1994 sees Rhino Bucket downgrading to a smaller label, but getting a boost in the drum department, for occupying the stool this time around is Simon Wright of semi-sound-alike fame AC/DC. Wright makes his presence known from the start, pounding with a drum sound that seems to come from inside your head, and much more flair than he displayed with his previous band. The music on 'Pain' is still Rhino Bucket's own dirty, biker-ish spin on the AC/DC formula, but heavier and darker now. The power-chord grooves are still everywhere, but now the band adds some grinding (and sometimes grating) lead-riffs over them.
The title track starts things off with a slow plod, which while kinda strange is also oddly mesmerizing. The pace picks up after that, but things aren't up to full-sleaze mode until the rolling "Mad Maggie," where the devil-may-care Rhino Bucket we know and love finally breaks forth. "I Stand Before You" and "Too Much Talk" are both good, but again, a little heavier and darker than we normally expect. The second half of the disc is more upbeat, containing the highlights "What'd You Expect," the ultra-catchy "I Was Told," and the thumping "World Gone Mad." There's also another sinister trudge through "Bird On A Wire," with thick, brooding chords hiding a great little riff just before (and during) the solo.
The band shows definite growth in the lyrics department. The gritty tales of sex and hellraising (both sometimes resulting in death) are still here, but songs like "Pain," "The Hard Grind," and "I Stand Before You" explore more of a personal, hard-luck theme. "Bird On A Wire" is probably their most ambitious piece of storytelling yet, being about murder, justice, and betrayal.
The songs on 'Pain' aren't all as immediately catchy as on past albums, and the newfound heaviness might throw you off at first, but this is still undeniably Rhino Bucket. The style change is far less drastic than a lot of their peers, being moreso a shift in mood than the music itself. The best news is that the disc was reissued in 2007 (with five bonus tracks) on Acetate Records, under the name 'Pain And Suffering'. Definitely give it a shot if you like the first two albums.

TRACK LIST:
1. Pain
2. I Stand Before You
3. Too Much Talk
4. Blow By Blow
5. Mad Maggie
6. Bird On A Wire
7. What'd You Expect
8. I Was Told
9. The Hard Grind
10. World Gone Mad

Review by Kip Massey