"Pain To Power" by Maruja — Review
Maruja have been dominanting the underground rock scene ever since they released "Knocknarea" back in 2023. They have not looked back since then, as they only continued to improve and get even better and better. From One Direction helping the band thay alive to Harry naming the group after a store sign he saw in spain, this Manchester outlet has had quite a unique journey so far. It all led to them releasing this record right here as their debut, after putting out 5 impressive EPs before. They always had potential, everyone could see that. But them releasing a project that is as good as "Pain To Power" this early into their career is beyond impressive.
"Pain To Power" is a 8 song long album that runs for 50 minutes. In those 50 minutes Maruja showcase just how good of a band they truly are. They give 100% in every second of this project, always coming up with some incredible and unique ideas that sound like something you could have never even imagined. For example the opener, "Bloodsport", that track is almost punk-ish, with that heavy bass line, fast, punching drums and lead singers trademark spoken word type of performance. But then, saxophone makes its first appearance and all hell brokes loose. Harry Wilkinson starts screaming, making every hair on your body stand up and give him an ovation. Ending of this track sounds like a Rage Againts The Machine song on some steriods, because "Bloodsport" ends on a mount everest type of peak.
"Look Down On Us" is a song that takes you on a 10 minute chilling roadtrip. Maruja once again gets in their punk, nu-metal ish bag as they make everyone listening to this track reminice of 2000s with their pure energy and hunger. Star of the show is once again Joe Carroll that is playing the saxophone, as well as the overwhelming horns that blend with dark, moody guitars perfectly. At the mid section of "Look Down On Us" there is a beautiful jazz section that makes you float with every passing note. Harry starts talking with his normal speaking voice that eventually transforms into a voice of protest, voice bleeding for hope. The closer is a big giant mess of everything, yet it sounds truly beautiful, reminding me a bit of stuff Black Midi used to make. That chill, jazz atmosphere from "Look Down On Us" is even more present on the next song titled "Saoirse" that serves as a break of the tension this project build up in those first two tracks. Only musically though. Lyrically, "Saoirse" is just as heavy, if not even more heavy than "Bloodsport" and "Look Down On Us". I think it's only fitting to let Harry explain the meaning of this beautiful but also devastating track;
"Saoirse" means freedom, something we are witnessing being violently denied to the people of Palestine. This is a song for peace, an outpouring of grief and a refusal to be numb to what we are seeing. Genocide. Man-made famine. An attempted erasure of a people. Like the olive tree, the Palestinian people have deep, resilient roots. Theyve resisted decades of forced displacement, military occupation, illegal settlements, and now enforced starvation."
Free Palestine. That is all I want to add.
"Born To Die" is my current favorite song from this album. It's about the world we all live in, and how much the rich explore the poor. How much the older limit the youth. How scared people are to try and change that world. Instrumentally, "Born To Die" is a juggernout of a track, offering some dark, moody jazz instrumentals over which Harry speaks nothing but facts about the problems that are all around us. Slowly but surely, "Born To Die" progresses into a full on beatdown, however, before that happens, Harry flexes his vocal abillity on us, with his almost opera like singing performance near the middle point of the song. Eventually, all of the anger that was filled into the first two thirds of this track evolves into a beautiful yet horrifying musical masterpiece where every single intrument plays a huge role. Guitars, drums, bass, horns, everything is exploding all around you. It's the heaviest punk breakdown imaginable, frocing you to violently bop your head back and forth.
"Break The Tension" is the name of the fifth track of off "Pain To Power". It was also the first single for this project. Nu-metal and post punk vibes are all over this song too. It almost sounds like a Have A Nice Life song mixed with Black Country, New Road and System Of A Down. Yep, truly a unique list of artists from which Maruja took inspiration in order to create "Break The Tension". Harry and the band are all once again giving it their all, raging againts the machine to the fullest. Ending of this song is one of the most intense moments this record had to offer. That same energy gets translated into "Trenches", a song that is a pure banger.
It's the most straight-forward track on this LP, from its first second it gets you hooked. Insane riffs and beatdowns are there every second, Harry combines his spoken word type of performance with a pure metal like screaming and shouting seemesly, making a truly insane and unique atmosphere. "Trenches" is a track that will for sure get you pumped, it will also stay stuck in your head for days, because of how cathcy its chorus and main riffs are.
The second to last track, "Zayton" is a 4 and a half minute long instrumental, a beautiful one. The name means olive in arabic, and olive trees are often looked upon as a way to symbolize peace, making the purpose of this song more then easy to understand. Maruja once again bleed out for peace in the middle east, with this song offering a beatiful interlude that leads to it, similar to what Godspeed You! did on their most recent album. For a band this young and still not as big as they deserve to be, giving all this attention to Palestine is a balsy move, but I'm so glad they did it, it only made me love them more.
"Reconcile", the closer... where do I even start? It's a hymn for all people that struggle with motivation, self perception and acceptence. Jazz instrumental at the begging is so beautiful, it sounds like nothing I've heard in my life up to today. It also makes the eventual build up feel so much more rewarding. Harry sings his soul out as the instruments get more and more intense before slowing down again, giving all of us one final chance to catch our breaths before the final crescendo of this song, and album, absolutely eats us all alive. Once it happens, near the 7 minute mark of this track, you can only close your eyes and try to not get overwhelmed by the beauty that is blessing your ears.
All in all, Maruja make one hell of a statement with "Pain To Power", proving to everyone that they are not only an EP type of band. Only minor complaint I have is the fact that they released most of the album as singles, which I understand, they wanted to keep the hype, but it made the experience of listening to this record be a tad bit "worse". If they released, let's say 2 singles, "Pain To Power" would have been a perfect 100/100 for me. As it stand, there is still some small room to improve, only on the album rollout though, the music is perfect. They also continue the impressive streak these young UK based rock bands are on. Not only that though. With how good this record is, all of the other bands have to try their hardest if they want to catch up on Maruja, because "Pain To Power" truly is a great, maybe even generational album. Im beyond exited to see what future holds for this incredibly talented band.
Overall score: 95/100