Maximum Metal Reviews

Maximum Metal Rating Legend

5	Excellent - Masterpiece. A classic.
4.5-4	Great - Almost perfect records but there's probably a lacking.
3.5	Good - Most of the record is good, but there may be some filler.
3	Average - Some good songs, some bad ones at about a half/half ratio.
2.5-2	Fair - Worth a listen, but best obtained by collectors.
1.5-1	Bad - Major problems with music, lyrics, production, etc.
0	Terrible - Waste of your life and time.
Note: Reviews are graded from 0-5, anything higher or not showing is from our old style. Scores, however, do not reveal the important features. The written review that accompanies the ratings is the best source of information regarding the music on our site. Reviewing is opinionated, not a qualitative science, so scores are personal to the reviewer and could reflect anything from being technically brilliant to gloriously cheesy fun. Demos and independent releases get some slack since the bands are often spent broke supporting themselves and trying to improve. Major releases usually have big financial backing, so they may be judged by a heavier hand. All scores can be eventually adjusted up or down by comparison of subsequent releases by the same band. We attempt to keep biases out of reviews and be advocates of the consumer without the undo influence of any band, label, management, promoter, etc. The best way to determine how much you may like certain music is to listen to it yourself.

Band

Define Divine

Title

Suffer The Pain

Type

LP/EP

Company

Independent

YOR

2005

Style

Nu/Rapcore

Popular Reviews

1/12/2006 - Review by: Anthony Burke

Heavy and pleasing at times

Define Divine - Suffer The Pain - 2004 - Rule! Entertainment

Track Listing1. 9-1
2. Second Sun
3. Brother Devil Child
4. Doctor
5. Suffer (The Pain)
6. Do or die
7. Iron
8. Devotion
9. Win
10. Holy Buddha Cable Sales

Define divine, allow me to take a shot at that. Divine means supremely good or even Godlike. Now that I have done the homework the band decided to give, we can focus on the task at hand, the music.

This five piece includes Angst on vocal chords (former PIMPSLAP THE ATMOSPHERE, RULE, and TYRANT SIN, which later became CANNIBAL CORPSE after Angst left), Bezl on one guitar (former PIMPSLAP THE ATMOSPHERE), Shawn Bowen on the other guitar (former NEUROTICA and BALD DAISY), Paul Ditomasso on bass, and G.J. Gosman behind the drum kit (former NEUROTICA and NEW CRASH POSITION). Angst and Bezl met in Florida, but unfortunately, there was no more background info on the band, so what you see, is what I know.

Here, we have a 10 track debut from an aggressive (borderline Nu-Metal) five piece. The band states their influences to be BLACK SABBATH, MARILYN MANSON, SOULFLY, KORN, and TOOL, and others. Well, at least two of the five bands mentioned are worthy in my book, so would this release stand on its own? The first minute or so of the opening track sounds promising for this group. Then comes the distortion mixed with what sounds like a fretless bass (Primus uses one and it gives the sound that the strings need to be tightened and the bass needs to be tuned). Maybe this Marilyn Manson cloned sound was a fluke, that was only geared for that one song. The next eight songs were just more of the same. Songs that start out promising but then turn away from that. Yes, 1 + 8 + 9, so this leads us to track 10. I am not even sure the relevance it has to this album or music in general. It is solely an answering machine. Hey, I have one. Maybe I can record messages and make an album from it. That was absolutely worthless and a complete waste of tape and space on a CD.

I cannot rate this, to be honest. Vocally, Angst has an incredible voice, whether a soft-spoken whisper or a scream, he can do it all. But there is such thing as overdoing the distortion. Musically the bass was so far out of tune and so the guitars were extremely distorted, thus it was redundant and became annoying. It became heavy and pleasing at times (Sabbath, Tool) but those tiny lifeboats could not stop this ship from sinking faster than the Titanic. Fans of the Nu-Metal scene, (Manson, Korn, ect.) may and probably will enjoy this band. As for me, I was never so glad to hit the eject button.

--Mojo 1.10.05