Live Review : Pain + Ensiferum + Eleine + Ryujin @ Rebellion, Manchester. on October 11th 2023

Over on the continent, this billing makes perfect sense. You see Pain may be a side project of Hypocrisy main man Peter Tägtgren but its success in mainland Europe has in many ways eclipsed that of his day job. Over here it is a different story and whilst folk metallers Ensiferum are billed as a “very special guest” on UK soil this has become very much a double header and there are far more Ensiferum shirts to be seen upon entering the building.

It is obvious that this tour is designed for much bigger and more prestigious venues than our lowly (but much loved) Rebellion. Aside from Ensiferum, there is also the small matter of cult heroes Eleine and the much-hyped (and Matt Heffy managed) Ryuijn. There is also the first ever video wall I have ever seen in this place (Peter mentions later that most of the equipment wouldn’t fit and is still in the van) and then there are the ticket price…. Surprisingly in today’s economic climate, quite a few punters seem still to be content with spending £35 to stand in a cold club under a railway station to see their heroes.

With four bands to wade through, it is early start o’clock for the much-fancied Ryujin who are playing their first-ever show in our fair city under their new moniker (previously known as Gyze). They very much wear their Japanese heritage on their sleeves and self-identify as samurai metal. On emerging onstage, they ceremonially bow to the crowd out of respect and then go straight into the music. Initially, the vocals are a bit low in the mix but this gets sorted towards the end. Given the Trivium connections it is not surprising that they share similar musical DNA and many riffs feel they are ripped straight from the mighty “Shogun”.

The stand-out track is the jaunty ‘Samurai Metal’ which mines Japanese folk to create a catchy chorus-driven track that feels simultaneously commercial but also reverential to its roots. They seem rather chuffed with their reception and make heartfelt pledges to return. Oodles of energy and potential means that earn themselves a place in the ones-to-watch category.

Eleine are from the darker side of the symphonic spectrum. As with the succeeding bands, they hail from Sweden, and it is obvious from the off that they have quite the following. Their flamboyant entrance is heralded by cheers and pumping fists. There are points where they feel rather identikit female fronted symphonic metal band, but then there are moments where they veer off into completely their own territory. For a start, they are colossally heavier than other bands of their ilk. Rikard Ekberg’s gruff vocal interventions and grinding guitar drag the whole thing down malignant and malevolent alleyways. It brings a much-welcomed dark refrain to the whole thing, unleashing lashings of enticement to something that could have been quite ordinary and mundane.

It's like being plunged in and out of cold water. When Madeleine raises her voice to the sky, it feels safe and nurturing but as soon as Rikard puffs up his lungs and bellows to the moon we are sent hurtling into a hellish abyss. I've seen the whole Beauty and the Beast malarkey done a million times but tonight it works particularly well and provides a jarring juxtaposition that keeps the whole thing incredibly interesting and enticing. Mythical and mystical, the set feels like a dinner date with an enchantress. I look very much forward to being under their spell again.

Ensiferum are pure entertainment bottled. They leap out of the traps like headliners and the reception that they are afforded affirms that. Yes, there are generous lashes what we would call traditional metal, but it is unleashed in such an infectious and enjoyable way that we forgive any traces of mundanity. Metal is sometimes guilty of forgetting that its prime ingredients are absurdity and fun. Ensiferum revel in the absolute absurdity of four grown men singing about keeping their swords aloft. This is metal with its tongue very firmly in its cheek and that aforementioned sword held high in the air. 

Ensiferum are delivering nothing new, but this doesn't stop this from being one of the most enjoyable hours of pure unadulterated metal that I've experienced in a long long time. The serious Viking veneer holds the set together and they power through jaunty track after jaunty. The folk tinges are there but they exist to heighten as opposed to lead the songs. Instead, this is traditional route 101 power metal with soaring choruses and more rampaging solos than you can shake a broadsword at. 

Aside from keyboadist Pekka Montin, the rest of the band have been in situ for nigh on twenty years and it very much shows. There is telepathic comradery at play as they constantly switch positions (and many occasions vocal responsibilities). It's all very slick but it also beautifully rendered, and it feels like you are witnessing a form of ballet but with better beards. If you hadn’t looked at the event posters, you would swear that they were headlining as the front row screams along in word-perfect wonder and the pit pulsates with flailing limbs.  

When you didn’t think the sense of ludicrous fun could be spun out any further, they introduce the closing track ‘Two of Spades’ as a Disco Punk stomper. The wah-wah pedal is set to kill and Petri Lindroos rolls out funk licks straight out of the Nile Rodgers book of cool. Like a metaphor for their entire existence as a band, it so shouldn’t work but it definitely does. Deliciously daft and stupendously silly it rounds the show off nicely.

Given the rapturous reception given to Ensiferum, the perceived wisdom is that the room will clear for Pain, with good chunks of the Viking Metal aficionados deciding to take a hard pass on the impending industrial noise. This however never transpires. Whilst a whole new set of rapid devotees take up camp in the front row, most of the audience seem to have decided to stick around. Given that Pain is very much a singular effort and a self-proclaimed channel for Peter Tägtgren to stretch the musical muscles he is unable to flex in Hypocrisy, they are an incredibly tight and cohesive live unit. Yes, it's obvious that Peter is in charge, but David Wallin, Jonathon Ollson and Sebastian Svalland do not come across as hired hands. Instead, they have very much made these songs their own and give off a definite air of collaborative copiability.

The Pain material is so different from the melodic death of Hypocrisy that it makes any comparison superfluous. This is rich, dense industrial metal, drinking from the same well as Ministry, Nine Inch Nails and Front 242. However beyond the bleeps and boobs, there is also an undenying whiff of the Blues. The acoustic interlude of ‘Coming Home’ and ‘Have a Drink on Me’, literally drip with the raw emotionality of primordial blues and the cover of the Stones’ ‘Gimme Shelter’, resists the urge to fill the classic with keyboard flourishes and instead leans into its organic charm.

The overarching feeling is that Pain is Peter’s outlet to experiment and to be open and vulnerable.  As wonderful as Hypocrisy are, there is very little variation and, at times little personality. With Pain, you feel that Peter is opening up his soul and dredging out its content. Everything feels personal and transparent. The songs are little snapshots of his insecurities and imposter syndrome. They are also musically, much more varied and dense than the contents of his day job back catalogue. It’s easy to characterise industrial metal as a bit of a one-trick pony but here Peter uses it as an expressive pallet fully exploiting its entire range. 

The only niggle is the fact that all the samples and numerous keyboard incursions are on tape. I fully understand that this is the way it is, but it just feels a little ironic that the instruments that really define their unique sound are all on pre-recorded backing tracks. However overdubs or no overdubs, nothing can undermine just how good they are as a live proposition and just how strong their material is. ‘Monkey Business’ is a stomping glitter ball of a track, full of commercial pout but with enough of a backbone to give it real welly. ‘Same Old Song’ is a barnstorming punch along of a tune that looks back to the opulence of glam but also has one eye on the music yet to come. And then there is encore opener ‘Party In My Head’ which is the cue for furry guitars, novelty glasses and a dude-like dressing gown.

I love Hypocrisy but it's so obvious that Pain is where Peter has his fun. Final number ‘Shut Your Mouth’ sees him lying prostrate on the floor and then wrestling with Jonathan Ollsen, behaviour you would never dream of happening during say ‘Adjusting the Sun’ or ‘Roswell 47’. It was that sense of informality and relaxed good humour that makes Pain such a virile and engaging proposition. Whilst I'm sure none of us ever realised it was missing, Pain quite emphatically put the fun back into industrial metal. Well worth paying 35 quid for!!