There is often an underlying yet, detectable feeling of prematurity within the music of newly formed bands. Typically this due in part with musicians falling short of finding their sound when working as a collective. Certain songs shine through the body of work more than others, but over time, the majority of the early music, besides the one or two crowd favorites, is rarely ever revisited.

With a membership filled of seasoned musicians responsible for creating “must listen to” works of art in their past projects, Phantom Pain’s newly released demo leaps over the previously discussed pitfall. The body of this work is filled with refreshingly heavy and wholesome head banger riffs that are perfectly complemented by lyrics of primal rage and sacrilegious sentiment.

The stand out track on the demo is “Seasons of Evil”, a personal favorite. Similar to the opening song, it begins with a simple, yet tantalizing and vile riff. Paul’s work on the drums switches the tempo with the hi-hat and accented bell hits, into a flawless syncopated build up that soon unveils the heaviest song on the project.

Start to finish, every member of this unit plays a vital role in delivering a sound that is Phantom Pain. a sound that leaves the listener in anticipation for the inevitable full-length release.

– Brandon Vetere

Interview with Guitarist Dayn

HEADWALK: Phantom Pain is a rather new dive in what is already a large pool of music coming out these days. What is the aim of this band in terms of music writing?

Dayn: I would say the aim of this band is to write music that is a heavy and unique blend of our collective metal and hardcore influences. We just want to write sludgy, riff-oriented tunes without the constraints of a specific genre or sub-genre.

HW: From what I hear, this band is filled with members of several well known and diverse acts throughout metal and hardcore. Could you go through your members, what projects they previously were in, and how Phantom Pain is compared to previous endeavors?

D: We have all been involved in a variety of different bands. Paul was in The Banner for a few years, I also played with them for a brief period of time. Paul and I most recently played together in Suburban Scum, and Paul is currently a member of Manipulate. Our other guitarist Tom currently plays in The Acacia Strain and has filled in for Fit For an Autopsy and Structures. Chris, our singer played in the bands Huldra, Inside The Beehive and a variety of other studio projects. Our current bassist Eric played with me in a band called Anguish for a few years and is most recently involved in the post-rock/post-metal band Au Revoir and hardcore/punk/screamo band What Of Us.

Phantom Pain is unique in that it just pulls from a different realm of heavy music. There are some similarities and also some very stark contrasts between the different bands we have been or are currently involved in. I feel like the music we write for this project fits that niche in between anything else we have done, it is much more straight-forward in its metal influence and the songwriting is very much governed by what feels right to us in the moment, not by what necessarily fits a certain mold.

HW: In terms of this band’s inception, how’d this band come to be and why the name Phantom Pain?

D: The band started with just me and Paul hashing out some sludgy song ideas I had on the backburner. Once the rest of the guys got on board it took more of an interesting turn because we had more creative minds to pull ideas from. Everyone has been 100% on the same page as far as songwriting and overall approach to the band, which is super refreshing and makes the creative process that much easier.

The name I felt just captured the vibe of what we were going for, sonically. The actual sensation of phantom pain, usually something experienced by amputees who mentally experience pain in an area where an extremity used to be, just seems like a truly crushing experience. We felt it was a natural fit.

HW: What can we expect from the band in the coming months?

D: In the coming months we’ll be writing for a future release, and playing shows whenever our hectic schedules allow it.

HW: Anyone you’d like to thank or say before we go?

D: Thanks to everyone who checked us out so far, the reception has been extremely positive and we are very appreciative of that. Looking forward to cranking out some more riffs in the near future.