RSS Feed


PUREST OF PAIN
Solipsis

Sick (2018)
Rating: 3/10

I’m not going to sugar coat this, Solipsis was a tough record to get through. Dutch band Purest Of Pain – who feature Delain and MaYaN guitarist Merel Betchtold – have been billed as melodic death metal. But to be honest, they seem closer to deathcore to me, and this genre of metal doesn’t draw me in. It’s basically what I refer to as “Hot Topic Rock”. So accordingly, there’s a lot of flash but not a lot of substance.

To put it bluntly, Solipsis is bland, two-dimensional deathcore with its over-torqued, double bass driven, painting by numbers sound. I think what bothers me about this particular style of metal is that I’ve heard this record before. It’s the same product every band like Purest Of Pain churns out when they’re trying to sound tough and fit into the heavier side of metal.

I found nothing new or interesting regarding this debut record. It’s rather generic and uninspired with few fleeting moments of good music rearing its beleaguered head. I’ve listened to this record at least four times now, and it’s hard to get through. I kept searching for glimpses of originality and hidden gems that might make me change my mind, but alas, repetition is just that – repetition.

With the first six songs, I couldn’t find anything with substance whatsoever. There’s heaviness here, I can sense it, but it sounds forced and manufactured. Growly, angry vocals for the sake of well, trying to sound hard. The time changes and the Fear Factory-inspired guitars are nothing to get excited about either.

The next three songs – ‘Tidebreaker’, ‘Trial & Error’ and ‘Terra Nil’ – did hold my attention, but the remaining five tracks took another dive into not making me want to care about anything Purest Of Pain was doing, or trying to do. The band merely came off sounding bland, just like the first six songs. And who the hell thought inserting double bass into every song was a good idea? Good Lord! I thought work crews were jack hammering concrete outside my home.

It really is painful sitting through muck like this. It’s not rocket science to differentiate good, true metal from poser nonsense such as Solipsis. At the end of the day it’s just pure static that needs to be turned off and forgotten about. I kept looking for heart and soul but found music with no identity and purpose, nor direction.

Theron Moore

<< Back to Album & EP Reviews



Related Posts via Categories
Share