Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for Pain - I Am (2024)

8 years is a long time between albums. Throughout the first half of that time, Peter Tagtgren was still with Lindemann and was working with his son Sebastian. It was around 2021 when he released his first Hypocrisy album in 8 years, Worship, as well as a couple new Pain singles, with one of them saved for a new album...

I Am is another offering of melodic catchy industrial metal covering 11 tracks. Here, the genre is blended with alt-metal after elements were teased in the previous couple albums. When I first heard the album's pre-release singles, including the one from 2021, they were some of the best I've heard from this band and made me hyped. Sadly, that's what most of the highlights are. There has ended up being a few more fillers than before. Still the production and writing is pretty good and doesn't detract much.

"I Just Dropped By (to Say Goodbye)" already drops a divebomb of explosive industrial metal that unfortunately doesn't last well beyond the intro. How disappointing. "Don't Wake the Dead"... OK, but how about you wake me up instead after this plodding snooze-fest? Thankfully, what really wakes me up is the incredible "Go With the Flow"! That could get a lengthy extension and I would still enjoy it. Another one of the best songs here is the non-single "Not for Sale". This makes me feel like punching through glass even though I shouldn't. The Neurotech-ish keyboards in the bridge midway through sound epic, in contrast to the comedic lyrics.

"Party in My Head" is the one 2021 single that ended up being the first hint at this album. Who knew industrial metal can sound so h*lla beautiful?! The lyrics are quite fun to sing! "There's a party in my head! You're all invited, you're all my friends." The title track is a dark melancholic song that I think should never stop. "Push the Pusher" is another solid single, and it came with a cool anime-style music video too. "The New Norm" has the industrial vibes of Mnemic though not really executed greatly.

"Revolution" is a beautiful inspiring masterpiece of a song. Peter Tagtgren is such a creative dude. The atmospheric standout "My Angel" includes guest French vocals by Cecile Simeone, and this vocal contrast between her and Tagtgren is like light and darkness. After all that though, "Fair Game" ends the album rather poorly. I'll say no more.

The new album from Pain, I Am would surely please fans old and new. However, the quality is lower than what was already their lowest yet still great previous album Coming Home. Those 4 filler tracks drag down an album that already has two tracks that are great, two more that are amazing, and three more that are absolute perfection. Without those sh*tters, I would've rated it higher than Coming Home. Nonetheless, this is beautiful industrial/alt-metal energy you should hold on to....

Favorites: "Go With the Flow", "Not for Sale", "Party in My Head", "Revolution", "My Angel"