Pain
Nothing Remains The Same

THE REVIEW

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.