WELLBORN ROAD – Pain Hate Redemption (2014)
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Coming from Houston, Texas, we have this quartet called WELLBORN ROAD and their newest full-length, “Pain Hate Redemption“. With their previous album the band have been building a strong fan base called ‘The Brew Crew’, as the guys are sponsored by a Beer company.
Wellborn Road label themselves under the genres of hard rock and ‘southern metal’, fueled by powerful riffs and to-the-point songs.
“Pain Hate Redemption” has a typical American sound and many influences, but overall they remind me a particular act.
Perhaps few of you have ever listened Alice In Chains’ late ’80s demo, before they join the Grunge wagon for massive success. Well, they used to be pretty heavy and with a hard rock foundation in the vein of Lynch Mob, blended with classic US metal like Impelliteri or Racer X.
That is how Wellborn Road’s “Pain Hate Redemption” sounds to me, all with an updated production and output, and spiced with a southern touch, but more in attitude than style.
When the first spin was over, the album demanded for another go. The second spin confirmed my initial reaction. Very good, effective stuff. Sure, musically it’s not something completely new but can definitely hold it’s own.
This is a hard edged, rocking collection of songs which took you back into the simpler times when all you needed was a beer in your hand and metal concert for the weekend.
Wellborn Road rocks you with stompers like “New Found Life”, the razor title track “Pain Hate Redemption” or the fast “All That Lives Will Die”.
Then they add more groove to numbers such as “The Mirror” (pretty ’80s akin Rob Rock), the dark “Breaking Down” and the atmospheric “Left Behind”. Closer “With Broken Wings” is where the band shows some southern influences, a semi-ballad with acoustic and nice harmony vocals.
“Pain Hate Redemption” is a really interesting album from Wellborn Road, a young band with a lot of potential. It’s really well composed, recorded and produced by themselves with a vibrant feel.
They sound professional and oiled, and while this type of metal / hard is not the more popular nowadays, I’m sure “Pain Hate Redemption” will bring new sheep to their flock.
01 – New Found Life
02 – Pain Hate Redemption
03 – The Mirror
04 – Isolate
05 – Left Behind
06 – Oblivion
07 – All That Lives Will Die
08 – Into Hell
09 – Breaking Down
10 – With Broken Wings
Scott Emanis (Vocals)
Tyler Tracy (Guitars)
Dale Kahil (Bass)
Robert Dickinson (Drums)
BUY IT !
wellbornroad.com/product/tickets
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