Camp Pain

Camp Pain is the debut studio album by American rock band 96 Bitter Beings. Produced by the band's lead vocalist Deron Miller and lead guitarist Kenneth Hunter, it was released on November 28, 2018, initially available exclusively to people who contributed to the band's Indiegogo campaign.

Background

After leaving CKY in 2011, vocalist and guitarist Deron Miller reformed Foreign Objects with new lead guitarist Kenneth Hunter and brothers Shaun and Tim Luera. The band released Galactic Prey in 2015, after which Miller announced the formation of a new band called MechaCKY with the same members. A few months later, the band's name was changed to 96 Bitter Beings, with an Indiegogo campaign launched to fund the production and release of two recordings: the "contributor-only album" Camp Pain and the follow-up Synergy Restored, the latter of which would receive a full release.
Camp Pain was released to Indiegogo contributors on November 28, 2018. The album was subsequently leaked, at which point Miller arranged for the album to be released on music streaming services. A music video for the song "On and On and On and On and On", directed by former CKY crew member Chris Raab, was released in June 2019. This was followed by a video for "Still Unstable, Still at Large" in October. In January and February 2020, the band promoted Camp Pain on a United States tour, with UK shows initially planned for April that year, although these were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking about the approach to Camp Pain, Miller has explained that the album was intended to serve as a "sampler of all the things that made, to me, all our music interesting in the past", noting that Hunter wrote some of the music while he wrote all of the lyrics. The album's title is a pun based on the word "campaign", reflecting the fact that its production was crowdfunded by fans of the group. Alongside original new compositions, the album also features a cover version of Michael Jackson's "Beat It" and a new recording of the Foreign Objects track "Megadextria".

Reception

Niki Flynn of V13.net described Camp Pain as "a great record for old fans of CKY or anyone into complex riffage and thought-provoking lyrics layered over a deliciously crisp mix of instrumentation", naming the tracks "Still Unstable, Still at Large", "The Whipping Hands" and "Bugs and Snakes" as highlights.

Personnel

96 Bitter Beings

Deron Miller — vocals, rhythm guitar, synthesizers, production, art direction
Kenneth Hunter – lead guitar, guitar synthesizer, production, engineering, mixing, mastering
Shaun Luera — bass
Tim Luera — drums

Additional musicians

Saman Ali — keyboards, synthesizers, engineering
Matt "Matty J" Janaitis — bass on "Bugs and Snakes"
Rob "Murry" Valeno — drums on "Bugs and Snakes"

Additional personnel

Kyle Salzman — engineering
Travis Smith — artwork
Matt Sweeney — layout, design, photography