You Only Live Twice is the latest release from Peter Tagtgren's industrial metal alter ego Pain. In between albums & tours with his main act Hypocrisy, Tagtgren usually likes to unleash something new from Pain, which seems to be an outlet that the musician/singer/producer uses to break away from the death metal that he's normally involved in.
Having heard and appreciated most of Pain's previous releases, I can easily say that You Only Live Twice contains all the elements that made those albums enjoyable platters of sweeping industrial metal. "Let Me Out" and "Feed the Demons" bust right out of the gate with crunchy riffage, bubbling keyboards, pounding rhythms, and Tagtgren's mix of clean & screaming vocals. There's an epic & anthemic feel to these songs, which historically is what gives Pain their signature sound. "The Great Pretender" has an upbeat, Nine Inch Nails style to it, while the title track is quite symphonic with plenty of futuristic layers. Peter's clean vocals on the latter are quite effective and well done. On "Dirty Woman", Tagtgren goes for a raunchier, nu-metal take on the Pain formula, and it works so well that you'll find it hard to stop from jumping up and raising your fist in the air over and over again. Another highlight is the brutal "Monster", a rousing mix of techno and extreme metal, featuring crushing guitar riffs, spooky synths, and Tagtgren's varying vocal styles.
While You Only Live Twice is most certainly a very solid release from Pain, it's not as strong from start to finish as some of the band's past releases, as there's a generic feel to a couple of the more mellow pieces that knocks this down just a tad. Still, as far as industrial metal goes, it's hard to top what Peter Tagtgren comes up with for this project, and You Only Live Twice is another winner in their growing discography.
Track Listing
01. Let Me Out
02. Feed The Demons
03. The Great Pretender
04. You Only Live Twice
05. Dirty Woman
06. We Want More
07. Leave Me Alone
08. Monster
09. Season Of The Reaper
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