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Rating: It's complicated for someone to accept the idea that Peter Tagtgren, the true king of excess and extreme metal, known for his escapades with the Death metal band Hypocrisy, would give free rein to his chromosomes of genuine musical eclecticism by leading Pain, which in 1996 was just an outlet, a one-off project, to the finish line of their fourth studio album almost ten years later. Experimentation seems to be Peter's watchword, the only common denominator that manages to unify his many activities. The love for music as such, independent of its multifaceted expressions and elementary categorizations, is what emerges powerfully throughout the pieces that compose ''Dancing With The Dead''. An electronic music filled with keyboards almost bordering on disco and techno music, still combined with dripping guitar distortions and a voice, Tagtgren's, that appears sometimes furious, sometimes more alluring, laying the foundations for the original mix flaunted by Pain in this work.
Melancholic, lively, striking, melodic, bold, obsessive, destabilizing, often and willingly characterized by easily assimilated choruses and clear Pop reminiscences; this is what distinguishes the music created by Peter's pen, a music I like to call ''car music'', for travelling, in two words: easy listening.
The opener ''Don't Count Me Out'' and the title track are particularly massive and aggressive, while it's with the first single ''Same Old Song'' that spirits are ignited: the atmosphere created by the ghostly keyboards is suggestive, Tagtgren's voice and distressed screams are penetrating; ''Nothing'' and ''The Tables Have Turned'' feature refrains that might be too repetitive yet damn catchy and get stuck in your head after two listens, but the gold medal for the best composition on the platter goes to ''Not Afraid To Die'': a song that captivates from start to finish with its Gothic/Pop evolution reminiscent of the most daring Crematory. Deserving of attention halfway through the album are also the duo ''Tear It Up'' and ''Bye/Die'', surely the two oddest tracks: in the former, the main vocal lines are quite reminiscent of Eminem(!), though the ever-present guitar distortion hits hard, much to my delight; in the latter, there's a sense of an improbable fusion between the Power-Pop of Terrorvision and minimal new-punk. The last part of the album is a bit more predictable and conventional (''My Misery'', ''Stay Away''), although, all things considered, the tension and enjoyment don't decrease excessively, not even when the smooth ''The Third Wave'' puts an end to these 47 minutes of promiscuity.
''Dancing With The Dead'' captures listen after listen with its disarming immediacy, its ease and growing passion. It's not a work you must have at all costs, you will have understood that, but for once genuineness, progress, inventiveness, and engaging songwriting coexist successfully.
Tracklist and Lyrics
02 Same Old Song (03:59)
You're welcome to my world, dark side of the universe
I'll take you for a spin, the mayhem begins
The media mouth is feeding and chemical youth that's screaming
The circus starts to roll, there's no turning back
You think it's right, you made you're mind
I've seen so many cross that line
I've seen them come, I've seen them go, times will never change
It's the same old song - The same old song
That's playing again - The same old song
Your soul is burning bright, high hopes of future in sight
Beyond the horizon lays a world that's so black
They'll try to shape your mind and make you walk the line
Don't let them steal your dreams, its all that you've got
You start to doubt, you changed your mind
I've seen so many cross that line
I've seen them come, I've seen them go, times will never change
It's the same old song - The same old song
That's playing again - The same old song
Don't wanna hear it no more
Time to do this, time to do that
I've got an offer you can't refuse it
Just stick with me and I'll push you all the way to the stars
I can't take it no more - The same old song
Its playing again - The same old song
Don't wanna hear it no more - The same old song
Its playing again and again and again - The same old song
09 My Misery (03:56)
Did you ever think you could change the world
The world will change you, it will break you down
It's calling me, my misery
what you gonna do, what you gonna do, what you gonna do
It's hunting me, my misery
what you gonna do, what you gonna do what you gonna do
What is wrong with the world today
If it's all it's gonna be the I don't wanna stay
We don't care, we don't hear, we don't see, we just live our lives in hypocrisy
Blinded by our greediness and our souls filled with emptiness
I had enough, it goes on and on
It's calling me, my misery
What you gonna do, what you gonna do, what you gonna do
It's hunting me, my misery
What you gonna do, what you gonna do, what you gonna do
Did you ever think you could change the world
The world will change you, it will break you down
Is it me, who can't be, that I want to believe
Life's too short to disagree
Fear of living alone, fear of growing up all broke
Over and over again, these scary thought just hunt me down
It's calling me, my misery
What you gonna do, what you gonna do, what you gonna do
It's hunting me, my misery
What you gonna do, what you gonna do, what you gonna do
It's calling me, my misery
What you gonna do, what you gonna do, what you gonna do
It's hunting me, my misery
What you gonna do, what you gonna do, what you gonna do
12 The Third Wave (03:50)
They tried to build a nation, greater than anyone
But what they didn't know was that someone else would have control
The mob starts infiltrating, at gunpoint they will roam
They show no mercy and the government is on their payroll
No compromising, a nation going blind
The leaders are on their knees
The third wave has just begun
The whole world is corrupted, it's spinning out of control
The third wave is on the roll
It's slipping through our fingers and rising to the top
The third wave is on the roll
Roll with me, roll with me
250 million, involved in organized crime
It's growing like a tumour, we need to find the cure in time
It's coming from the east and trying to control the west
It's crawling across the border right up to the leader's nest
Like a spider's web, politicians in their net
Strings are growing strong
The third wave has just begun
The whole world is corrupted, its spinning out of control
The third wave is on the roll
Its slipping through our ringers and rising to the top
The third wave is on the roll
Roll with me
Roll with me
Roll with me
It's on the roll, it's on the roll, it's on the roll
The whole world is corrupted, its spinning out of control
The third wave is on the roll
It's slipping through our fingers and rising to the top
The third wave is on the roll
The whole world is corrupted, it's on the roll
The whole world is corrupted, it's on the roll
The whole world is corrupted, it's on the roll
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