ALBUM REVIEW: Pain push boundaries on varied release Coming Home

WHEN we first encountered Pain live supporting Nightwish in Belfast's Mandella Hall some years back we sagely stroked our chins in appreciation (actually we headbanged...) and their show was only over-shadowed by the theatricality of  'Wish.

But we delved deeper Peter Tägtgren's side project, having only been familiar beforehand with his work in Hypocrisy. And, we were pleasantly surprised by the industrial metal tracks.

Roll forward to 2016, still headbanging we delved deep into Pain's new release 'Coming Home' and the sagely stroking of the chin resumed, because we liked all the tracks, but, well there was a but...

Opening up with the wonderfully titled 'Designed to Piss You Off' and the rampant 'Call Me' there were all the industrial metal elements in their correct places, but was there a hint of something more?

Yes, a tinge more melody and some subtle more traditional rock elements, as evidenced by 'A Wannabe'  and the riff-laden 'Pain In The Ass'.

Stand-out 'Black Knight Satellite' is a killer track (see below for Tägtgren's explanation), closely followed by 'Absinthe Phoenix Rising'. But the real surprise is the title track.

Layered, tender, balladic 'Coming Home'  is a delicate paeon to loss and regret, tinged with just enough hope to counter pathos and bathos: a huge chorus with keyboards, synths balanced against the guitar work and haunting harmonies.

Sure, some purists may turn their industrial noses up at this, and maybe remark that the opening of 'Natural Born Idiot' owes a little too much to Fear Factory, but as they push further into this track, for example, you'll find Tägtgren has urged more out of the Pain sound than ever before.

At times there is even elements of 'pop' sensibilities in the choruses of the songs, but there is nothing wrong with adding a new dimension.

Yes, it still is a metal album, but with enough variation and depth to make it an almost essential listen as the night's grow shorter and the cycle of nature slows.

When you consider this is the eigth album outing for Pain, this is still a fresh sounding selection of tracks...and you must stick around to the end to listen to 'Starseed'. You'll thank us for that!

Review by Jonny

Coming Home is out now on Nuclear Blast

Tägtgren's explanation for Black Knight Satellite...

“Nikola Tesla, who invented the lightbulb, electricity and other stuff, thought that he heard beeping sounds from space."
“It was around the year 1899 and it seemed like a message to him, a hidden code. He was the first one to discover it, but in the 1950s, when humans started to go into space, they heard the same noises and found out:
"There is some signal from a satellite out there... but it isn't ours. And as they started their research, they found out, that people had been talking about this phenomenon for around 13.000 years. The story of this so-called 'Black Knight Satellite' is very fascinating to me - but whether it is true or not... I don't know. But it definitely inspired me to write these lyrics."

NEWS: First album trailer released by Pain - and lyric video for new single Black Knight Satellite

PAIN, the unique Swedish metal project led by multi-instrumentalist and renowned producer, Peter Tägtgren (Hypocrisy, Lindemann), are ready to unleash the follow-up to 2011's ‘You Only Live Twice’.

After the substantial success of Peter Tägtgren's LINDEMANN project with Rammestein vocalist Till Lindemann, Peter retreated – taking some time to write another shrewd industrial metal statement entitled ‘Coming Home’.

The release of this record is scheduled for September 9th through Nuclear Blast.

In celebration of the new album, the band have released the first album trailer today.

You can check out the trailer here.

The band have also released a new track 'Black Knight Satellite' - the video is at the bottom of this post. You can order the single here: http://bit.ly/PainBKSiTunes or listen in NB Novelties playlist: http://sptfy.com/2zZF

The artwork for new record ‘Coming Home’ was created by Stuttgart artist Stefan Heilemann (Epica, Lindemann, Indica) -  whose artwork is famed for its symbiosis of fantasy, reality and insanity.

"I was brainstorming about the cover with Heile again... And we got the result that I really needed. I rented a spacesuit and spinned away thereafter... Musically, the album is a development of where PAIN and LINDEMANN ended at - more experimental than what I've ever done before. Acoustic guitars and a helping hand again from Clemens of CARACH ANGREN with the orchestra arrangements, and some guest vocals. And Sebastian Tägtgren did a great job on the drums..."

So said Peter Tägtgren, musician, producer and creative brain behind Pain, Sweden's finest industrial metal export. His has been a life immersed in music, in pushing boundaries, and taking ideas to both their logical and illogical extremes. It’s been a career that has involved fronting bands – notably iconic death metal veterans Hypocrisy, and now PAIN – or shaping their sounds – as he has done with Celtic Frost, Children Of Bodom, Dimmu Borgir and Immortal amongst others. It’s a calling that has made him one of Europe's most highly respected musicians and producers.

PAIN started life as a hobby for Peter Tägtgren, whose concept was to fuse heavy metal with 1980s-inspired electro-industrial and techno influences.

It all began with the release of a self-titled debut in 1997, and since then PAIN have released six more albums and a DVD.
‘Coming Home’ will be the eighth studio album release.

PAIN are:
Peter Tägtgren | vocals, guitars, programming etc.
David Wallin | drums
Michael Bohlin | guitars
Johan Husgavfel | bass

Ambitious Scandanavians win over Belfast

For the past decade or more hard rock and heavy metal acts have been pouring out of Scandanavia like a guitar laden plague. Some have achieved worldwide acclaim, and some have carved out a niche in the underground. This is far removed from the days when the only rock stories from the lands of winter's permanent night were black metal murders and church burnings.

While the Scandanavian Black Metal scene still exerts a healthy influence on diverse acts, there has been a revival from these Viking lands of what some disparagingly call 'mainstream'. And, it was one of the leading exponents of Finnish mainstream metal, Nightwish who touched down in Belfast's Mandella Hall on Wednesday.

Thus was the challenge faced by Swedish act Pain...opening to a partisan headliner crowd Pain have more than a hint of other acts from the lands to the north. Energetic and with melody playing a key part in songs that could have been lost in the low end, they at times came across like a 'lite' version of Children of Bodom.

Their energy and willingness to try to engage the audience eventually paid off, though in terms of pacing the set they could learn from other Scandanvians. While Turisas have made Rasputin a rambunctious set closer, Pain's excellent cover of The Beatles' Eleanor Rigby was lost in the middle of their set.

Nightwish have no such problems in terms of pacing their set. Seasoned in arenas across Europe, the Finnish act know when to turn on the power, allow the crowd a breather, and mix the new with the old.

However, their very existence was called into question less than two years ago after their very public and acrimonious dismissal of Tarja Turunen. In May of last year Anette Olzen was announced as a replacement. Fans who worried that Anette could fill Tarja's shoes need not have worried.

Kicking off with the stomp of Bye Bye Beautiful Anette proved a worthy foil for the complex melodies and power of Tuomas Holopainen's wrting. Mixed with Marco Hietala's vocals any doubts over Anette's ability to match Tarja's range paled into insignificance.

Instead she brings a different dynamic to Nightwish, which whilst retaining the symphonic elements of the past, comes to the fore live.

Tracks off latest release Dark Passion Play are given a fire and energy live. And, Anette's treatment of older tracks such as Nemo and Wishmaster showed she can adapt her performance when necessary.

The smattering of older tracks were almost overwhelmed by the new material. Amaranth and Sahara stood out, with the Stephen King tribute track 7 Days of the Wolves raising the bar yet further.

But what stands out with Nightwish is their ambition. Tuomas - as founder, chief songwriter, and band leader - is not afraid to tackle live lengthy epics. Album opener The Poet and the Pendulum was unveiled in all of its 13 minute plus glory. Even such an ambitious live performance was pulled off with aplomb as far as the crowd was concerned.

The only niggles of the night were the occassional over-reliance on samples and Anette's absence from the stage during longer instrumental pieces.

However, for a band who play stadiums in Europe the fact that they are prepared to play, what for them, are smaller venues such as the Mandella Hall is worthy of praise, and a tribute to promoter Wonderland that they were able to snatch such an act.

The stadium work of Nightwish paid off for the Belfast punters, who saw an international act lay down a mighty, ambitious soundscape in a relatively intimate venue. There were few that walked out on to University Road without a smile on their faces.

Pic courtesy of Nadia - Junior Editor, Belfastmetalheadsreunited