When you hear Pro-Pain, you know it's Pro-Pain. Bands will twist themselves in knots time and again to "reinvent" their sound or "mature 'n' grow" or "diversify" their direction. Pro-Pain has, to this point, ostensibly avoided that would be pitfall.

Still with Gary Meskil and Tom Klimchuck tipping the sharp New York heavy-hitting Pro-Pain javelin, 2008 saw the release of _No End in Sight_, making a cool dozen full-length efforts for the band. In addition to JC Dwyer on drums and Marshall Stephens pulling rhythm guitar duty, _NEiS_ enlists Stephan Weidner (formerly of Böhse Onkelz) and Rob Barrett (of Cannibal Corpse fame) on a couple of tracks.

There are those who would challenge the opening declaration at the beginning of this article saying _NEiS_ is the band's most established, pioneering release to date. If that is your position, you still are not able to escape the intense reality that each of the ten tracks (and the bonus REAM MIX of "Where We Stand") all smack of quintessential Pro-Pain robust retribution.

Favorites aside, characteristic high and low points haunt nearly every album from most every band. Kicking off with a stellar, power-packed stereotypical Pro-Pain track, "Let the Blood Run Through the Streets", followed up by the nearly equally tense "Halo", the band almost leaves nowhere to go but downward. "Hour of the Time", the Stephan Weidner guest vocal cut, ultimate reveals itself as repetitious and mostly irritating even the first time through. Ironically, "Hour of the Time" will most likely be where purveyors of Pro-Pain diversified maturation will try and hitch their wagon, so to speak; as Arnold Schwarzenegger said in "Last Action Hero" -- "BIG MISTAKE".

About halfway through _NEiS_, "Phoenix Rising" provides the next brilliant point of light brazenly showcasing the inexorable talents of Rob Barrett. This is definitely one of the crown jewels in this band's undeniably hard-hitting career. "Go it Alone" adds a unique dimension to the album with some fitting bagpipe usage and the lyrics from "God's Will" provides choice direct quotes from the Old Testament.

All things being equal, Pro-Pain has made it a customary standard to deliver reliable doses of equal parts pounding and assault in their music. Largely, this effort is no exception. _No End in Sight_ boast a war cry for the mighty Pro-Pain and eons from any swan song, to be sure.