Gig review: PAIN – Borderline, London – 13 February 2013

February 14th, 2013 by Yiannis

Support Acts: Neosis

Review by Yiannis (John) Stefanis

Even though I consider myself to be fairly open-minded when it comes to music these days that was not so much the case in the mid 90s – the time when Death Metal maestro Peter Tagtgren of Hypocrisy fame decided to bring his Electro-Industrial Metal project Pain to life. Part of growing up, however, is expanding one’s horizons and tastes and it was not long before I finally managed to understand that what this Swedish musician/producer was trying to achieve was not only inspiring but also enjoyable.

Seven studio albums later, Pain have decided to celebrate eighteen years of existence through the release of a pretty comprehensive live CD/DVD/Blue Ray album entitled “We Come In Piece” – an album whose promotional tour began at the end of last year and whose second leg finds the band visiting the UK for a five day mini tour.

Having secured, with the kind assistance of local Nuclear Blast London, an interview slot with Peter on the 13^th of February, I headed towards central London and the fairly “dimensionally challenged” Borderline in the backstage area of which I had a short but very interesting chat with the man himself. After a short break for dinner, I made my way back to the venue to find a sea of people occupying every square inch of the dance floor. Settling for a place by the stage (no photo pit here), I chose the best place for a clear view of the stage.

My short break after the interview meant that I lost the performance of the first opening act so it was left up to the Geneva-based djent quartet Neosis to kick start things for me. Two songs after the band first hit the stage, I started to question whoever had decided to add this band on the bill: I did not appear to be the only one in the crowd who found it difficult to warm to the unnecessary complexity of their offerings.

Nevertheless, these four lads seemed quite happy to be in London and they did offer a dynamic and physical performance whose purpose was to promote the band’s debut release “Neosis”. Songs like “Unwilling Fate” and “Supremacy Design” were received well by the audience and, following the latter, band leader Tom provided the quote of the evening by saying “if you buy our CD after the show our bass player will give you a private lap dance” – an incentive not every member of the crowd might equally appreciate.

Since the stage was too small to host a full-on Pain show, it only really took fifteen minutes for the band’s roadies to prepare the stage for the band’s first ever headline show on UK soil. From young Gothsters and mature Metalheads to old-school Rockers, the motley crowd was seething with anticipation, as suggested by the loud roar that followed the pre-recorded intro of “Let Me Out”.

This fast and heavy-riffed song set the right pace and energy early on and, from then onwards, all Peter and his hired guns needed to do was to keep the momentum going – which is what they did. Peter’s command of the crowd was uncanny, getting everyone to shout at the top of their lungs during “Walking On Glass” and helping create pit havoc during the performance of “I’m Going In”.

The Swede seemed content with the crowd’s reaction, judging by his “I think I am having an erection here”, prior to introducing the band’s hit “Dirty Woman”. Appreciative gestures continued to be exchanged between the band and the audience throughout the remainder of the show. Amongst the highlights of the show would be the performance of “The Great Pretender”, a song that was introduced by Peter pointing towards his head, the quite catchy “On & On”, as well as the duet “Same Old Song”/“Shut Your Mouth” which formed part of the band’s three track encore and which ensured that the last few drops of energy were squeezed out of the lucky few who had managed to get tickets to this sold out show.

Pain are of the type of band whose straight forward heavy riffs sound absolutely amazing in a live environment so it is really difficult to go to one of their shows and leave disappointed. Having said that, I believe it was pretty evident to all of us who attended the show that the Borderline, while being an intimate and…picturesque…. venue, was certainly not the right place to host such a show!

With every new album, Pain’s popularity is both undoubtedly and justifiably increased so I truly hope and expect that next time they come to the capital of the UK for a live show it will be in a venue that is fitting to both their status and sheer entertainment value!

Pain Set List:

Main Set:

“Let Me Out”
“Walking On Glass”
“I’m Going In”
“Dirty Woman”
“Zombie Slam”
“End Of The Line”
“Suicide Machine”
“The Great Pretender”
“It’s Only Them”
“Monkey Business”
“Dark Fields Of Pain”
“Crashed”
“Nailed To The Ground”
“On & On”

Encore:

“Supersonic Bitch”
“Same Old Song”
“Shut Your Mouth”

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