Search - Nonpoint :: To the Pain

Randy F. from FISHERS, IN
Reviewed on 11/16/2009...

Love It!

Kenneth W. (Eyesore) from TAUNTON, MA
Reviewed on 12/4/2007...

Let's be honest, rap metal is a dead genre, which is for the best. Originally when bands like Fishbone, Downset (originally known as Social Justice) and Stuck Mojo began taking the Run DMC blueprint of fusing funk and rap into heavier music for entire albums it was a good thing. Like all newly explored areas of music there are great bands who pioneer those styles, but then comes the corporate mainstream that douses the entire genre in Insta-Semen and next thing you know there are a million similar bands. Unfortunately 99% of them suck and they smother the good bands. Nonpoint are one of the good bands.

Believe it or not, they began in Puerto Rico as a thrash band known as Nonpoint Factor. This was 1991. A move to Florida brought about change and in 1997 the band re-emerged -- this time as Nonpoint -- with some new members and a decidedly different style. They were now a rap metal hybrid that blended funk, rap, and metal; clearly not an innovator of the genre, but one of the standouts. Mainly due to Elias Soriano's vocal style and melodies, they sound like no other out there. This is their sixth full-length; their fourth on a major label and it's worth noting that they're still on a major label while most of the other bands of this genre have floated off into oblivion.

History lesson aside (you'll likely not care anyway), this album is another killer slab of rap metal, not totally original in style, but definitely original in sound. Well worth checking out if you've ever like anything like this. If not, skip it.

Website: http://www.nonpoint.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/nonpoint

Good, but not a step forward

A. Stutheit | Denver, CO USA | 11/10/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"For the first two albums of their career, the hard working Florida quartet known as Nonpoint were a well above average nu-metal group. But then, frontman Elias Soriano grew tired of the "first in face nu-metal fury," so his band cranked down the anger and upped the melody for last year's "Recoil." That album had stellar results, but, for whatever reason, Nonpoint decided to follow it up rather quickly, and release their fourth album, "To The Pain," only about a year later. This album is more-or-less a return to Nonpoint's crunchy, downtuned aggression of old.



"Bullet With A Name" is a very catchy song which was deservedly the album's preceding lead single. It begins very ominously, with the foreboding sound of someone loading a clip into a gun. The beat kicks in soon thereafter, and the song is powered by a strong, churning riff. "The Wreckoning" has bobbing, swooping riffs, while Elias fittingly yells about a wrecking ball. Track six, "Buscandome," has fast, almost blistering guitar work, and the next song, the title track, is mainly a lurching, stop-start rhythm with punching, grinding guitars. Lastly, "Skin" is a stutter-stepping rhythm with lumbering guitars, and "Code Red" has a very catchy, bobbing beat, with guitars that needle and poke.



"To The Pain" is a lot more consistently heavy than "Recoil"--in fact, this might be the band's heaviest release to date. But, unfortunately, there is a downside to this. Even though the title track has a slow tempo change which features a light drum beat and singing, and track eight is an interlude with electronic sound effects to break up the monotony, this album is somewhat monochromatic and one-dimensional. It doesn't have any of the interesting curveballs that its predecessor had, and Elias doesn't get to show-off his good singing voice here, either. Therefore, "To The Pain" is not a step forward.



But I still recommend it to all Nonpoint fans, especially if you enjoy "Statement" and "Development." And, since this record is consistently heavy, you shouldn't have to hear it, first, to know if you'll like it. If you like Nonpoint, or if you like Rage Against the Machine, Deftones, or 311, there should be nothing to prevent yuou from supporting one of modern rock's most promising and hard working bands, and purchasing this C.D."

They out did themselves on this one

g double | toms river, nj | 11/09/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"the best album they've done. simply put...AMAZING. they have stepped up their game big time. they have out done themselves with this one. this is a masterpiece. if you like in your face metal with intensity, melody, and emotion then this is what you want..accept it..korn is done, make way for nonpoint."