Band:	Drain
Album:	Living Proof
Style:	Hardcore, Crossover thrash metal
Release date:	May 2023

01. Run Your Luck
02. FTS (KYS)
03. Devil's Itch
04. Evil Finds Light
05. Imposter
06. Intermission [feat. Shakewell]
07. Weight Of The World
08. Watch You Burn
09. Good Good Things [Descendents cover]
10. Living Proof

When you're listening to hardcore, how much do you want its tongue firmly planted in its cheek?

This isn't to say that Drain shouldn't be taken seriously. For the vast majority of Living Proof, this is hardcore that is hard hitting and that one can easily listen to and not detect any hint of jest. If it was all jokes or all serious, it might be a bit too easy to write off. Instead, I think having these two sides of the coin there while not really stepping on each other's toes works best for Drain. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, here we have California hardcore band Drain, they've been around for nearly a decade at this point, they share some members with the now defunct Gulch, and they only have one other full length out, 2020's California Cursed. Great, we got the biographical stuff out of the way, let's talk about music again.

Even though there are metallic elements in their music, Drain sit pretty comfortably in the hardcore side of things. Sure, listening to this does remind me of everything from Enforced to Pantera to Power Trip, all metal artists that owe a lot to punk, so Living Proof has elements like the riffing and the vocals that do sit pretty comfortably nearby the crossover thrash sound. But I'm also reminded of stuff like Integrity or Suicidal Tendencies or newer acts like Judiciary and Jesus Piece that sit closer to the punk side of things. And all of this is serious and all, and there's a shitload of moshable music to be found here, and songs like "Weight Of The World" whose lyrics are definitely meant to be taken seriously, but there's some over-the-top quality of it all that just puts a smile on my face.

And I think that goes hand in hand with the slightly less serious side of this album. First hint: the cover art. Second hint: there's an intermission halfway through the album that's basically a trap song by guest rapper Shakewell. Third hint: there's a cover of pop punk pioneers Descendants' "Good Good Things" almost at the end of the record that completely commits to the pop punk sound, while the actual album closer realizes that the cowbell exists. And, while I'm gonna link the Bandcamp embed at the end of the review, you can't get the full experience without seeing two of the funniest music videos I've seen all year in "FTS (KYS)" and "Evil Finds Light". Does this all make the flow of the album feel a bit weird? Sure. Is it the most fun I've had with a hardcore record in a while? Absolutely.