After four years of dedicated service to Sydney based power metal outfit Dungeon, guitarist Stuart ‘Stu’ Marshall decided to hand in his resignation and forge ahead with something new.

And it didn’t take long before Marshall found that new something, with the announcement of the formation of his new group 20Grams (Who at the time included Dungeon drummer Tim Yatras) in late 2005.

After a few line-up changes, and consolidating a stable line-up (Now consisting of vocalist/guitarist Jordan Howe (Ex-The Harlots, and currently a member of Beware Of The Dog), bassist Shayne ‘Tank’ Reid, keyboardist Ray Martens and drummer Joe Rahme), the band changed name to Paindivision.

After playing in and around the local scene, the band entered the studio, and in 2006, released their independent debut E.P. 4 Play. On the success of the E.P., the band picked up some high profile supports in Black Label Society and Sebastian Bach. Following on from their past success, the hard rock/metal outfit have finally returned with their debut full-length self titled effort.

The opening track “Welcome To The Show” is a clear sample of what’s in store for the remainder of the album, with the group’s energetic hard rock boasting plenty of heavy riffing and thundering drums wrapped in a decidedly raw sound, revealing an overall collective influence from acts such as The Almighty (Particularly within Howe’s vocals), AC/DC and Black Label Society.

“Evilize” (Which, like the opener, is lifted from the EP) is an obvious choice as a first single/promotional video clip with its catchy bass/riff work and equally huge choruses, whereas the faster paced “Unchain Me” (Which could have easily been lifted from The Almighty’s debut album), the driving “Everyman” and “Devil Preacher” (The third track and last track from the group’s debut EP) are straightforward hard rocking/metal anthems.

The acoustic based ballad “Anything We Want” offers up something a little different and unexpected, but surprisingly in a good way (Howe’s really gets to shows off his clean vocal style), while on “Indian Sun”, Howe shakes up the formula a little further with a mix of his clean/screamed efforts alongside Mashall’s masterful fretwork with fantastic results.

“Faces Of Death” is a solid track, but perhaps a little overshadowed following up the former track, while Marshall’s acoustic solo piece “Northam Grove” once again provides a short breather before finishing off the album with a faithful rendition of Motörhead’s classic “Ace Of Spades.”

Paindivision certainly aren’t reinventing the wheel here, but what they do offer is something that is sadly lacking in today’s modern metal scene - something that’s raw and uncompromising heavy rock that doesn’t bow down to trends.

myspace.com/paindivision