2013 is already shaping up to be a good year for PAIN and it’s barely even started yet: not only has it marked their first headline UK tour, it’s also the year in which they visited Cardiff for the first time, playing the final date of their tour at Bogiez.
Some people may know Peter Tägtgren better as the frontman of Hypocrisy, however he is also the mastermind behind PAIN, of which he is the only member – he records all instruments on the project’s releases. Currently joining him on tour are David Wallin, Michael Bohlin and André Skaug.
Starting things off were local band Ten Cent Toy (6/10). No stranger to their live show, I’ve seen them numerous times and they’ve always been fairly good but their songs do tend to fall victim to sounding a little similar to one another. Although their singer seemed to have a chip on his shoulder about people not getting as involved as they “should” (but I’m not sure what he was expecting, considering they were opening and not many people were familiar with them), they put on a tight and energetic show. They finished their set with their track Time In Memorial, which the crowd finally moved about a bit to.
The main support came from Swiss band Neosis (8/10), whose music mixed metal with a more synthetic approach – meaning they were extremely well-suited to support PAIN – were fantastic. No strangers to Cardiff, having played at last year’s Chimaira gig at the Great Hall with Revoker, they seemed incredibly at ease and dominated the stage, which made for a memorable set. They connected with the crowd a lot more than Ten Cent Toy did and they played a blistering set, with the best track of the night being the catchy Supremacy Design. Definitely a band worth checking out if you have the time.
The performance of the night, however, came from PAIN (10/10) who seemed to be in their element to finally be headlining some shows over here and be able to play a decent-length set. Opening with Let Me Out, they stormed through a brilliant setlist that was a perfect mix of old and new material, including fan favourites such as Dirty Woman, The Great Pretender and Zombie Slam.
A particular highlight was the inclusion of their track Nailed To The Ground, which is arguably one of PAIN’s best songs and it translated perfectly into a live environment, which was great to see. Immediately followed by another phenomenal track On And On, PAIN then went on to play Supersonic Bitch, which was an absolute pleasure to witness as it hadn’t been included in the setlist of either of the previous shows I’d attended of theirs.
Closing with Shut Your Mouth, which got one of the biggest reactions of the night, Tägtgren promised the enthusiastic crowd that they’d be returning to UK shores within the year, and as the set came to a close, the cheers rang through the venue as the band members exited the stage.
All in all, a fantastic evening, with PAIN once again proving that they’re a force to be reckoned with. I’d thought PAIN were great when I saw them in support slots in 2008 and 2011 – but they blew both of those performances clear out the water with this one! Incredible stuff.
