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Rating: The Pain, or rather, the "Pain" project was born from the mind of the mephistophelian singer of Hypocrisy, Peter Tagtgren, who, between one cigarette and another, between one production and another, between one tour and another, also manages to find the time to personally compose not only the lyrics for this band but also the instrumental parts (all of them) to then record them (all of them) and mix them (all of them) by himself.
Not much, don't you think? Don't be misled though, the Pain, despite what one might think, are not an experimental Death Metal project, but rather a mixture of modern gothic, certain electronic and industrial scores, a massive dose of melody, and some flashes of dark-wave here and there. From this mixture, "Nothing Remains the Same" was born in 2002, which naturally had enormous success for a one-man band but also stirred up a hornet's nest of controversies, given, presumably, many similarities between the sound and martiality of Pain and that of Rammstein and Megahertz. But, to be honest, and judging the album for what it is, one immediately notices that it is built and published without any pretense, leaving Peter's imagination and unbridled desire to play as the essence of this work which, beyond the easy melodies that immediately stick in your mind, manages to speak of drugs, despair, and solitude; tackling the said themes with simplicity but with profound and honest accuracy.
Sure, no one could ever imagine that a fierce artist who has always talked about aliens and vivisections with his Hypocrisy could touch such intimate and painful chords regarding his human soul, and yet it is interesting to note that it is so. The songs flow beautifully, from the first "It's Only Them" with electronic inserts always present but with a sure impact to the single "Shut Your Mouth" with its entertaining video (in which an unlikely coexistence with an alien is staged, precisely), and with a captivating chorus, even if many, having heard it only in passing, have downloaded it onto their phones. The best episode, however, in my humble opinion, is undoubtedly "Close my Eyes", with its powerful and gritty swirling, and a central part that seems to sink into a chasm of electronic and industrial sounds. Pain, perhaps, are at their best precisely in the easy melodies, in the electronics pushed to blasphemy, in being able to sing about tragic and tedious things using an aggressive but carefree tone, which doesn’t make you smile, rather, reminds you how grotesque life is, in some ways.
A work of black humor, I could say, only that in the end, when the last song is over, you rush to click again on the media player to listen to it anguished and pleasantly from the start, understanding all the episodes, and especially, as I wrote before, "Close my Eyes" and "Pull Me Under" (nothing to do with Dream Theater), even perhaps passing through the cover of the moment, which is nothing other than an electronic reinterpretation of "Eleanor Rigby" by the Beatles.
Definitely recommended for those who don't have purist ambitions.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Shut Your Mouth (03:13)
The only thing I ever wanted, the only thing I ever needed
is my own way - I gotta have it all
I don't want your opinion, I don't need your ideas
stay the fuck out of my face, stay away from me
I'm my own god - I do as I please
just wipe your own ass and - shut your mouth
I had enough and you're going down - shut your mouth
what comes around you know goes around
my mind is playing tricks on me
I am not as stable as I used to be
pushed and shoved, you know you're going too far
I will not break my back for you no more, I am gonna go my
way
I am gonna take control
time to wake up and dig myself out of this hell
just wipe your own ass and - shut your mouth
I had enough and you're going down - shut your mouth
what comes around you know goes around - shut your mouth
you're getting what your ego deserves - shut your mouth
what comes around you know goes around - shut your mouth
shut your mouth
I had enough and you're going down - shut your mouth
what comes around you know goes around
shut your mouth
shut your mouth
shut your mouth
03 Close My Eyes (03:45)
Can't see faith through the tears
of my swollen eyes
I try to dry
I pretend it's not as bad as it seems... what a lie
how can we be so blind
every time a child dies
people are starving
rain-forests are falling
the bombs are dropping from the sky
[Refr.]
I don't know why - it sticks in my head
I close my eyes - and it hurts me so bad
I don't know why - it sticks in my head
I close my eyes - I close my eyes
I close my eyes.
I look away from this misery
and I hope the problem will disappear
but it still hurts me every time a child dies
it's like a knife you stab in my heart
and twist it, twist it, twist it around
[Refr. 2 times]
I close my eyes - I close my eyes [Repeat 4 times]
05 Save Me (03:36)
Waking up from this dream
Got a feeling that something is wrong
There's blood in the bodies everywhere
What the hell have I done
Was I walking in my sleep or is it just a conspiracy
All I know that I'm in too deep
Save me
Please wake me up from this dream
Save me
How am I supposed leave
I lost my family, lost my jobs and my friends
There's nothing left for me to live in this hell
All I remember is there was said goodnight
And on my life is living hell
Save me
Please wake me up from this dream
Save me
How am I supposed leave
Save me
Please wake me up from this dream
Save me
Where the hell did I do wrong
Where I go wrong
I need the pictures in my dreams
Where in every deposit is
Then I'm ever gonna be dream
I can't erase your memory
Save me
Please wake me up from this dream
Save me
How am I supposed leave
save me
Please wake me up from this dream
Save me
Where the hell did I do Wrong
Save me
Where I go wrong
Save me
07 Eleanor Rigby (03:51)
Ah, Look at all the lonely people..
Ah, look at all the lonely people..
Eleanor Rigby
Picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been.
Lives in a dream,
Waits at the window,
Wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door.
Who is it for?
All the lonely people,
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people,
Where do they all belong?
Father McKenzie
Writing the words of a sermon that no one will hear.
No one comes near.
Look at him working
Darning his socks in the night when there's nobody there.
What does he care?
All the lonely people,
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people,
Where do they all belong?
Ah, look at all the lonely people...
Ah, look at all the lonely people...
Eleanor Rigby
Died in the church and was buried along with her name.
Nobody came.
Father McKenzie
Wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave.
No one was saved.
All the lonely people,
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people,
Where do they all belong?
Ah, look at all the lonely people...
Ah, look at all the lonely people..
08 Expelled (03:43)
I feel your breathing down my neck
No where to hide
I thought I could get away
But it's a good day to die
My time has come and I think I'm ready, yes
I lost the game I thought I played so very well
(refrain:)
No
I don't wanna go now
I don't wanna leave, I don't wanna go
No
I don't wanna go now
I don't wanna die, I got more to give
Here I'm standing accused
with a rope around my neck
Just wait for the final call
then I'll be gone
Never got the chance to say goodbye
Never got the chance to take the time to enjoy my life
(Refrain)
Don't take my life away now
(No, No, No, No)
(Refrain)
No
I don't wanna go now
Don't take my life away now
10 The Game (04:06)
Use me as I use you, pull my strings
My money says that you will, that's what I pay you for
Got me served on a plate, do what you want
Show me that you care, you're the one in control
The harder you pull my strings, the harder I get
Just a question of time before I lose my mind
It's the game that you play with my head and I can't get enough
Triple sex, almost death, twisted love, the game I cannot bluff
It's the game that you play with my head and I won't get enough
Can't walk away, got to play it all the way
Tight up in this game, this game that I can't quit
Pleasure I get in pain, the pain will keep me sane
Feed my twisted mind, touch my skin with your razor blade
Strip me down to the bone, I do anything
The harder you pull my strings, the harder I get
Just a question of time before I lose my mind
The harder you tighten the rope, the harder I get
A slave to my burning desire, a taste of death
It's the game that you play with my head and I can't get enough
Triple sex, almost death, twisted love, the game I cannot bluff
It's the game that you play with my head and I won't get enough
Can't walk away, got to play it all the way
11 Fade Away (05:00)
Press my face in the dirt
see how long I can hold my breath
pour some salt in my wounds
I am just someone who doesn't
fit in your world
how can I smile with your gun to my head
how can I reach out when you�r holding me back
I am just so tired of everyone who's trying to save me
just save yourself...
fade away
i wanna fade away
you give me your hand, I don't want it
I'll rather drown on my own
you try to give me relief, I don't need it
I'll rather put the gun to my head
bitterness is calling inside
I am already damned
the fire in my soul is slowly dying
you know destiny calls my name
fade away
I wanna fade away
fade away
I wanna fade away
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