Pain's 'I Am' - Album Review

Whilst I would not consider myself a big lover of industrial music, when it is fused with rock and metal it can sometimes do something for me. Even so, I do not listen to a lot of industrial rock/metal - but Nine Inch Nails are a big favourite and I also enjoy both Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie quite a bit, despite not listening to either in a significant way in recent years. Another industrial act which I have flirted with over the years is Sweden's Pain - the one-man-band set up by Hypocrisy frontman and The Abyss studio main man Peter Tägtgren in 1996. I have never listened to Hypocrisy, but probably should do given my on-going adventures with death metal, but I am certainly familiar with Peter in a behind-the-scenes capacity - thanks to his production work with bands like Amorphis and Sabaton. I have also come into contact with Pain a couple of times over the years; as I saw them open for Nightwish in both 2009 and 2012. I listened to a couple of the band's albums in the wake of the first of those shows but they never really stuck with me - and I remember being fairly unmoved when I saw them again in 2012, thinking it was lazy that Nightwish had the same support act for two tours running (something they would later repeat with Beast in Black in 2018 and 2022). I had not given Pain much thought since 2012, then, and had not pulled those albums off the shelf for many years - but last month it was announced that the Swedish melodic death metal supergroup The Halo Effect would be undertaking a UK tour early next year and supporting them would be Pain. As I really enjoyed The Halo Effect's debut album and their set opening for Machine Head in 2022, plus the fact that one of the shows will be in Bristol, I bought a ticket when they went on sale. Given I had not kept up with Pain's output since seeing them in 2012, the prospect of seeing them again for the first time in 13 years seemed like a good reason to give them another go. Apart from those two support slots, my only other experience of the band were a handful of spins of both 2007's Psalms of Extinction and 2008's Cynic Paradise - and I do not remember that much about either album. This upcoming tour, though, will be on the back of Pain's newly-released album I Am - their ninth studio album overall and their first in eight years, following 2016's Coming Home. Pain has seemingly not been on Peter's mind recently, with his production roles expanding and Hypocrisy still a going concern, but he has returned to his punky, industrial, harder rock side once again on I Am - and I have been casually enjoying the album since it was released last month. I am not sure Pain will ever fully be for me, and their brand of industrial music is not all that creative, but they do what they do well - and Peter's rough voice suits this style of music. As has always been the case with Pain's albums, Peter is essentially responsible for everything here. He has outsourced the drums on more recent albums, though, and, as was the case on Coming Home, the drums here are courtesy of his son Sebastian Tägtgren. Sebastian has co-written two of the songs here, though, and is responsible for their instrumentation - so this album is a little more collaborative than usual.

From what I remember about my exposure to Pain over a decade ago, I Am essentially carries on the sound that Peter has been pursuing with the project for a long time. I am not expert but this album certainly seems to very much be channelling Pain's core sound - and given the length of time between albums that is perhaps no bad thing. Things kick off with I Just Dropped By (to Say Goodbye), and its crunchy guitar rhythms, pummelling drums, and synth hooks are very much what I expect from Pain. Pain are, though, generally a bit more guitar-focused than some industrial acts. Whilst there are plenty of synths throughout this album, with a lot of cold atmospheric depth and buzzing sequencers, much of the material here is guitar-led at its core - with the four-on-the-floor drum groove here driving by some snappy riffing early on, despite the verses slowing things down a little to allow Peter's voice to shine. He has never been the greatest clean singer, but his strange and treated vocal delivery suits Pain's cold and synthetic sound - and the song's chorus is pretty hooky thanks to his vocal approach and a reprise of the song's opening riff/synth hook combo. There is a lot of groove throughout, too, especially when Sebastian mixes things up drum-wise, and there are a few pretty infectious riffs here which help the track hit home. It is relatively up-tempo, too, which contrasts with the more mid-paced and somewhat mournful Don't Wake the Dead - one of the two songs here largely written by Sebastian. The opening synths are quite classically-influenced and there are generally a lot more keyboards used here in a leading role - with the guitars only really adding weight when needed. The verses, which still feature Peter's vocals, are pretty bass-heavy, with a hypnotic piano melody joining in, whilst the chorus are heavier with crunchy guitars and a bit more of a danceable groove thanks to some funky drumming and and a hooky call-and-response vocal. Despite the slower pace the song still has a kinetic energy to it - particularly later on and during the heavier choruses. Go with the Flow is much more upbeat and the colder vibes of the previous song are largely thrown aside from the off. There are some old-school sci-fi synths utilised throughout, particularly during the choruses, but generally this track is a more stripped back and groovy piece - with a simple drum groove and synth hook early on which Peter's deep vocals, before the heaviness kicks in for an more up-tempo and hard-hitting chorus. The song lacks the full band feel of some of Pain's material, but it does tend to feel heavier as it moves along - with Peter's trademark crunchy guitar sound dominating during the second half of the track. The chorus is simple but very effective thanks to its fleshed out synth arrangement and the simple arrangement is sure to make it a live favourite going forward.

Not for Sale generally feels a bit heavier and somewhat returns to the vibe of the album's opening cut - despite the slower opening as the song gradually builds over a repeating synth melody. The drumming is generally busier here, giving the song more of a percussive feel during the verses, whilst the chorus is one of the album's most memorable in my opinion. It is more mid-paced overall, and makes use of the opening synth melody, but the oppressive guitar riffing gives the chorus real weight - and Peter sings in a heavier manner, despite not slipping quite into the harsh vocal delivery of his day job. There is perhaps not as much variety here as there is during some of the other songs here, with the aforementioned synth hook being heavily relied on, but it is a fun song nevertheless. Party in My Head feels a bit less industrial overall and more of a slightly strange take on power metal - with a much cleaner keyboard melody early on which would have not sounded out of place on a Sonata Arctica album. There is just generally less of a distorted and overdriven sound here with even Peter's vocals feeling less treated - and the overall production sounding a bit more organic overall. The difference is not night and day, but the track certainly feels brighter which helps it to stand out - and it makes the feel-good chorus really jump out of the speakers. It is certainly one of the biggest anthems here, but it still very much feels like Pain despite the slightly different approach. The album's title track follows and it slows things down quite significantly - going for more of a mid-paced trudge overall. Pain do not really do ballads but there are slower moments here which go for a more mournful feel. The verses are generally sparse, with low key vocals and some effects-heavy clean guitar melodies - but the chorus is much heavier with its walls of crunchy guitars and a bigger drum presence. The overall pace does not change, though, and the song still moves at a slower pace even when it gets heavier - and it acts as a good mid-album twist given how upbeat generally everything else here is. Push the Pusher immediately returns to the album's core sound - with an upper mid-tempo groove based around a pretty metallic riff and accompanying synths. The verses are a bit more restrained, though, with more of a bass-heavy feel and the odd sparkling synth addition, but generally the song is tougher with plenty of heavy guitar riffing and the song's intro is later reprised as part of a memorable chorus. As such, then, the song is a very typical Pain anthem. Peter has been writing songs like this for years and this groovy, mid-paced vibe is what Pain do well.

The New Norm is similar, but overall the track feels a bit more up-tempo and intense - with a lengthy guitar-led intro complete with another memorable synth hook. Unlike the previous song, though, the heaviness is retained throughout. Many of the songs here see the guitars drop away somewhat during the verses, but that is not the case here - with the guitars retained throughout to create a tougher overall feel. Despite this, though, the song is one of the hookiest here from a vocal melody perspective. Peter's vocal hooks tend to be more shouted and they are memorable in a more primal sense, but the chorus here feels more melodic in a traditional sense - with sweeter vocal melodies sitting against the heavier backdrop. It does get heavier as it moves along, though, with some harsh vocals channelling Peter's day job somewhat. Revolution is the second song here written by Sebastian and it is heavier and more venomous than his earlier composition. The guitars feel a bit thrashier here and there is a good mix of faster sections and more groove-led parts which are more typical of Pain's core sound. Some of the album's heaviest moments are found in this song - and the riffing is very much of a different style than is generally the case for Pain. This helps the song to add some real variety to the album - but there are still plenty of typical Painisms here, despite the chorus feeling a bit more fast and furious than is typical. My Angel follows, which was a stand-alone single originally released in 2011 and featuring Cécile Siméone singing alongside Peter. It does not sound as if the song has been re-recorded for this album, so I am not sure why a song from 2011 has randomly been included here - but it is nice that the song has found a home. Peter generally sings despite Siméone's presence, but she adds some French lyrics and some excellent harmonies throughout - which suits the song's slow-burning crunch which returns to the ballad-esque crunch of the title track. It is a song on the slower side, then, with some piano-led sections and plenty of synths, but there is still plenty of crunch when needed. The album then comes to a close with Fair Game, a collaboration between regular studio colleague Jonas Kjellgren (Dellamorte; Carnal Forge; Centinex; Scar Symmetry; Ironmaster; Nekrodawn), which is another slower track and actually the closest thing here to a ballad despite the comments made earlier. It reins in the heaviness for the most part, despite some weight behind the chorus, and instead goes for a much more mournful and atmospheric sound - with a lot of synth varieties and a slow groove throughout that helps the album wind down. I am not sure that this sound fully suits Pain and Peter's voice, but it does help to provide some variety and as a closing number it does feel like a cool down - especially given how in-your-face much of Pain's material can be. In conclusion, then, I Am is an album which I have been enjoying and there is a lot to enjoy here for those who like their industrial a bit more guitar-heavy and metallic than it can often be. There is enough variety here to keep the album interesting and Pain's core sound is as caustic as I remember. I am glad to have reacquainted myself with the band after many years and I imagine that it will be fun to see them live again next year.

The album was released on 17th May 2024 via Nuclear Blast Records. Below is the band's promotional video for Go with the Flow.