The time has finally come… After 5 long years of waiting, the new Pain album has come. I personally discovered the band after the release of You Only Live Twice in 2011 and like most who discover this industrial strangely alienated music… I fell in love… It is now time to fly into more alien metal with Coming Home.
The album opens with “Designed to Piss you off” and you know you cannot go wrong
with such a title. The song has a very country vibe already heard in “Have a drink on me” which is actually one of my top favourite songs by the band. The vocals are strange as ever and the music does very well at transitioning between a fast paced music and a mellow chorus and interval. Overall, the album starts a little slow compared to their previous work but still gives you exactly what you want… Metal from another dimension!
Next up is “Call Me”. A previously released single, the song is basically exactly what you wish from a Pain song. Strange synthesiser, fast paced riffs, great strange vocals, but this time with even more… the vocals of Joakim Bróden. I must it I was sceptical as to how this would turn out and to my greatest enjoyment, the vocals fit extremely well together and with the music. I am surprised two vocalists from such different Genres could come together so well but they have and this is all the more bonus to make this album great.
We then dive into “A Wannabe”. The song starts off much slower and as the song progresses, the synthesiser surprisingly brings a very symphonic melody. The approach is very new to their style and works very well! The vocals keep a very dark and mysterious tone and the song while remaining slow still keeps a great sense of wonder. An Alienated power metal song is the best way to describe the feelings received from this. The acoustic interval followed by more symphonic melodies and powerful chords makes the song wonderfully enjoyable, and it’s most likely my favourite from this album!
“Pain in the Ass” follows the wonderful experience just ended and I will just say this… the entire first verse has so much of a “The Great Pretender” feel to it, it may as well be the same song with different lyrics. The chorus does bring some variety but the riff/vocals/speed are nearly the same as “The Great Pretender” to the note. As much as I do love the song, from a band which can bring so much variety into their music while always keeping their unique style. I thought this song to be a weak addition to this new album.
We follow with “Black Knight Satellite” the released single for the album. The song comes back to its known catchy riffs and mysterious vocals, this time however the song benefits from power-like guitar chords throughout some of the verses. I found this a very interesting addition which has made me realise how much Pain is unknowingly tied to power metal. A very interesting and enjoyable song with a little extra touch which I always love to hear in new albums.
It is time for the album’s title track! In their last release I felt the title track was somewhat the weakest of the album, even if it still was a great track so I was left a little sceptical. I must say this time the song does stand out as rather different from the rest of the album. The music remains very toned down and there is less of the synthesiser except for a background of symphonic choirs. The song feels somewhat heart warming and very unusual for the Pain style but as can be expected of such an amazing band… Peter still has pulled it off! The song is still very strong and memorable and the music even if very different style has a faraway Pain signature.
Next we go to “Absinthe Phoenix Rising” with a very alternative rock sound and old school rock’n’roll vocals. This tune seems to be the odd ball of the album, although it remains enjoyable. But it still seems to be very out of style for a Pain tune.
“Final Crusade” comes back to the good old Pain alienated keyboards and strange vocals with a song that I could only call a general Pain song. The tune is catchy, the vocals and riffs entertaining and that’s all that can be said, nothing out of the ordinary, just a great Pain song.
Close to the end of the album comes “Natural Born Idiot”. A song that knew how to go even further in the alien metal style, throughout the song you feel yourself flying through space with an atmospheric tone and mysterious riff crowned by the vocals we all love. A song you just want to repeat over and over!
We close this out-of-Earth adventure with “Starseed” a slow, dark and wonderful track. It keeps you on your toes until the song breaks into a very powerful and beautiful tone. A perfectly structured song which and a favourite track to end this album.
Overall an amazing album, well worth the wait… What can I say but I can not wait for the next one!
Rating: 9/10
