Pain for the Pleasure

Pain for the Pleasure is a fulfilling work on which Blindman, binding soaring, powerful vocals, songcraft-filled guitar and thick, rich keyboards, built dramatic melodic hard rock. A record on which the lyrical style cultivated over a long career has reached a realm of maturity. Beautiful melody containing deep sorrow is always at the songs’ center, and the playing is placed neatly and powerfully to make it look bigger and more beautiful. From the powerful drive of the opener “Waiting for the Day” and the drama of “Awaking Star” to a cut like “The Silence of Fate,” every song is engaging, while cuts like “River of Life” and “Set Me Free” convey the work’s fullness. Tatsuya Nakamura’s fluid, lyrical guitar is powerfully in sharp form throughout. A record on which ballad-leaning, delicate lyricism and powerful riffs stepping hard intersect vividly, and there is a sure sway throughout the album. It makes its outstanding technique serve the songs’ deep emotion. An engaging record that united the delicacy and power particular to Japanese melodic rock — a record where the band’s maturity shines.