to hunt down humans. “Flatline Invasion” has the sound of the bell chimes and heavy guitars. The title track has this sort of slow beginning similar to Metallica's Hit the Lights song before it gets into a Kreator influenced song that is about a man or group of people that are filled with so much hate inside that they are ready to even track down children to fill their lustful needs.

As of two full listens through this album, Thrashed to Kill gets a very good score though it is not quite flawless. I would say that it should get at least 85 points out of 100.

We forgot to address one song in particular that is called P*** on Your Grave. The song lyrically is about the fact that world is in serious danger. There is a nice melodic transition here and it speaks to the talent that these guys have.

However, as is the case with some of these bands in the genre of thrash, there is not enough lyrical variation here other than the same doomsday scenario kind of lyrics and that's not a good formula to follow if you are not an extreme death metal band. It would be one thing if Project Pain was a death metal band like Cannibal Corpse but they are in the genre of thrash and because of that they should attempt to have more lyrical variation but other than that flaw, the music itself is more than respectable and the riffing is melodic enough.