Interviews About Albums: Brain Pain - The Magazine (2024)

In this new interview, we sat down with the Italian Heavy Rock band Brain Pain to ask questions about their album, "The Magazine".

1. What can you say about The Magazine?

The Magazine is our first work, and if it's still a bit rough around the edges, it certainly describes us perfectly. A multi-faceted band with different styles and genres that come together in what we are trying to define as the BP sound. The Magazine is also a concept album. We didn't want to just put together songs, we have messages and stories we like to share, as music for us is not Just music.

It tells the story of Brian, a hopeless man stuck in the cycle of life, who tries one last lucky ticket (kinda like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) and wins a trip in His multiverse. Fate wants the first world he lands in is the one in which he has already lived all the other realities he will later traverse, so the only thing left will be to make sense of his trip. He will come to realize how he's stuck in a vicious cycle, living different lives and alternative realities, he will be a drug addict, a vengeful father who lost his son, a lost soul roaming through the desert of the soul, and when he's going to finally reach the last step of his journey he'll realize that the sense of his trip, of his life, was to love. Love himself, love his life, and love someone, to not let the vortex of modern life deprive him of his passion.

2. What is the meaning of The Magazine's name?

The Magazine is translated in Italian as "La Rivista", which has different meanings. Firstly it is intended as a publication related to a specific field (ex. Fashion, art, music, etc..), and we'll in fact produce a magazine, instead of the traditional booklet that goes with the album (available only for the copies we'll be selling directly). It will be the album that goes with the booklet! Secondly, in the military world, it's the inspection by a superior to check the order of individual elements or departments. For us is the inspection of our own capabilities, our moods, of our fears. Lastly, it can describe a variety show which, in the once most widespread and popular form, consists of a series of attraction numbers in which the comedian, the soubrette, and the dance troupe have a predominant role. Music as we intend it is more than just sound, it’s about the expression and energy of live exhibitions and the comic shadow that always follows the tragic events we go through in our lives.

3. Which one is the composer of The Magazine?

The songs are organic work, we generally work on the music together, and then usually Daniele writes the lyrics, however, this album is a good mix of new and old songs. For example, The Saving and The Craving were written during Antonio's youth, The Butcher instead comes from an idea of Giorgio and the lyrics are the rewriting of an old popular legend of our birthplace. Each song has its own story. The concept behind the album has been crafted by Daniele to regroup the songs into a coherent universe, a universe that will continue in the following albums, all interconnected and intertwined, both lyrically, musically, and visually. It's going to be a fun ride.

4. If you had to pick one song, which one would you pick?

Probably Samsara. It is the song that reassumes the cycle metaphor that's used throughout the album, Samsara is in fact a Sanskrit and Pali word that means "wandering", and is used to describe cyclic change or more simply running around in circles. It is also our personal tribute to the life cycle of musicians when playing a show, as it originally comes from S.M.S.R., in Italian "Smonta, Monta, Smonta, Rimonta", which is the process of disassembling all the gear from the rehearsal room, assembling it on stage, disassembling it at the end of the show and reassembling it in the rehearsal room once back home. Our own personal Samsara.

5. Is there a special message in this album? If there is, what is it?

The message contained in this album is certainly to love. Nowadays we're constantly running around chasing things, bombarded by messages, commercials, and news, stuck in a cycle of endlessly working to afford to live a life we then spend working. We're preoccupied with inflation, unaffordable living costs, and wars, and we live in a time where we forget how good it is to smile and to have dreams. Our generation has lost hope in the future but we try to give some of that hope back and to make you remember that there's more to life than just work and debts. Families, friends, and ourselves; for us, Love is the alternative to fight back against a life that seems designed to be unbearable. So please, go out and Spread Love Around.

6. Are there some lyrics that you'd love to share?

Probably the ones from Icahipi, a song we wrote in the Lakota language. It's a simple phrase that means "The leaves fall off, the flowers will bloom ''. Aside from representing the cyclicality of the album's theme it also leaves room for hope, as knowing that the flowers will bloom can give one enough courage to bear the falling of the leaves. It's the positive attitude we're trying to transmit at the end of the whole album.

7. Which inspirations have been important for this album? Like musically or friends, family, someone you'd love to thank especially?

We've taken, knowingly or unknowingly, from our collective well of knowledge. From Apricot Sorrow which is our version of Proust's madeleine, to The Butcher of Grangaisbrook which retells an old local legend (Grangaisbrook is the best approximation of the old name of the current Valley of the Executioner, a narrow valley in our town in which the legend takes place). The place and people that surround us are our best inspiration so our thanks go to that. Inspiration comes also from the music we listen to. In every song there's at least one lyric or one small music passage that's inspired by a song that's close to us, could be the title of a song or just an iconic lyric of that piece, however, we'll let the listener discover those. We really, really love music and thought that the best way to celebrate the songs that moved us was to put a super tiny piece of them into our music, just like we carry them into our hearts.

8. Something to add?

It's our first album and it has been really long and hard, trying to balance the rhythmic parts, and the vocal harmonizations. Every song has its own meaning, and yet in the greater frame of the album, they assume a whole other context and story. We worked tirelessly to fit every piece as it should and we're really proud of the result. It also drives us forward as this is only the first album in a triad that will compose the final picture. We really hope you like it, and if even just one of our listeners feels this renewed hope and love, then we will know that all our work was worth it. Thank you very much to everyone involved in the creation and life of The Magazine, we truly appreciate your help and trust.