Although this was the album that rocketed Motley Crue up to the top of the charts in 1985, I just can't get it. Considering its two predessesors are two of the greatest albums known to man, this one should be, too. But it's not. It is MUCH lighter and pop-oriented than Shout At The Devil, and it just doesn't have that Motley Crue sound that they used before and later. And also, this is some sort of a concept album I believe, but I just acn't get the concept. One song they are singing about gambling and money, they next they are talking about the the pains of going on tour. I just don't understand much of it. City Boy Blues, Smokin' In the Boys Room and Louder Than hell are great, but a lot of it is filler. If you are just a casual fan, stay away from this one.

1985's Theatre of Pain was the first big hit for Motley Crue. It had two hit singles with a cover of the Brownsville Station's Smoking in the Boys Room and Home Sweet Home. Those are both fine songs, but both can be found on the various greatest hits albums the Crue has, other than those two tracks I would say City Boy Blues is good,other than that this album has nothing to offer.

I was 15 when this came out. I eagerly anticipated its release, for SHOUT AT THE DEVIL was my Teenage angst statement to the world. I wanted to hear what the Crue had to say.
Honestly, At first it was completely dissapointing. A Ballad (Home Sweet Home), and not as heavy as it's predecessor. However, it grew on me, and I own it to this day. LOUDER THAN HELL, and TONIGHT (WE NEED A LOVER), saved this from total disspointment.
I give it 4 stars for the classic(ness) of it, however, it's not their heaviest effort. If you are looking for Raw metal, go to TOO FAST FOR LOVE..

After the sucess of Shout At The Devil and the stardom that followed, Motley went back into the studio and made themselves a sure hit with Theatre Of Pain. Great...only a few hundred problems....the band is thrashed from excessive touring....the band is seriously f*cked up from substance abuse....Nikki is doing heroin...Vince kills Hanoi Rocks drummer Razzle in a drunk driving incident...the list goes on and on. Motley Crue begin to self-destruct. Theatre Of Pain is a decent album. More radio friendly & now that the Boyz have become MTV icons with the Home Sweet Home video, these songs will be played into the ground. Smokin' In The Boys Room is a cool cover tune. Louder Than Hell, City Boy Blues, Use It OR Lose It & Save Our Souls are my favs. Some filler here. The household name that is Motley Crue has been fleshed out with this album and the ensuing world tour with Loudness opening for The Crue. Nikki OD's. Vince does his jail time. and off to rehab they all go before someone ends up planted in the ground. Could have been harder is what you'll be saying. After the perfection of Shout, its hard to follow up, especially when plagued by that many demons at once. Still a solid effort and a classic, just not perfect.

Dig it!

Besides Smokin' and Home Sweet Home, I think this Crue album rocks....Use it or Lose it, Louder than Hell, Fight for your Rights, Tonight, etc. Who really cares what trend was goin on....forget the fashion for a minute and listen to the tunes.
Im into much heavier stuff these days, but I always dug the Crue's brand of rock and roll, and this one jams......they just need to re-release it without the above mentioned Home..and Smokin.