PAINMUSEUM - Metal For Life                

Posted: 2/3/05

Reviewed by: Steve Gottlieb

Category: Extreme Thrash Metal

Released: 2004

Label URL:

Artist URL: www.planetshred.com

Painmuseum is the brainchild of guitarist ‘Metal’ Mike Chlasiak, one half of the guitar team for Halford, Rob Halford’s solo band (which, according to Chlasiak’s website, isn’t broken up but merely on hiatus while Halford is off doing his Judas Priest thing).  Chlasiak, who also toured with Testament on their 2004 European tour, is clearly a product of 80s thrash, and this influence comes through loud and clear in the riffs and solos throughout the album.  Propelled along by fellow Halford bandmate, drummer Bobby Jarzombek (also of Riot and Iced Earth fame), and journeyman bassist Steve DiGiorgio (Sadus, Testament, Death), Chlasiak shows that he’s got the chops to take 80s thrash riffs and put enough of a modern spin on them to sound fresh.  Whether it’s the blistering opening track “Speak the Name,” the straightforward “Words Kill Everything,” or the Balls-to-the-Wall-ish “American Metalhead,” Chlasiak’s fluid style shines through.  And by adding just the slightest hint of an extreme metal influence (think Heartwork-era Carcass), he gives the songs just the juice they need.  Finally, the outstanding production of Roy Z (who’s worked with both Halford and Bruce Dickinson) brings the crisp music to the forefront.

Unfortunately, Chlasiak went a bit too far with the extreme elements when he recruited Tim Clayborne (ex-Hatred) for the vocal slot.  Clayborne’s vocal delivery is interesting, to say the least, sounding at once like a combination of an 80’s Bay Area thrash metal screamer, a 90’s Floridian death metal barker, and an 00’s Norwegian black metal screecher (sort of like the three ‘evil’ tenors rolled into one).  And believe me, it sounds just as disjointed on the album as that last sentence I just wrote looks on screen.  Put it this way: Clayborne makes former Exodus frontman Zetro Souza, never the most mellifluous vocalist, sound like Pavarotti.  And the irony of it all is that the guy actually has a really great singing voice.  I know this because he uses it once on the album, during the fantastic anthemic chorus of “Live and Die.”  Why he doesn’t sing more often throughout the album is beyond me, and it’s the vocals which, in my opinion, come just short of ruining an otherwise great effort.

The Bloody Truth:  Coming across musically like Halford’s Resurrection album “dipped in a tub of black” (I’m paraphrasing from Metal Mike), or even classic Accept on steroids, Metal For Life is a potentially great album marred by an off-putting vocal performance.  And this puts Painmuseum in an awkward position: fans of classic thrash or traditional metal will almost certainly dislike the vocals, while those fans of extreme metal who might enjoy the vocals may find the music to be not extreme enough to their liking.  Metal Mike, get Clayborne to sing instead of scream on the next one, and you’ll have a winner.