Underworld, London - 3 February, 2001

"A death-march tribute to the dead" Just by taking a look at the names of the four bands on tonight's bill, you didn't need to be a genius to guess this wasn't gonna be an evening of tea and cakes. I was looking forward to this event mostly because I'd heard of all the bands but had never actually heard a single one.

The Pain Machinery

...Immediately more 'electronic' than their predecessors, Swedish three-piece The Pain Machinery picked up the tempo and, once again, utilised back projections to add extra interest. This time it was a slightly odd (but effective) montage taking in everything form Pop Art to dental records. The stage image was markedly different to Maruta Command but no less interesting. The vocalist (who also played the odd piece of percussion and keyboards) was flanked by a casually-dressed guitarist and cool drummer wearing regulation goggles. Both drummer and guitarist wore red tops and gave the stage a nice symmetry. Again, relying more upon an emerging mood than conventional verse/chorus/verse song structures, The Pain Machinery's heavily-treated, anguished vocals and driving drums, overlayed with copious amounts of noise, was an interesting combination of accessible electronics and less immediate but equally effective darker tones. The ever-growing audience clearly appreciated what they heard and I wouldn't be surprised if we see TPM back in the UK before too long.
Rob Dyer

Review from Dark Star Organisation webzine

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