pain you only live twice

Released: 03 June 2011 Label: Nuclear Blast

Pain could conceivably slot into the symphonic metal genre, but to truly get something from their music, it would help to have at least a passing interest in goth, electronic and industrial music too, as this eighth album masterminded by Hypocrisy frontman and renowned metal producer Peter Tägtgren covers an awful lot of ground.

The first thing you notice about You Only Live Twice is that, sonically, it sounds massive. Let Me Out and Feed the Demons begin the album with a bang, shooting out of the speakers with a torrent of riffs, pounding industrial rhythms and imaginative orchestral flourishes, all topped off by some fantastic vocals that range from the sinister and gothic to an extreme metal rasp.

But it’s on the slightly more considered numbers such as the brooding title track that Pain excels and Tägtgren proves his talent for nailing an accessible melody within the musical mayhem.

The following Dirty Woman is even more of a revelation, taking the raw-edged rock'n'roll of Airbourne and putting it through an industrial blender with White Zombie circa Astro Creep 2000. It makes for an often intriguing and always surprising final product, sure to delight admirers of Tägtgren’s work.

In the hands of a less-skilled artist, a record like You Only Live Twice would be a mess. It’s to Tägtgren’s immense credit that it is in fact a hugely successful release that once again proves him to be one of metal’s most consistent and gifted of performers.

by Marcus Jervis