6. Window Pain
“Left Behind”
from “Window Pain”
Shawn Fletcher–vocals
Jared Streeter–bass
John Luther–guitars
Scott Murphy–drums
www.myspace.com/windowpain

There are times when you want to hear metal that screams and shouts incomprehensible razor-voiced shrieks, and there are times you don’t. Mostly you don’t, really. So thank goodness there’s Window Pain. Lead vocalist/lyricist Shawn Fletcher’s vocal stylings verge from early Black Sabbath to Stone Temple Pilots punched in the face by Pantera. They float above and growl through John Luther’s distorted metal guitars, Jared Streeter’s throbbing bass and tom-filled drum lines provided by drummer Scott Murphy. The sections of clean guitar echo with strains of ’70s psychedelic bands, à la Pink Floyd.

The quartet hails from Rochester, though the members have been in many different bands, playing separately on the Seacoast for years. Streeter, Luther and Murphy were a three-piece heavy jam band called Lead Pill most recently, while Fletch (to his friends, thank you) spent five years with DCM before rounding up the others to make a splash in southern New Hampshire.

“A lot of people in this area seem to think heavy metal is dead,” Fletcher says. “It’s not.” Window Pain proves it, whether selling out shows or just playing relentlessly at most every club that offers live, heavy music in southern New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts. Though their recent self-titled demo showcases their talent, to see them live is to really understand their power. Fletcher, a mountain of a man, stalks the stage and corrals the audience with his presence as much as his voice. “We got these people to come the first time by not letting up on them till they did come,” Fletch says, “and our show and our music is what keeps them coming back for more.”

They’ve won over crowds from their hometown to Old Orchard Beach and down to Boston. Look for them at a club near you—just don’t tell Fletch metal is dead to his face.