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Biography : Pain (SWE)

Nothing Remains the Same

One of the more compelling musical break-throughs in Sweden during 1999 was the entrance of Pain. "End Of The Line", the first single from the album "Rebirth" was awarded with a gold disc and the music channels were plugging the video - which was more brutal than anything they'd rotated daily up to then.


The interest for Pain's hard, yet rhythmic and accessible techno-driven metal had definitely awakened.


The man behind Pain, Peter Tägtgren could be seen and heard, not only live, or on TV, but also in the movies - In the swedish thriller "Sleepwalker", Peter had a cameo-roll as well as writing the lead theme "Save Me" specially for the film. If you went to see major swedish hit-films such as action movie Nolltolerans or Vingar Av Glas you could also hear tracks from Rebirth.


Many thought Rebirth was the debut-album of Pain and the beginning of a career for the tattooed northerner. In fact, Pain's self-titled debut was released back in 1996 on german label Nuclear Blast. Peter had been a well-reputed name on the death-metal scene since the early nineties, when his band Hypocrisy, where Peter sings, plays guitar and is main songwriter were building a worldwide following. This year is Hypocrisy's 10 year anniversary, and with seven albums and several european and US tours under the belt they are definitely one of Swedens biggest metal exports.


Peter has also been, and still is, one of the hottest producers within extreme metal. International artists such as Destruction, Dimmu Borgir, Immortal and Dark Funeral have all made their pilgrimage to the Abyss Studio, located in a former mental hospital (which Peter has bought) in Pärlby outside Ludvika in the north of Sweden. In total, Peter has produced well over 100 albums since opening the studio.


In January, it's time for Pain's third album "Nothing Remains the Same" - the much longed for follow-up to Rebirth to hit the record stores. The first single "Shut Your Mouth" is one of the strongest songs penned by Tägtgren to date with a spectacular video accompanying it. The story builds around a UFO landing outside Peters home and an Alien attacks him. Then the tough job of convincing a jury in doubt that it has in fact happened… The clip is directed by Mikeadelica - the same man who directed the clip for "End Of The Line" and who got MTV to ban every second of the clip for "Suicide Machine". Apart from Pain, Mikeadelica has worked with artists like Petter, Robyn, Dilba etc.


As well as recording the video-clip, a short film called Greetings was recorded where we can see Peter in the leading role, acting against actors like Sölve Dogertz and Henrik Dahl. Several film festivals have already committed to airing it.


To use a common phrase, Nothing Remains the Same is a more mature album than the previous two, without losing the energy or the dark atmosphere that characterizes "Pain" and "Rebirth". Peter uses his voice more than ever and the musical spectrum is wider. The sound is definitely more aggressive, more of a band feeling, though it is still Peter alone behind all the instruments. Lyrically, it's as Peter puts it "more songs about sex and death…"


And if you're a Beatles fan, check out the blistering cover of "Eleanor Rigby", for which a sixteen piece full orchestra recorded strings at the legendary Polar Studios (where, apart from Pain, artists like Abba, Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones and Genesis have recorded). All arrangements were made by Peter and conductor Pål Svenre.


The cover artwork is even more spectacular. Austrian artist Joachim Luetke worked with Peter for two days photographing before compiling the album and single pictures. Fans of Hypocrisy and Pain will definitely get to see a new side of Peter on this album.


Peter Tägtgren is back with his rhythmic, brutal "bang-music"… Prepare for maximum Pain!

Source: Label Officiel: http://www.nuclearblast.de