UMUR
Power and Pain is the debut full-length studio album by American thrash metal act Whiplash. The album was released in 1985 by Roadrunner Records. Power and Pain was re-issued as a split with Whiplash 2nd full-length studio album Ticket to Mayhem (1987) in 1998 by Displeased Records.
The music on the album is old school US thrash metal played by a tight power-trio. Kill ´Em All (1983) by Metallica comes to mind but there´s a melodic element in the music that reminds me a bit about Alice in Hell (1989) by Annihilator too. Add to that, that lead vocalist/ guitarist Tony Portaro has a voice that sometimes is a bit similar to Randy Rampage ( Annihilator) and that comparison becomes even more valid. The songs are generally fast-paced and aggressive and maybe a bit one-dimensional. But who cares when there´s such a fierce energy on display. Songtitles like Stage Dive, Power Thrashing Death and War Monger pretty much tells the whole story. This music is designed to get a good mosh pit going.
The production is raw and powerful and suits the music well.
Power and Pain is a great debut album by Whiplash and if you´re looking for a good old school eighties thrash metal album, Power and Pain will certainly apply. A 3.5 star rating is well deserved.