Band:	Holy Pain
Album:	Among Religions
Style:	Power metal
Website:	http://www.holy-pain.com
Release date:	2008
A review by:	Jeff

01. Another Day
02. Children of war
03. Evolution / Revolution
04. Let me Die
05. My Desires
06. Agony
07. The Ten Plagues
08. Among Religions
09. Monster's March

Power Metal has never been super prolific in France but sometime you can find some good bands in the country. Holy Pain, one of the last signatures of Thundering Records, is one of them and they will release this year their second album "Among Religions". Don't expect anything new but definitely Holy Pain is a solid band of Power Metal and this release will prove that we French people can do it well too.

"Among Religions" is not a bad album of Power Metal. The good point of this release is that the band doesn't play something too "happy" so you can already expect heavy riffs and great dark melodies. Sure this is Power Metal so the choruses are extremely catchy and a bit cheesy sometime but the riffs are loud and heavy and sometime we're not so far away of the Heavy Thrash of Metallica and Megadeth during their 90's period. No, really "Among Religions" is composed of good songs, fast and with a lot of rhythm this is not extremely new or surprising but this is well done and doesn't really sound like all the Power Metal bands which use to release "Flower" Power Metal, there is a naughty dark side in the music of Holy Land which is really good and interesting.

"Among Religions" is well recorded, the sound is not limpid like crystal water but it's well produced nonetheless and despite an average cover and a band name which is a bit cliché, these guys from Lyon are good metalheads and play good music. Maybe that David Stanis' English accent is a bit average sometime and that the guitars soli are not the most impressive things ever done but really, "Among Religions" is a good album and deserve to be tried if you want to listen to some Power Metal made in France.

Too bad that in general the choruses of this album are a bit "too much" but all in all, "Among Religions" is a good album of Power Metal. Sure there is nothing new in this album but this is well done and as you know now, not too happy and commercial. Holy Pain is not an outstanding discovery but an honest one which lead me to the conclusion that France has at least now one good Metal act in this category.