In Love & Pain!

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IMG_9824.JPGLive Review from Underground Heavy #3:

Setlist:

1. 21st Century Exodus

2. Our Lives in Digitalism

3. On the Road / Into the Wild

4. Way to Go

5. Darkest Side

6. Warning

Having to hurriedly fill in Gong Wu’s shoes at the 11th hour was a task that IL&P was well up to. Taking the stage with what is, inevitably, their infectious energy, they made the place seem a lot fuller than it was at the time. Their set began with the anthemic 21st Century Exodus, played at deafening levels of amplitude. Their set was much like an excellently oiled machine, with nearly every song segueing into the other, and the band’s vigour being completely taut throughout. The vocals were largely hammed, but that’s not a problem for them, as their songs don’t really rely on them for a melodic driving force. Their unique formula of having a rota of singers on every song really gives them an edge in terms of presentation; it’s very fun to see them exchange singing duties by moving around between mikes on stage (with the exception of drummer Marvin, of course).

One of the standout features of their songs is the fact that despite being loud and metal-esque in many ways, their sound comfortably ambles into much varied territory by preserving many nuances that are often given up by bands on the heavier end of the spectrum. A prime example of this was On the Road / Into the Wild (a song also on Compilation CD#3) with its brooding, melodic portions blended with the hard-hitting rhythm bits. Way to Go has a massive hook in its chorus, as do many of their songs because of the chorused style of vocals. They truly saved the best for last, as Warning had metal opening, with a mix of modern and classic rock, with each manifested in spurts, giving the song a very cool disjointedness. Their set finished on the same energy level it began; it was clear that the guys were having immense fun, and at the end of the day, that’s what matters most in the pursuit of good music, isn’t it?
– Shashwati

UCD3_B_Angus_189.jpgMessage from In love & pain! about CD3 Release Party B:
“Thank you” is just not enough said, we played with a broken bass drum head, a broken guitar strap, and 4 broken voices!! And all of you just bore with us and provided tremendous support, not to mention those sing-along, it was a GREAT show!! Definitely one of our best gigs ever!!

Thank you, Chris! Thank you, Koya!! and also all the bands on the CD!! and of cause, all of you for supporting!!!
In love & Pain!

U_heavy_1_031.jpgLive Review from Underground Heavy #1:
So this is my attempt to write a none biased review about In Love & Pain. These guys are my boys, and I love their work, every time I watch them (which I’m sure I can count on two hands now). This Screamo/Punk group, are in my opinion, the hardest working act in town. If you have these guys on your Facebook, you see basically a post a week from them promoting their latest gig. IL&P are a four piece act that interestingly all share the vocal duties. The best thing about them, is their ability to perform a high energy show and spread this onto those who come out to see them. On this particular evening, IL&P struggled a tad with their general sound. Whether this was out of their hands or not I am not sure, but they will probably agree that they didn’t sound as powerful as they usually do. Most bands, would probably be dejected by this, and thus merely ‘go through the motions’ for the rest of the set. Not an industrious band like IL&P though. They powered through and still rocked out as if they were playing at Wembley. Their six song set contained many great sing-a-long anthems, that all get the blood rising. They go in and out of melodic and heavy moments. All their songs with have just the right balance of both. Check these guys out.
Tim – Hong Kong Independent Music Blog

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u85100.JPGLive Review from Underground 85:

1. 21st Century Exodus

2. On the Road/Into the Wild

3. Darkest Side

4. Give in To Me (Michael Jackson Cover)

5. Our lives in Digitalism

6. Warning

When In Love and Pain came onto the stage I got a sense of déjà vu once again. We were treading familiar waters, but something was different. Last time I saw these guys they were all sitting side by side each other just plugging away on their guitars. But, this time it was to be different. They were here with their full band sound. I thought to myself could The Melting Pot handle this heavy barrage of pure metal?

I have seen these guys plenty of times, it is hard not to when they have been doing around 3 shows per month for the last year or so. How do they keep the momentum while still pulling out some new original material for their ever growing fan base? The reason is that all the members of the band (Marvin who plays drums, Satva who plays bass, Henry and Kid who play guitar) are all very talented musicians. There is no doubt. Though, I did get the feeling that I had heard most of these songs before and was hoping for something new.

The four-some play some really heavy tunes which almost go into the realm of screamo at times when Satva begins screaming in the songs. In my previous review of this band I said that they sound a bit like Rage Against The Machine, but as I listen to them more closely, I don’t think so. They lack the rap vocals of Zach De La Rocha, something most of us musicians die trying to imitate. IL&P’s songs are more hardcore and sometimes resemble the band, Ramstein, in the fact that they are so heavy and I have no idea what they are screaming about. But, it still sounds good.

Marvin also sings while playing the drums and you got to admire him for that, because you can see he is thrashing away while trying to sing some melodic vocals, which is difficult stuff. The guitarists raise their instruments in the air during the climax of the song and twang their guitars in unison which looks really good and adds to their stage presence

From the get go I couldn’t help myself. The alcohol had made it’s way to my brain and I succumbed to the call of the music. And you might say, the call of ‘The Wild’. I stopped taking notes and began to enjoy myself, jumping up and down while the band delivered their powerful repertoire of hard rock. There was a frenzy in the audience from the people who remained and there was a bit of nice pushing and shoving.

I can’t give you a play by play account of their set because it kind of just flew by without me realizing it. I should have gone back so much earlier to write some more notes about them, but before I knew it they were announcing that it was their last song. I didn’t even notice that they had put in a cover of Michael Jackson’s ‘Give it to Me’. Their set was intense and they never let down until the end of the show. This was really a great way to finish the night off.
Cain (F.B.I. vocalist)

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Live Review from Underground 76:

1. Warning from 2024

2. 4:31 sad morning

3. Thunder (Boys like Girls Cover)

4. Our lives in Digitalism

5. 21st Century Exodus

6. On The Road, Into The Wild

7. Letters To You (Finch Cover)

8. Darkest Sides

This was the first time that In Love and Pain! had done an acoustic performance. I have seen these guys before and when I heard that they were going acoustic I wondered how they would pull it off. Generally their music is very loud with lots of screaming. You can almost compare these guys to Rage Against The Machine, and I can’t imagine Zach De La Rocha doing an acoustic set. So I sat there with open ears and an open mind to hear what In Love and Pain! had to offer. The guys from the band sat on chairs side by side, Henry and Kid on guitar, while Marvin and Satva did the vocals. They started their set with a warning from the future and surprised me with their soft, but powerful music. They sound a little like ‘Story of the year’. Marvin sang deep and sorrowfully, while Satva sang back-up vocals.

The second song “4:31” had both Satva and Marvin singing in beautifully harmony. Even though they didn’t hold a guitar these two singers stole the limelight from the other two. I totally didn’t expect a third singer to join the duo. But, then to my surprise they were accompanied by Henry in the next song, “Thunder”, who took the lead vocals for the Boys like Girls cover. All of the guys sang together, giving us a full range of voices, playing off each other in sweet symphony. I had to wonder were these the same songs that they played as a full band? because the sound was so different. Suddenly it was so deep and meaningful. I could actually hear what they were singing.

Then the foursome played one of their heavier songs which sounded alike to Metallica’s ‘Unforgiven’. At this stage the audience was swelling up in the Melting Pot and the band had to compete against the chatter. ‘Our Lives Through Digitalism‘ cut through the murmur of the crowd with its loud, dark and depressing sounds.

The fifth song, ‘21st Century Exodus‘, followed. This time the band got the crowd clapping along to the beat. It had a rhythm that was easy to follow and tap your feet to. Then, they moved back to a slow melodic number which Marvin could utilise his voice. Henry began to sing the next song which was a Finch cover, while the other two vocalists provided the harmony. Sounds like the kind of song that you would listen to if you had broken up with your girlfriend or boyfriend. Very dark and moody music.

They ended their set with ‘Darkest Sides‘ which followed along similar lines to songs that preceded it. There was not much diversity in the style of music they played, but if you like depressing music that you want to cry your heart out to, then this is it. You could definitely feel that this was out of their comfort zone, I think they are more accustomed to thrashing it out on stage, which they do quite well. But this time, they sat down and did not move for the entire show, which took away from their stage presence that they usually have more of. But, it was a good show and they were lucky to have such a great crowd gathered there at The Melting Pot who surely will ask when is their next performance?

Cain (F.B.I. vocalist)

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