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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One word: Powerful., February 18, 2002
Along with many others, I was disappointed to learn that Pain of Salvation's fourth album would not be the continuation of The Perfect Element story, which began with part I in 2000. Instead, we get Remedy Lane, a stunningly powerful and convoluted semi-story that is emotionally fatiguing in its intense pathos. Pain of Salvation has crafted a masterpiece here, perhaps one greater than The Perfect Element Part I. The band's original music and emotional performances are more powerful than ever. I'm not making any real objective statement here...it's just that I feel more drawn to this album than any of the band's previous works (which are all good, if not great).Remedy Lane is another theme album (like One Hour by the Concrete Lake), this time about various forms of reconciliation. There is a roughly defined story, but it is fairly disjointed and the album mainly deals with different issues tied to the theme. Mainly it seems to cover the challenges of relationships and the connection between love and sex (you can have sex without love, and love without sex). It touches on tragedies like a miscarriage ("A Trace of Blood"), attempted suicide ("Rope Ends"), and a simple broken heart ("Second Love"). It's not all sad, though. There's some happier subjects like simple romance ("This Heart of Mine") and an obscure hint in the dark "Beyond the Pale" that two people can make each other better. I am in the minority that thinks Gildenlow is not an amazing vocalist, but his performance on this album _is_ amazing. Mainly, this is because he no longer mistakes melissima for emotion, which always annoyed me before (I know I know...I'm demented). He conveys much less melodrama through his singing on this album, which really makes the emotions sound more natural and convincing, as if Gildenlow has improved as an "actor." He just gets better and better: the barely controlled pain of "Undertow"; the vicarious hopelessness of "Rope Ends"; the heartbreaking "A Trace of Blood". Since the emotional power of Pain of Salvation's music is so very closely tied to Gildenlow's singing, this improvement is critically important. Just like always, Pain of Salvation's unique brand of music is refreshingly...fresh! "Fandango" weaves staccato guitar, bass lines and eddying pianos through odd patterns. "A Trace of Blood" is a fast, powerful mix of twisting piano run, heavy riffing, strange vocal accents, scratching guitar (?) effects, and tragic chorus. Eight-minute songs don't usually go by so fast. "Rope Ends" works heavy guitars through hypnotizing time signatures without being awkwardly technical. "Undertow" is initially understated sonically with a weird recording technique -- almost sounds like they put the microphones in the opposite end of the room or something. It erupts into a crippling outburst of emotional power (isolated and captured by vocals & instruments), suggesting suppressed emotions breaking free. "Remedy Lane" is a quick instrumental that reintegrates themes from previous songs with unusual keyboard effects. "Chain Sling" features melodies based on Swedish folk music (actually, that seems trendy these days). "Beyond the Pale" is the engaging finale, deceptively simple at face value but very involved texturally, with complex melody shifts. Unfortunately, I don't think this song ends the album with the powerful finale it deserves. And even when the songs are "normal" they remain strong, showing that the band can tackle any format. "Second Love" is an understated, melancholic acoustic/electric mix, with Gildenlow's pained vocals rousing an image of a lonely night under the stars. The lyrics smell like an 80s love ballad, but it works, you know? (Interestingly, the song was written about 15 years ago, so it _was_ an 80s love ballad, hehe.) Another ballad, "This Heart of Mine", stands out with its powerful middle section and affectionate chord structures. "Dryad of the Woods" is a beautiful instrumental with pastoral acoustic guitar melodies befitting the title. I love the piano melody on this one, heh. What can I say? I'm a sucker for nice little piano bits. Even the recording quality is great...there's none of that grievous lack of clarity that impaired some of the heavily textured sections on The Perfect Element Part I. There's a lot going on in Remedy Lane's songs, but you can hear everything. Plus, you can gain appreciation for a whole new level of nuance in this recording through headphones. Even the booklet for this album is great, with elaborate artwork and twisted imagery. Remedy Lane is another album that captures Pain of Salvation's creative magic. The band's fans are pretty energetic, so most of them have probably bought this disc by now. If not, well, they'd better have a good reason not to have it! If you happen to be a prospective fan, I strongly recommend you check this out no matter what your tastes are. Take a walk down Remedy Lane. Now how about The Perfect Element Part II, huh? Give it to me!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Some of PoS's Best, Inventive Take On Progressive Metal, January 16, 2006
With `Remedy Lane', Pain of Salvation discarded doubts and worries that they could not make another album as good as `The Perfect Element'. As with many others, I would have enjoyed a second part to `The Perfect Element', but in some ways a new direction keeps the music fresh and interesting. With such a unique sound in the first place it would be a shame for the band to simply re-create a winning formula.
While the general sound to the album is undeniably PoS, with Gildenlow's vocals still as diverse and emotional as ever and the unique mix-matching of prog sub-genres, `Remedy Lane' is a different direction for the band, one focusing much more on the emotions created by music as opposed to a concept. This is not to say Gildenlow has deserted the concept, there is one dealing with human relationships and the feelings attached to it, but it is much looser when compared to the weighted concepts of `The Perfect Element' and especially the latest release `Be'. With less emphasis on concepts PoS come up with arguably their finest array of musicianship, matching the seemingly unmatchable exhibit of TPE.
The album is split into three main chapters, with the moody `Of Two Beginnings' working as an introduction. Chapter one includes some of PoS finest work to date, and is possibly my favourite of the three chapters (although that does change all too often). `Ending Theme' is a typical tragic PoS song, Gildenlow's vocal delivery is superb here, with a real sense of frustration and anguish as he bursts out the chorus lines. `Fandango' is a great example of what makes PoS so unique and compelling, for anyone new to the band, I'd check this out, after a few listens the odd melody and time changes really work, one of the `quirkier' songs of the album. `A Trace of Blood' is simply stunning, at just over 8 minutes it's very progressive in style and structure, recalling the kind of writing of the old prog gods such as Rush and Yes. Despite sounding relatively `upbeat', the lyrics deal with a stillborn child, adding yet another emotional dimension.
Chapter two contains one of my favourite PoS ballads, `Undertow' is a melancholic piece full of emotional guitar playing and of course a huge vocal delivery by Gildenlow to cap it off. `Rope Ends', like `A Trace of Blood' is hard hitting in the lyric and music department and is the heaviest song on the album, full of disorientating guitar and drum arrangements, a fine jazz middle section and some poignant lyrics on considering suicide.
Chapter three for me has two extremely fine moments, the first coming in the infectious `Waking Every God' which has a superb chorus with great vocal harmonising. The closing track is at times my favourite, twisting and turning through its 10 minute duration, showcasing some fine melancholic passages and great hard/soft contrasts.
For anyone looking for something new and fresh in their progressive collection, this is certainly worth a try. For those already familiar with PoS, just not this album, what are you waiting for honey?
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Remedy for 'cookie cutter' prog, September 17, 2005
I just got introduced to this CD several months ago. I wasn't prepared for this style and delivery of progressive rock, but there were some immediate gems on it. After a few more listens, I started to actually hear the lyrics and understood the theme, which is somewhat conveluted upon the first few listens. I must say that I now 'get' the hype surrounding this release.
Yes, this band has chops, which is good, but not the important element here. Yes, this is musically challenging prog, complete with rapid time signature shifts and multi-movement songs, but that's only sauce for the goose. The writing is stellar, and the focus is on the story, not prog for prog's sake. I can't tell you how stunned I was when I realized what the theme behind the excellent track Trace Of Blood was about the miscarriage of a pregnancy. But this is indicative of the type of writing you get here. No, this isn't an upbeat album by any means, but even a heavy song like Trace Of Blood is followed by the tender This Heart Of Mine (I pledge), which is the male character reafirming his love for his wife, who had just miscarried. Same with another ballad Second Love, which deals with loss as well.
Once you've listened to this album 6 or 7 times through, you can get goosebumps on some tracks. One of the instrumentals on this album, Dryad Of The Woods, is transcendant. Its as lovely as any instrumental you've heard from any genre. Quite unexpected since this album is really edgy and full blown metal in places. And the themes are heavy, dealing with attempted suicide (Rope Ends) and depression (Undertow), so I wouldn't call it a romantic album.
It was a fun listen the first few times through because this album really rocks in places, like the songs Rope Ends, Waking Every God, and the aforementioned Trace Of Blood, which is a terrific rock fest, even if the theme is miscarriage. In the song Trace Of Blood, he is bidding farewell to the child he'll never know, citing "I'll never know your name but I will love you just the same", so the raucus, angry nature of the song is due to the fact that all the hope and preperation of becoming a dad has culminated in a "trace of blood", which isn't how he'd want to remember his unborn child.
See, pretty heady stuff. And its handled very deftly. It dosen't come across as exploitive or pretencious; rather like the writer or someone he knew had unfortunately lived such an experience.
I'll definately be checking out this band's other albums in the future. Highly recommended.
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