| Entropia | 1997 |
| One Hour By The Concrete Lake | 1999 |
| The Perfect Element I | 2000 |
| Remedy Lane | 2002 |
Pain Of Salvation are a classic example of a 'cult band' in the late 90's-00's, at least currently. You know the story - not too many people have heard of them outside the stagnating prog-metal crowd (and plus they don't tour very much outside of Europe), but those who have positively worship them as some of the greatest music ever made. They insist that the powerful and wide-ranging vocals and eloquently-written lyrics of Daniel Gildenlow about such subjects as war and loss within the family and stuff like that constantly bring them to tears, and along with the remainder of the band (bassist Kristofer Gildenlow, keyboardist Fredrik Hermansson (an often subtle, but just as often vital part of the sound), guitarist Johan Hallgren, and drummer Johan Langell - have I mentioned these guys are Swedish yet?), provide an excellent display of chops that serve the song rather than the individual musician's talents, and these fans often do have a point. At their best, POS is indeed one of those bands that can give the genre a very good name.
Sure, some might be turned off by the overwrought approach of the vocals (probably in reaction to hating 80's metal and operatic vocals of that nature), and I guess that's subjective, but I couldn't understand people calling the band's approach 'cheesy' or 'self-indulgent' like I could many power/prog metal acts. I've only recently come around to Daniel Gildenlow's style, and I'm glad I did - maybe he had a few weak spots early on in their history, but I think he's grown to become one of the more versatile and resonant vocalists of the past 5 years or so, and as a lyricist can be really heartfelt and poetic when his words aren't overly obscure (see Remedy Lane). In my opinion, the group's songs are at their best when the music sets just as clear a mood as the lyrics and vocals do, and when all their ideas come into focus... look out. It's quite the emotional rollercoaster, to use that sometimes annoying review cliche.
Of course, this band can be tough to get into at first. I think the problems with adjusting to them centers around the way Daniel often sings, not in how he uses a theatrical 'growling to high range to rap metal and so on' tone, but also in how his intonations quite often obscure the impact of what he's trying to say within the songs. Also, the band sometimes falls victim to shoving changes in arrangement and mood within each song that don't always work, and the unconventional nature of certain melodies can take awhile to register with me for whatever reason. Also, they certainly have unique quirks in their sound, but like even the best prog-metal bands, they're not all that formally original, as influences from bands in that same scene, older prog rock acts, and even more edgy stuff like the Frank Zappa (in the unpredictable arrangements) and especially Faith No More (often in the vocal intonations) work their way into the mix. They're a very good combinating band, though! And extremely emotional and professional and smart!
--Nick Karn
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: Oblivian Ocean, Foreword. LOW POINTS: None.
At this point in time, I should probably mention that Pain Of Salvation really like concept albums - you can tell listening to, oh, every friggin' album they ever made. Still, while it's clear there is at least some sort of concept going on here, especially with all the short segues (not to mention a lot of the lyrics deal with the painful effects war has on people, set in the fictional land of, well, Entropia - sounds kinda like a fantasy novel, doesn't it?), it doesn't really overwhelm the music at all. Phew. In fact, the music is very well-executed at times, with several elements not nearly as prominent in later work. Of course, I'm not really buying into the 'innovative' claims people make with this album - that implies people haven't been educated in progressive rock history too well, as funk, jazz rock, classical, thrash metal, Broadway show music and other influences on here have been incorporated into the genre before - but that doesn't mean it isn't really challenging, well-played and intriguing.
The opening track "Foreword" will probably help the listener decide their opinion on Daniel Gildenlow's unsubtle but distinctive and emotionally involving lead vocal style throughout the crunching half-spoken, half-sung verses, and I've got to say my opinion is positive. Plus, the chorus has a dramatic sweep to it, the solo section is emotionally stirring with its' colorful barrage of notes and melodic solos, and some of my favorite lines in the band's catalog can be found here ('Do my words mean more to hear when I am standing here? On a stage like all your silly idols do!' in particular). "Winning A War" also definitely makes a good case for his arrangement talents, with great contrast between the lightly textured interplay between guitars, lyrics on how 'daddy was winning a war' and 'a father and his son now torn apart', and an eerie choir-tinged marching middle bridge that leaves an impression.
As for the more complex material, at first I hated the spastic keyboard funk of "People Passing By", but the incredibly twisted basslines and time-signature challenged keyboard/guitar jam won me over, even though I still have to admit the various melodies and half-baked song segments don't quite gel together all the way (and at 9 minutes, it's way too long). Sometimes the complexity borders on schizophrenia - "Stress" is one of those songs that perfectly matches its' title, with a keyboard/guitar figure that's all fun and bouncy and upbeat.... until it almost completely out of nowhere shifts to 'DUN DUN DUN DUN' intense metal riffage. It's cool schizophrenia, though! I mean, sure, "To The End" may incoherently switch between standard thrash metal fare to just okay balladeering for the most part, but I love the back-and-forth singing in the beginning where the vocals theatrically take turns singing one or two words at a time from two different lines, and the way it all of a sudden turns into an jazz song for a few seconds at the 3:15 mark or so sounds so totally wrong!
There are also a couple big epics that come near the end when I start to get tired (the fact that several of the melodies aren't very memorable and the arrangements ramble at times doesn't help), but they have their quirks too. "Nightmist" starts off on an echoey AC/DC 'buildup' riff (like on "Thunderstruck" or something like that), proceeds to incorporate some ridiculously cool slap bass work, thrash metal solos, and at the end completely collapses into unorganized chaos. And "Plains Of Dawn" starts off like it's going to be a cheesy electric piano ballad, but then the haunting choir-like harmonies take hold (but eventually, they just have to go into speed metal territory at the end.. whatever).
Of course, for all the twisted ideas and heaviness here, the spare stuff really works just as well. "Oblivian Ocean" has just a minimalist guitar and vocal arrangement, but the way the stop-start guitar lines, together with the melody, move through 'ocean like' patterns is positively haunting and gorgeous, perfectly creating vivid images of some sort of 'oblivian ocean' in my head, and those vocals are at their most emotive. Heck, even the interlude pieces are neat - "Welcome To Entropia" is pretty much nothing but sound effects, voices and keyboard atmosphere over a techno backing, but it works! "Circles" even starts off with a cool bass solo, "Void Of Her" surprisingly accomplishes a lot with its' short length (great melodic guitar soloing and church organ bombast can do that to a song) and the acoustic "Leaving Entropia" does a good job of making the listener feel peaceful at the album's close. When all is said and done, yeah, Entropia is over-the-top, and the melodies and arrangements are a little awkward, rambling, and disjointed at more than a few points on here, but it somehow holds together overall as a good, interesting album anyways. That's probably a testament to their talent!
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: Inside, Water. LOW POINTS: Black Hills.
Now why, exactly, would you want to spend an hour sitting by a lake covered in concrete? Err... making fun of personal metaphors in album titles aside, the lyrical concepts going on here are pretty interesting, if not always successful. There's insights on how those who manufacture weapons in 'the big machine' are partly to blame for deaths during a war, thoughts on the environment, starvation, and other topics based on an essay Daniel Gildenlow himself wrote. That's all good, but what about the music and melodies? Well... not all good - the songs lean a lot more toward straightforward prog metal this time around, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but a lot of what made Entropia really cool was the arrangement quirks and the combination of different influences! Plus, although this is the most concise Pain Of Salvation album at just over 50 minutes, it's also the one that wears thin the quickest.
Still, there are a couple classics that ensure it isn't too much of a step down. Coming out of the pointless opening 40 second 'heavenly' keyboard instrumental "Spirit Of The Land", "Inside" has one of the most spectacularly adrenalizing buildups of any modern prog-metal song I can think of, with an exciting, memorable mixture of light piano tinklings, huge synth sounds, and grinding guitar riffage throughout the first minute and a half or so. And the actual song part of it is great, with the most conviction-filled 'growling' vocal performance on here, and an affecting spoken portion dealing with civilian deaths during wartime, many of them being children. And then there's "Water", which actually gets me sympathizing with Daniel's environmentalist side. The balance between crunching riffs and delicately sung quieter portions is perfect, the deliveries during the 'I've always loved the sound of raaaaaain' and 'water's for the chosen' parts are priceless, and even the climactic electric piano section where he goes in depth about how our civilization is misusing our precious resource is affecting. A potentially very cheesy concept for a song, but it works beautifully here, which says something.
The rest isn't particularly great, but there are definitely some other really good moments, too. "The Big Machine" is probably my favorite of the others, with its' slow, hopeless grinding mood definitely conveying what a drag it must be to work in a thankless factory atmosphere, with more of those choir-like harmonies and great screams of 'GUILTY!!!!' coming up occasionally. "Handful Of Nothing" is pretty good in the thrash department, with some ridiculous time signature that must be a bitch to play accurately (21/8 or something like that, I've heard), the ballad "Pilgrim" might be a little cheesy in its' overall feel, but the mixture of somber guitars, violins and passionate vocals are definitely affecting come chorus time, and the closing "Inside Out" has more gripping action between crunching riffs and lightning fast piano, though when it comes to the actual song there's not much there.
Something which is particularly true about the other four songs on here. The only one that I'd call really weak is "Black Hills", as nothing about its' hookless slow atmosphere has ever grabbed me (and it's, guess what, the longest on here - goodbye any shot at a 7), but while the others may sound fine while they're playing, they're not really worth going into much discussion over. "New Year's Eve" is often pointed out as a classic by fans, but other than it being arguably the most personal song, I'll be damned if I can figure out why - 'great' lyrics don't mean crap when there's nothing too special going on in the music or melodies. But even if this stuff was memorable, One Hour By The Concrete Lake would still strike me as a lot more generic than Entropia, and it's definitely not a generic album that gets repeated listenings from me. Even if the classics here are as great as anything they've done, and most of the rest is still at least okay.
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: Used, Morning On Earth, In The Flesh, Ashes. LOW POINTS: Ehh.. not really any one song, just scattered moments of boredom.
I guess it's albums like these where you can see the interesting results of a really loyal hardcore fan base. I've seen opinions like, "This is it. The reason for progressive music's existence - the all-time greatest album ever made by anyone. The Perfect Album, as a matter of fact. An overwhelming emotional journey unlike other experience you've ever heard. Daniel is a genius, lyrically and vocally. I can't freaking wait until the next part of this concept comes out! 10/10. 5 stars. A++." Maybe exaggerated a little, yeah, but more than anything else, The Perfect Element convinces me that while this band is one I can definitely respect quite a bit, I'll probably never have a huge love for. The lyrics examine a really intelligent and provocative, partly autobiographical, perspective on adolesence and human loss, and are probably really well looking at in depth, but I'm really not much on interpreting lyrics. When I get something out of great lyrics, it's usually because the author does exceptionally well at also conveying their feelings through the music, melodies and atmosphere, like Ian Curtis, or Bob Dylan for the most famous example. And on that level, this album only sometimes succeeds.
Particularly on the first half, though, which is the band's best stretch of music easily. And what better way to start it off with what gets my vote as their very best song to date? The verses of the opening "Used", if done in the wrong hands, would be an absolute disaster, with its' rap-metal delivery of a flurry of lyrics over almost random chaotic time signature changes that threaten to turn into an unrepairable mess, but somehow, it not only works, but actually becomes catchy in an absolutely absurd way. Additionally, the Faith No More-esque yells of 'GETTING USED TO PAIN GETTING USED TO PAIN' as the start of the 'chorus' are a perfect way to not only push the song itself forward, but to convey the whole entire feeling the concept is trying to get at. And coming right out of all that with the much more pleasantly accessible but still moody 'I am cryyyyiiiiing...' refrain? With this song at least, I'm buying into the hype. Great, great, great stuff.
Following that, on "In The Flesh" we follow the progress of a runaway girl, and the 'walking' pace of the guitar lines to me convey an 'in search of something' atmosphere, and ominousness is definitely a part of the whole mood (love that subtle but chilling slide guitar line thrown in there). Absolutely fantastic range and emotion in the vocals as usual (the 'flyyyy away' parts especially), and it's also neat how it seemingly as a normal-length 'pop' song, but then unexpectedly builds and builds into a huge epic through unconventional countermelodies, different 'conversation' bits between the characters metover a sweeping, dramatic climax, and a gorgeous jam near the end featuring bluesy guitar solos over piano. "Ashes" is also incredibly good at conveying the mood of loss in the lyrics through the music with depressing majesty - the keyboard atmosphere is positively chilling (spare-sounding bell imitating part in the verses, and a symphonic touch in the chorus), there's terrifying vocal whispers and the way 'THIS PAIN WILL NEVER MEND' is sung is the FNM vocal style again done proudly.
Ending the first four track stretch of greatness is "Morning On Earth", whose main melodic guitar theme is probably the single most memorable and haunting instrumental part they've done, and the way it quietly comes in only makes the rest of the lyrics hit that much harder. Or maybe they just seem to hit hard because of the way the vocals are sung with such bare emotion ('hear this voice, see this man, standing before you, I'm just a child...') Oh, and about the other two songs on the side, even if it's a bit overlong and repetitive, "Idioglossia" has another fantastic buildup in the tradition of "Inside", with tricky time-signature changing work, more chaotic vocals and unconventional melodies that bring the intense aspects of the concepts to the forefront, and "Her Voices" is another 'starts out like it's gonna be normal-length but evolves into an all-out epic' song in the vein of "In The Flesh". That booming keyboard intro is simply foreboding, man. Plus, you wouldn't think an intensely personal piano ballad would eventually turn into a bunch of fast-paced prog metal jamming with a jig incorporated into it and then still work, but it does! And those violins coming in during the last couple minutes just before it resolves itself... priceless.
So yeah, great tunes all around, one of the best stretches of music in prog-metal history, no doubt about it. So it's "The Perfect Album", and you're probably wondering why the hell I complained about it at all. Simple - the second half is nowhere near as great. I'm sure it's just as powerful for those who bother to read into the lyrics, but as actual songs, I don't see how. Hardcore fans can flame me now, but while this side is good, I just don't feel much in the way of affecting mood here. Well, in the case of "Dedication", anybody can relate to the sentiment of those lyrics (specifically, losing a close relative), and the stark 'unplugged' arrangement does work really, really well, but while a lot of the lyrics on the album are somewhat overly obscure to me, I think these might just be a little too straightforward and cliched (even if undoubtedly 110% heartfelt - I'm not questioning that).
Elsewhere, "Song For The Innocent" doesn't strike me as anything different than an unassuming piano ballad made better than average by the vocals, and while it's great to have the fantastic "Morning On Earth" theme reprised in a more energetic arrangement on "Reconciliation", the song itself comes off as a just okay confessional to me. And in the case of the big long important epics on this side ("King Of Loss" and the title track), I'm sorry, but they come close to completely passing me by. Great vocals, great emotional lyrics, and that's a given, but very little memorable in the melodies or music, outside of the convincing pounding vocal wallop in the climax of the former and the really cool tricky epic guitar lines that shows up in the latter, whose arrangement doesn't hold together that well otherwise. So yeah, disappointing (though still good) second half, but that first half, man, that's a good use of plastic! Do some versions of the album really have the whole thing combined into one 72 minute track, though? Man, that would be kind of frustrating....
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: Rope Ends, Dryad Of The Woods, Fandango, Undertow. LOW POINTS: None, really.
Here comes another heavily acclaimed concept album in the prog-metal underground, all about Daniel Gildenlow pouring his heart out in the lyrics and vocals, and to be quite honest it simply makes my head hurt. Oh, it's still great - song for song, this is Pain Of Salvation's peak for me, and certainly in terms of emotional depth, it makes the storylines of quite a few modern day concept albums seem childish by comparison (Scenes From A Memory, I'm looking in your direction, and don't even get me started on stuff like Tommy). But it also ranks as an excellent, emotional confessional album on the level of Neutral Milk Hotel's In The Aeroplane Over The Sea that I feel like I'm missing something towards. There's definitely strong feelings of lust, guilt, betrayal and a whole range of dark human emotions that are conveyed well through powerful lyrical and musical passages, but Remedy Lane also strikes me as the disorienting equivalent of walking into a movie theater right in the middle of a confusing flick and trying to figure out what the hell's going on - while the plot keeps jumping backward and forward in time between different points of view even more schizophrenically than Memento.
Oh, check out the album's opening lines from "Of Two Beginnings" - 'she is twelve I'm only ten, buried in this soft mountain of pillows, parents away, she asks me have I been touched, have I done the thing with anyone yet, silence - a shy no'. Yup, those two even go farther than that. Such a normal, refreshing childhood memory, ain't it? Top-notch song, though, with its' creepy walking guitar lines, quiet vocals, eerie keyboard and percussion flourishes, and the trademark heavier growling parts. And following that is an almost poppy (though far from upbeat) song called "Ending Theme", of all things (the 'ending theme' to what? We're only on track friggin' 2!!!!) where the main character recounts his thoughts of guilt and confusion, there's a very catchy chorus, and the frenzied spoken part over the guitar solo sounds to me like the mood of a patient in a psychologist's chair just spewing out as many thoughts as they possibly can in a mad rush, and it's all capped off with a cold 'I JUST DON'T KNOW'. Well guess what? I just don't know either. Aaaahhh.
The confusion also extends to the music and melodies as well, as "Fandango" recalls the schizophrenic arrangement ideas of Entropia, only darker and even better. The opening guitar line seems ready to fall apart at the seams as it enters but never does, the main vocal melody is totally bizarre ('she - is - in - tim - acy... awonderofclosenessfight. ing. hyp. oc. risy' is about the best way I can transcribe it), the vocal tricks and arrangement gets more and more unconventional until all of a sudden the vocals and the instruments (particularly the piano and drum parts) sound like they're in a completely different rhythm... and.. wow. It's crazy - 'watch theeeem daaaaance' indeed. And all you need to know about the part rocking, part slow and contemplative epic "A Trace Of Blood" - the piano and guitar soloing interplay is another example of their great intro buildup talent, and the defining line 'I was prepared to be your father, how can I prepare for that again?' is an emotional highpoint, whether or not you actually understand what's going on there.
Now, at this point I won't go through all the songs in order from here on out, just because of the schizophrenic way the plot is, but I will point out a few really striking moments in the concept. "Rope Ends" chronicles the wonderfully cheery tale of a young mother attempting suicide by hanging herself in the bathroom while her kids are asleep, and naturally, the emotional process of this calls for a somewhat chaotic arrangement. There's offbeat heavy riffage in the 'verses' during which she makes her plans, and after the 'verse' suddenly stops, that makes way for a totally different climactic fast melody that's meant to get the listener's heart racing - and this happens more than once during its' 7 minutes (signifying each different failed suicide attempt, I guess). It's definitely the closest thing to a proverbial 'emotional rollercoaster' song on here, and even the somewhat more uptempo piano/guitar jam in the middle doesn't seem at all out of place.
It should also be noted that "This Heart Of Mine" and "Second Love" are effective ballads that really do a good job of creating a relatively calm and refreshed mood among all the confusing stuff that gives me a migraine (plus, the latter song was actually written as far back as at least 1988, which says something that it fits into the concept). It's also interesting to me that they would sequence two instrumentals in a row in the last quarter of the album, and I can only interpret that as giving the listener time to think about what they've heard. "Dryad Of The Woods", though, actually manages to be just as evocative as any of the vocal songs, really really creating the feeling of walking through the woods alone, just contemplating stuff (there's a gorgeous folkish quality to the guitars wonderfully embellished by more tasteful piano - nice to know that Fredrik Hermansson doesn't subscribe to cheesy keyboard tones!), and the title track effectively reprises various themes from earlier in an unsettling industrial atmosphere with neat choppy keyboard effects and pounding drum fills.
Heck, this album's so consistent I haven't even mentioned "Undertow", whose main vocal melody might be the most lasting in their career, and it's a great platform for Daniel to display his vocal range as it builds up through heavier climaxes. "Chain Sling" has another odd vocal hook that's still incredibly singable even though I don't remember a single lyric from it, and then there's "Beyond The Pale", which is a simply overwhelming finish. I don't mean 'overwhelming' as in 'greatest song EVER', but within a nearly 10 minute span, Daniel seems to spill out all of his thoughts on lust and confusion and al the other stuff I mentioned with tremendous depth over an epic grinding background. Add the main keyboard theme to his list of great musical ideas, too. Of course, the 'we... are always much... more human than... we wish to be' melody is a ripoff of Faith No More's "The Real Thing", which irritates me a little, and I really, really wish I knew exactly what's going on in the story here, but it's a successful song anyway. Let me put it this way, though - at least this album is performed in a way that makes me want to figure out what the plot details are, and I can't say the same for The Perfect Element. Admittedly, the individual highs here aren't quite as fantastically great as that album, and the total mental headache I get doesn't allow me to call it genius, but what an excellent thrill ride it is!
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