“Music is everything to me. I’ve been through two divorces and a whole world of shit because of music but still it is the most important thing in the world to me. I’d rather have music than anything else.”
So speaks Peter Tägtgren, musician, producer and creative brain behind PAIN, Sweden's finest industrial metal export. His has been a life immersed in music, in pushing boundaries, and taking ideas to both their logical and illogical extremes. It’s been a career that has involved fronting bands – notably iconic death metal veterans HYPOCRISY, and now PAIN – or shaping their sounds – as he has done with CELTIC FROST, CHILDREN OF BODOM, DIMMU BORGIR and IMMORTAL amongst others. It’s a calling that has made him one of Europe's most respected musicians and producers. After a long running tour cycle for the last successful PAIN album “Cynic Paradise”, Tägtgren jumped back to HYPOCRISY, released another album and got back on the road immediately. Now with the eighth album coming, PAIN is set to take the world by storm – again!
Even if the sound of course remains in the known schemes, “You Only Live Twice” by far is the heaviest and most aggressive effort of the bands history – the death metal roots of the groups mainman can definitely be heard. But PAIN would not be PAIN if the there were no catchy, anthemic songs as well – like the first smash hit single “Dirty Woman” which deals with that kind of ruthless women average Joe does not want to meet (see quote above). Be it catchy, be it brutal - play it loud and dig into the darkest, heaviest and most aggressive side of PAIN!
After the substantial success of Peter's LINDEMANN project with RAMMSTEIN vocalist Till Lindemann, he retreated and took time to write another industrial metal statement entitled »Coming Home«. The release of this record is scheduled for September 2016 through Nuclear Blast with cover artwork created by Stefan Heilemann.
It's 2021 and a pandemic is strangling the world - and no one seems to be having fun. Seemingly tireless music freak Peter Tägtgren couldn't care less as he hits the jackpot with - pardon the harsh language – a fucking catchy... well, party anthem. We are of course talking about the song ‘Party in My Head’ by Tägtgren's synth-infused metal project PAIN.
"I don't really know what it is about ‘Party in My Head’ that made - still makes - people go crazy for it... But what I do know for sure is that the song has already been enjoyed millions and millions of times. The numbers are pretty crazy!"
"Of course, PAIN is no stranger to writing danceable and catchy, albeit metallic shit... It's always been in the DNA of this project. But let's face it: if the world really needs 'party anthems' from a cynical geezer like me, something's seriously wrong", Peter laughs.
Our beloved planet may be screwed, but there still doesn't seem to be much wrong in PAIN's world as 2024 ticks fast on the calendar. There simply can't be, because PAIN's eagerly awaited new studio album “I Am” is soon here - yes, after eight years of devoted waiting.
"The previous record “Coming Home” came out in 2016 - and of course there was a tour after that. In 2019, I released an album called “F & M” with Rammstein singer Till Lindemann, a project I left in 2020. In 2021, it was time for my death metal band Hypocrisy to get active with a new album “Worship” - and of course we toured again. If that wasn't enough, let's add that there was a studio album with Joe Lynn Turner in 2022... In other words: the last eight years have passed in the blink of an eye", Peter sighs.
"After all this, it was the perfect time for PAIN to go full force again. I felt excited to say the least. Needless to say, the success of ‘Party in My Head’ gave the album process an explosive start!"
Let's get one thing straight: the powerful-sounding “I Am” is truly a versatile - if not the most versatile - musical missile in PAIN's rich discography. The new songs go everywhere with heavy industrial riffs, haunting melancholic vibes and groove-filled rhythms - without forgetting surprises, of course.
