Grain of Pain - Behind Us All

Grain of Pain is a doom metal band from Finland, who hit the scene with their full-length debut album “The Moon Lights the Way,” in 2024.  Two years later, they strike back with their second full-length album “Behind Us All.”

From my understanding, this band is actually a solo project from musician Timo Solonen but the album also features some other incredible musicians:  Lars Eikind (Before The Dawn, Dawn of Solace, MyGrain, among many others), Juho Räihä (Swallow The Sun, Before The Dawn, Gloria Morti),and Juuso Raatikainen (Swallow The Sun, Hedonihil).   Additionally, Pekka Olkkonen (Stam1na) offers a guest guitar solo and Eemeli Bodde (Decapitated, Mors Subita) along with Kirsten Jørgensen (Evig Natt) offer vocal spots.

Fans of Swallow The Sun and Dawn of Solace will especially find “Behind Us All,” a very good listen.  Other than having doom in common, I don’t think Grain of Pain sounds like the aforementioned bands per say but they share melancholic textures with a Gothic atmosphere.  It is morose and macabre but very memorable and every person on the album throws in a fantastic performance.

The vocals are mostly clean but there are some extreme ones here and there; all the vocals on this album are quite emotional and the highlight of the album for me.  But instrumental wise, I was impressed with its riff-based structures that don’t let the songs get too airy and light with the atmosphere—each song is dense with a ton of weight. 

“To Burn Inside,” is the first full song and it begins with a melodic passage that gives way to the bass leading the charge with clean instrumentation and vocals overlaying the foundation.  It is a good set up for the heavier chorus, which also happens to be super catchy.  The solo from Pekka fits pretty well too as it rips through the slower rhythm.  

“Ruins of the Heart,” begins with a sense of urgency, beginning with the lead guitar but maintained by the drums. It suddenly drops off to let the vocals shine through before returning to heavier waters that weave in and around the clean portions.  Yet another banger of a chorus presents itself—and this time we get some growls as well.  The solo near the end absolutely shreds and the faster pace contrasts yet compliments the slow tempo.  

“Dance With Me,” is one of my favorites on the album.  It’s just over 9 minutes in length and every second is amazing.  The long, depressive intro is amazing—and so are those clean vocals which seem so fragile, yet I can feel the emotive density behind them.  The first few minutes are so depressing while also serenity in a way ... then hell breaks loose and the extreme vocals fall in line with some incredible riffage.   By the end of the song, all these elements swirl together, a dance of the dead that comes crashing down. 

“If Morning Never Comes” ends the album on a strong night and features Kirsten on guest vocals (by the way her band Evig Natt has released a badass album this year too).  Her voice goes perfectly with the slow, distorted music that sounds like a musical ruin. The death growls are so deep they are scary—good, wouldn’t have it any other way.  This hellish, apocalyptic song is a beast and has become, along with “Dance With Me,” one of my favorite doom songs of the year thus far.  Even if the rest of the album sucked (and it doesn't, obviously), these two songs alone would be worth your time and/or money. 

Grain of Pain’s “Behind Us All,” is a towering Gothic/melodic doom metal album that gets better the deeper you go into it.  Each song is carefully constructed and brings its own life and dimension, so the album demands many repeated listens.  Highly recommended.

Rating: Excellent