Alter-ego of Hypocrisy guitarist/frontman Peter Tagtgren, which has been his bread & butter (to say nothing of dollars & cents) the last few years. A couple of hit singles, a support slot on the Euro-Nightwish tour (which led to both Tagtgren musical entities getting picked up by the Finns’ management company!) have allowed him to tour Hypo without financial cares.

This is actually a re-issue of an ’08 release, aimed specifically at the North American market. It features new, more demonic artwork (Addams Family’s Thing throwing the horns!), Nightwish frontwoman Anette Olzon on ‘Follow Me’ and ‘Feed Us’ (where she found her baby daddy, in Pain bassist Johan Husgafvel!), as well as a closing bonus cover of ELO’s ‘Here’s The News’. Unlike his day job, Pain sees Tagtgren opt for a mechanized, Goth/dance melody and the occasional variation from his gruff throated screams/shouts. Without the packaging, few would be able to place the Hypo-frontman’s involvement (which I guess is the highest compliment). Knowing the Swede’s proclivity for alcohol ("I’d rather lose my liver than my pride"), the countrified twang of ‘Have A Drink On Me’ is a departure from its surroundings, sounding suspiciously like Monster Magnet, including the Dave Wyndorf vocalizations. The pissed off ‘Monkey Business’ is downright catchy and ‘Live Fast – Die Young’ works on a frenetic level, but ultimately "Cynic Paradise" is not an album for most metal fans.