Band:	Whiplash
Album:	Power And Pain
Style:	Thrash metal
Release date:	February 1986
Guest review by:	Cynic Metalhead

01. Stage Dive
02. Red Bomb
03. Last Man Alive
04. Message In Blood
05. War Monger
06. Power Thrashing Death
07. Stirring The Cauldron
08. Spit On Your Grave
09. Nailed To The Cross

Whiplash sounds like you throw Slayer into a blender with the riff-centric focus of early Metallica, and you get a chaotic concoction of gnarly and infectious. Whiplash released their debut album Power And Pain in 1986, and it's a blistering reminder that thrash metal doesn't need to be the fastest or the most polished; it has to be gritty, raw, a son of a nasty fucking piece where your soul gets shredded by Tony Portaro’s riffs. If you listen to album very closely, it will remind highly of Kill 'Em All, only if that album hadn't shaved for a few months, leaving additional shreds of gross carnage stuck to its beard.

Despite its rawness, Power And Pain is glorious evidence of Whiplash's undeniable knack for catchy songwriting. It's like they took the ethos of punk and metal, threw them into a bar fight, and recorded the aftermath. There's something almost primal in Tony Portaro’s snarling vocal delivery and speed-freak guitar backed by the other two Tonys (Bono on bass and Scaglione on drums), who lock in tight enough to make you claustrophobic. The guitar tone on Power And Pain leans more towards classic metal, with plenty of melodic moments that blur the line between riff and solo. Check out the main Judas Priest-style solo in "Stage Dive", or the opening staple speed-metal riff of "War Monger", and you get to know what I'm chirping about.

For squealing goodness, check out the lead in "Power Thrashing Death," which is probably the highlight of the album, since the production seems just a bit clearer on this one; the song is a bit slowed down compared to the others, and in pulling down the weightage by laying off the speed, it sounds oddly satisfying. What sounds more satisfying are the melodic solos reminiscent of Screaming For Vengeance emulated in the interlude of "War Monger", or even the solo in "Spit On Your Grave", which resembles that from Helloween's "Victim Of Fate". This album is heavier, a muscular, absolute thrashfest that juices with crunchy rhythmic flow, closing the record at its pinnacle with "Nailed To The Cross".

For your information, several tracks on Power And Pain had appeared on Whiplash's 1985 Looking Death In The Face demo (albeit as different versions, of course). For me, Whiplash unequivocally, true-to-the-mettle owned a sound that was never bolstered from any other band. No, it didn't make it among the cutting-edge albums of the 80s and early 90s, nor did it intend to, but it possessed all the elements a speed/thrash album requires, with extra touches of heavy metal in it.

What you waiting for? Go and take a bloody swing at it.

Highlights: "Power Thrashing Death", "Spit On Your Grave", and "War Monger"