Theatre of Pain is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, released on June 21, 1985.

The band's fondness for partying and sex earned them a reputation as a legitimately dangerous band, culminating in a December 8, 1984, car crash which killed Hanoi Rocks' drummer Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley and saw Mötley Crüe's lead vocalist Vince Neil facing possible prison time for vehicular manslaughter.

[10] On top of Neil's troubles, the band's founder and primary songwriter, Nikki Sixx, had developed a heroin addiction which was beginning to spiral out of control.

"[11] Guitarist Mick Mars said in 1985 that the album was "more polished" than the band's previous releases, adding that the references to sex and violence were "not as blatant" on Theatre of Pain.

"[14] The track "Keep Your Eye On the Money" saw Sixx hinting at serious self-reflection, with lines such as "Comedy and tragedy, entertainment or death" and "dancing on the blade" as "the crowd screams on for more" perhaps being reflections on the excesses of the previous two years.

A demo version of the song with the original title of "Hotter Than Hell" was released on a 2003 remastered edition of Shout at the Devil.

[9] The video expanded upon a theme common in 80s metal, the "put-upon high school nerd universe" in which relief from the forces of oppression is found through the power of heavy metal, exemplified so successfully by videos such as Twisted Sister's "We’re Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock".

[9] The video was targeted by Tipper Gore, leader of the activist group Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) as a bad influence on the youth of the United States.

[9] New music aside, Theatre of Pain saw the band drastically alter its image upon the album's release, and the move towards glam metal was not met with enthusiasm by some fans.

The magazine went as far as to refer to lead vocalist Vince Neil as "the hottest peroxide-blond hermaphrodite on the head-banger circuit"[19] while Rocks Back Pages chided their "effeminate clothes".

[16] Some fans were dismayed when glamour shots began appearing in the heavy metal press which showed the band members sporting as much pink lace as they once did black leather.

[20] Guitarist Mars addressed the image change in a 1985 interview with The Georgia Straight: "We've always been a bit different looking band than anybody else.

"[14] The guitarist did admit years later that he had been uncomfortable with the band's move to glam metal during the Theatre of Pain era, saying "I went along with the makeup, but I never liked it.

The magazine called the album "thudding trash", with Neil's vocals and Sixx's songwriting taking the brunt of the criticism.

The magazine felt that, while Theatre of Pain does contain some of the band's most accomplished work, the album ultimately "needs cosmetic surgery".

"[26] Tim Holmes of Rolling Stone found Theatre of Pain to be the group's "most technically proficient album" while dismissing the heavy metal genre entirely, not understanding its growing popularity.

The album was instrumental in inaugurating the pop-metal era which to many has become synonymous with the 1980s, with bands such as Poison, Cinderella and others following the Theatre of Pain example as the decade continued.