Posted on: September 20, 2007 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Pain – Live is Overrated / 2006 MVD / 120 Minutes / http://www.mvdb2b.com /

Pain is a perfect example of those industrial metal bands that have a blend of styles that tie together influences like Ministry, Nine Inch Nails and earlier metal like Judas Priest. “Supersonic Bitch” is a kick-start to this live set, which was filmed at Metalmania 2005. Where most other acts would not use a live drummer, Pain has really found someone skilled enough to hit the skins with a computer’s accuracy. During tracks like “End of the Line”, Pain mixes up Marilyn Manson with touches of Rammstein to create another head-banging romp that bristles with electronic backing. A svelte thirty-five minute track really comes and goes quickly, as Pain bounces through eight tracks, taking their audience with it.

Each of the tracks on “Live is Overrated” contains a substantial kernel that links it to the rest of the DVD; different tracks elicit a different general sound from the band, however. It is during “Your Knees” that a large amount of the industrial material goes away, leaving Pain creating a very metal type of track. The straight-forward sound of “Your Knees” shows the physical ability of the band the most, as everything during the song is on more traditional instruments. The second show was filmed in Krakow’s television studio, and enjoys the same high visual quality as the first set. Instead of playing nearly the same set in both of these two locations, there are two distinct sets of tracks for individuals to cut their teeth on. There is some overlap in the last set of songs (at Tavastia Club in Helsinki, where “Supersonic Bitch” and “End of the Line” are played again, but there is a lot of material for individuals to catch up on here. Add an extended interview with Peter Tgtgren in which the new album (among other things) are dissected into the most minute detail, and individuals have an inkling of information about the band afterwards.

Most interesting to viewers have to be the music videos present at the end of the DVD. Honestly, most music video networks in the United States do not end up playing Pain (or play them at such a late slot that most people end up missing them) so to get these music videos present in such a section really gives individuals another view on Pain’s existence as a band. The professionality of the music videos is really at the same level as the rest of the DVD. Pain is a very polished act that never fails to have a proper heaviness to their sound that will get heads banging and fists pumping; just because a band is metal does not mean that they have to sound like shit. This is the pocket dictionary for Pain; individuals can see the discography, biography and still picture galleries among the rest of the media to be found on the DVD. Hopefully in the next few years Pain will cross over into the big time and individuals will be more cognizant of this act, one of the best in metal today.

Top Tracks: Supersonic Bitch, End of the Line

Rating: 7.0/10

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