Only Pain Is Real

Only Pain Is Real was the second album by the Portuguese pop band Silence 4. It was released in July 2000, after the huge success of his predecessor, Silence Becomes It. Recorded in London, the album showed new sounds and orchestrations, with 14 songs, all in English. Even not equaling their first album, it went to become another massive success for the band, achieving two platinum albums and selling 100 000 unities. Considered one of the best Portuguese pop albums ever made, if not the best, "Only Pain Is Real" is also a reminder of what Silence 4 could have done more.

Musical critics pointed Silence 4 more mature sound and songwritting, mostly done by lead singer David Fonseca. The album had only two singles, "To Give" and "Only Pain Is Real", even if it was believed, due to the quality of the songs, that they could have been more. "Only Pain Is Real" seems somewhat autobiographical or conceptual, even if David Fonseca never explained better if all the lyrics were related or tried to tell a story. Nevertheless, the album shows a new level of maturity and introspection, more consistent then their debut album. The themes of loneliness, sadness, loss, melancholy and hope, are basically the same of their first album, but sound here even more poignant.

The band went to a long tour in the entire country for their new record, that ended only in December 2000. The tour proved to be exhausting, and the members of the band, after that, decided to go for an indeterminate hiatus. The hiatus meant the end of the band, since all their four members went into different directions, and David Fonseca went to start a solo career with Sing Me Something New, released in 2003.