Pay attention everyone, it's time for a little one on one tough talk with New York hardcore/metal outfit Pro-Pain. Pro-Pain has done well in the metal/hardcore market with the popularity of their self-titled debut (1992) and their most recent offering, _The Truth Hurts_ (1994). The questions are general but the attitude and sincerity are sharp and genuine. And one thing is for sure, singer/bassist Gary Meskil (GM) knows where he wants his band poised in the future: in our faces.

(Pro-Pain is rounded out by guitarists Nick St. Denis and Mike Hollman, and drummer Dan Richardson)

CoC: With the newer material that you are working on (the third effort is due out in March of '96), do you know what you are trying to accomplish with the forthcoming release?

GM: "The mixture of both previous albums. I think the second album threw a lot of people in a loop with the heavy vocals making it sound different from the first record. I mean it was something we wanted to do (the vocal adjustments and overall heaviness). The album came out the way we wanted it to sound."

CoC: Do you see Pro-Pain's music changing because of the need for music to change in order to be successful?

GM: "We don't even listen to any other bands out there - seriously! We make a record, tour, play and go back into the studio to make another record. We try not to get too involved with all the bullshit or what is happening now. We have never been that way. We are going to do what makes us feel good when making the next record because obviously we are not capable of selling a million records because of who we are. We are with Energy Records which is a cool independent label and that is what they are: an independent label. So we realize where we are and there is no reason for us to start trying things to get from one point to the other. We just make a record and go out and tour."

CoC: How hard has it been for a heavy band like yourselves to actually go out and tour? Has the band seen changes?

GM: "For sure there has been change, especially with fans branching off to heavy bands like us or Nine Inch Nails or any other college favorite music act that has a following. It is definitely much harder now for bands like us that are starting out right now. I can definitely say the heavy music scene is slowly going downhill with bands like Nine Inch Nails being able to headline arenas and leaving bands like us in the clubs and just hangin' on. For us now we are going to stay the way we have wanted to be when we first started. We'll stay heavy as long as we can, but to be honest with you I can see Pro-Pain only lasting four or five records. We realize what is going on in the music industry and I can honestly say that I think five albums would be tops for a band like us."

CoC: What has been the hardest thing that the band has had to endure?

GM: "It hasn't really been a struggle but if there was anything, I would say touring has been tough. We toured our asses off with the first record and it was a battle to get the Pro-Pain name out there. But without the backing of a major label, we realized that you have to do it all on your own. It is great that your label (ie. Energy) will get your record out in the stores but you have to play every town so people will go to the record stores and buy that CD. You gotta keep going and trying to sell those records. A band like Pro-Pain will sell somewhere between 60,000 to 100,000 depending on the record (if they are lucky) but that is what came out of extensive work on the band to promote themselves. You have to take it all into your own hands which is what we have realized since the beginning."