"When you list the best Hard rock bands of the classic era, I mean
the top bands, you have a handful of groups that stand out. The bands that you have to love to be a classic metalhead. Zeppelin,Aerosmith,Sabbath,AC/DC,the Who,Purple,Van Halen,KISS,Cooper,the Stones. But the one "Hair band" that truely deserves a spot in this elite group is Motley Crue. I love all the hair bands and some of them are great, but Motley was the best of the 80's. They were not that great at songwriting,but then AC/DC aren't either. They were not as great a group of musicians as Van Halen, but The Stones couldn't play their way out of a wet paper bag. But greatness is measured in Legend, and Motley Crue have been the subject of some of rock's most infamous legends. This is their best album. It's not as rough as Shout at the devil, but it showed a band that had developed into a tight unit. They took their influence from Aerosmith, and Van Halen, and it shows here. This is a must for classic metal fans. This was what metal was like before Thrash and all that garbage took over. Buy it. You won't regret it."
Classic Crue
08/19/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I bought this when albums were still being sold. I listened to this every day then all my albums got stolen. I just recently started getting all the albums I had, but in CDs. This is classic crue."
"Theatre" has LITTLE to do with bluesy rock
nick mace | Dixon, Illinois USA | 05/17/2001
(2 out of 5 stars)
"This album is another unfortunate product of the direction glam metal took a competent rock band during the 1980s. In 1985 the Crue were poised to release the follow-up to the metal classic "Shout". Instead of a great album fans got a great single, the MTV ballad "Home Sweet Home".Much of this album is tiresome. Silly chants that could have come from a scribe with much less skill than Nikki Sixx. But it fit the era of glitter and make up. I'm just thankful they gave up that ... before "Girls Girls Girls""
Painful to listen to even now
acenugget | Center Line, MI United States | 05/13/2008
(1 out of 5 stars)
"I love Motley Crue for what they started with and what they later became. I honestly don't know how this disc was ever really noticed. The songs are simplistic, the musicianship is thoroughly non-impressive and the production sounds poppy and dated even then. Out of the now 15 songs on this disc, only three are tolerable leaving 80% of the songs as pure filler. I find it nearly impossible to believe that this disc ever won a following when other bands like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest were releasing metal epics. Theatre of Pain was a profound disappointment. This cd, for me, really spelled the end for metal as it was known. If this cd was my first exposure to the Crue, then I'm sure that I would never have followed them. It's painful to listen to even now."
Garbage.
Stephanie Sandlin | Spokane, Wa | 11/06/2006
(1 out of 5 stars)
"Theatre of Pain.
*
Motley Crue's venture into the mid 1980s. Gone for all intents and purposes is the heavy brash sound which populated SATD and TFFL. You get Motley Glam. Its a sad joke compared to the two prior releases.
There are people who love this album. I am not one of them. The music loses the edge, power and feracity of earlier output.
For all intents and purposes the Motley Crue of legend disappeared sometime between 1984 and 1985. Replaced by a drugged out band resorting to cliched MTV ballads, lame lyrics and the occasional cheesy cover. From here they never recover the greatness they flashed in the early years.
Thinking about buying this? Don't. Shout at the Devil or Too Fast for Love are THE albums to buy. After this fughetabout unless you like cheesy cliche 1980s rock."