Scarsick

Pain Of Salvation

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 30, 2007)
• Original Release Date: January 30, 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Inside Out U.S.
• ASIN: B000KQGP2G
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #115,400 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Pain of Salvation remains one of the most complex and fascinating acts in all of progressive metal--the group's last studio album, the restless and imaginative Be, nearly required that the listener hold degrees in philosophy and theology in order to process all of the record's weighty lyrical themes. Scarsick proves an exceptional and equally complex addition to the PoS oeuvre. Listeners get a good dose of the progress ("Spitfall"), the unapologetically metal ("Scarsick"), the far-out ("Disco Queen," a track that wouldn't be out of place on a Frank Zappa or Mr. Bungle album) and the utterly epic (the 10-minute "Enter Rain"). In short, Pain of Salvation's music may be the musical equivalent of reading a Samuel Beckett or James Joyce novel, the kind of stimulating and challenging endeavor that few will undertake and even fewer will see through to the end, although those who do complete the perilous intellectual journey will find the sum of the parts richly rewarding as it fuels the powers of both the intellect and the imagination.--Jedd Beaudoin

Product Description
With their current album Scarsick, the members around mastermind Daniel Gildenlöw are back with a vengeance. Pain Of Salvation have impressively created an opus that couldn't have been more multi-faceted and diverse. Progressive metal with touches of slightly dark sounds that are wrapped in remarkable structures and surprising turns. Despite, or even because of its love of detail, this piece of work sounds whole in all its entirety. A creative masterpiece, which only very few in the genre of prog metal are capable of.

Pain Of Salvation have become a familiar and constant name in the field of progressive metal. They have regularly been releasing first-class music for 10 years, all of which enjoys excellent criticism. Their live skills prove to be convincing alone or when performing as supporting act for Dream Theater. Daniel Gildenlöw, no doubt, is one of the most creative Swedish artists who gains additional attention as tour musician with the progressive rock bands Transatlantic and The Flower Kings.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "In two seconds, I will hit the ground...", February 3, 2007

By	The Wickerman (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

So, I finally got ahold of my copy of this album, and I've been listening to it nonstop. Take my praise for what it's worth (which is perhaps nothing, considering I love this band so much), but this was definitely worth the wait. To be honest, I'm still kind of getting over the shock that "Scarsick" turned out to be "The Perfect Element 2" in disguise. I was really just expecting this to be a decent album to tide us over until the ultimate masterpiece was released on some magical day in the far distant future. So, when suddenly it's just here before I knew it, I was just completely thrown.

So, what do we have here? While I was pretty much expecting TPE2 to just level everything in music as we know it, I have to say that this isn't nearly THAT good, but then that just goes to show that expectations can be a bad thing. I don't think this album is ever going to quite rank up there with TPE1 or "Remedy Lane" (for all I know, that may be impossible), but it doesn't matter, because this album is still freaking great.

Lyrically, and musically, this album is ANGRY. It's dark, it's aggressive, it's caustic, it's vitriolic. Lyrics unabashedly rage against greed, materialism, conformity, hypocrisy, and of course, President Bush. You can tell that in writing this, Daniel Gildenlow was really blowing off some steam. I should clarify that "angriest album" doesn't necessarily mean "heaviest album", as it's more in just the overall feel and nature of the music. You have songs like "Spitfall" and the title track, which are powerfully heavy, and superbly utilize Daniel's rap vocals, which are only getting better ("Spitfall"...I mean WOW), and then there's "Mrs. Modern Mother Mary", with an offbeat grungy riff, and "Flame to the Moth", which features some almost hardcore/metalcore-type vocals (but only a little).

BUT, then you have stuff like "Disco Queen"! I believe PoS have, with this song, created a brand new genre: PROGRESSIVE DISCO!!! Ok, maybe Mr. Bungle got there first, but this song is just insane. An 8-minute prog epic, filled with pulsating disco rhythms, melded perfectly with the myriad time changes, and Daniel's ever-dynamic vocals. And amazingly, the lyrics don't deviate from the angriness of the concept, and yet still fit with the music. Yep, genius.

Elsewhere, there's plenty more greatness. "America" is surprisingly bouncy and catchy, despite its super-scathing lyrics (how funny would it be to see this song become a hit single???), "Cribcaged" is dark and melodic, and despite its repeated use of the f-word (that's another thing, this album narrowly escaped an "explicit lyrics" label), retains great beauty. "Kingdom of Loss" is a smooth broadway-esque ballad, and while it doesn't come near the heights of its predecessor, "King of Loss", it's stunning in its own right. "Idiocracy" was a bit slow to grow on me, but it's got some wicked cool time changes, and nice use of mandolin (excellent outro as well). The album ends with the HUGE "Enter Rain", which is minimally grandiose, and much like the closing track on TPE1, ends the album on a powerful note.

This is something I'll definitely be listening to for quite some time. Just a warning, this probably will alienate a lot of the more "prog-oriented" fans of the band, who may perhaps think disco, cursing, and rapping are evil and boorish, and send them running for the latest Shadow Gallery release. Not to mention this album contains only ONE guitar solo! *gasp, shudder, faint, monacle dropping into wine glass* But, if you love stuff like Tool, Deftones, Nine Inch Nails, Devin Townsend, Faith No More, etc, I think you'll have no complaints. As with any PoS album, come expecting something different, and something great. Again, take my praise for what it's worth, I know I'm sufficiently obsessed, but I promise you this is definitely worth hearing. I know I won't be getting sick of "Scarsick" any time soon.

(Oh, and the "Thanks to George W. Bush for all the inspiration" line in the liner notes is just freakin' gold.)

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Introverted review by POS fanboy, May 10, 2007

By	Reverend_Maynard (Glasgow, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

_Scarsick_, in it's entirety, will forever remind me of rainy early mornings, during one of the most ambiguous periods of my life. Does this fact alone mean it merits five stars? No. But I cannot help feeling that there is a ceratin deep sadness, some sort of intangible melancholy present here, that reviewers thus far haven't really touched on or grasped, and that ensures this album (and, indeed, _BE_ before it) deserve far more appreciation. Now, don't get me wrong. Musically, I do feel that this is pretty much the weakest POS album. It doesn't have the emotional depth, staggering complexity or consistency or _Remedy lane_. It doesn't tackle weighty themes in an interesting, unconventional and challenging way like TPE. It doesn't have the grandstading ecelecticism of _Entropia_. Some of the songwriting leaves a bit to be desired. 'America', while being great fun and catchy, is, let's be honest, just silly. I actually really like 'Diso Queen' but it isn't much of a stretch for me to understand why others certanly wouldn't. 'Mrs Modern Mother Mary' is somewhat repetetive. And so on.
Despite this, I have my doubts. None of their albums are entirely perfect (though RL comes close). 'Spitfall' is visceral, exciting, has a great chorus, and actually works spectacularly well as an ironic pastiche. 'Kingdom of Loss' is eerie, melancholy, and very affecting. 'Idiocracy' is a real highlight. 'Enter Rain' retains many elements of their classic sound, has an utterly gorgeous middle section, and Gildenlow's vocals just shine all over it. And so on.
Yet each time I hear the astounding ending to the title track, I am reminded of what I can't grasp anymore, and the combination of the music and the memory creates something no-one else can have. Perhaps my love for this album is filtered through nostalgia and distorted by comparison then. In places though, I find _Scarsick_ profound, enaging and utterly, utterly beautiful. Is that enough reaon to give it five stars? Well, yeah. Plus, my Mum really likes it (?).

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 2.7 Stars. Good music watered down by hypocrite lyrics and naïveness, April 12, 2007

A Kid's Review

First of all I have to say that I mostly agree with Willie B's review. This CD is in indeed varied and is pretty much what you would expect from a POS album: something different. Perfect Element part I continues to be their best effort with Remedy Lane being a close second.

Willie B pretty much saves me a lot of time concerning the album's rating. However I can't go without expressing my disappointed concerning the "messages" expressed in this album. I used to think that if there was only one not naïve musician, that had to be Daniel Gildenlow. The lyrics in The Perfect Element, One Hour by the Concrete Lake and Remedy Lane were catchy clever and bold. Mr Gildenlow was of course expressing his emotions concerning a particular situation or event. And you can't go wrong as a musician if you stick to your experiences and feelings. And if on top of that, you have a natural talent for writing lyrics, you have the recipe for good music.

Sadly enough, Mr Gildenlow decided to step upon ground he has absolutely no clue about. And the worst part is that he does so placing himself as the judge beyond good and evil with an unquestionable Olympian wisdom. Lyrics do sound wise, since he's ability to weave words and phrases is still there. However he's cleverly weaving nonsense here.

Perhaps Mr Gildenlow does not realize that RaP and some of the other rhythms that he knits into his own musical mantle are American forms of musical expression. He does not realize that he's criticizing America for their materialism and he has his OWN STUDIO in which to record his music and that he and his band ARE ENDORSED by instrument manufacturers. He decided not to tour America (because he was against the war or whatever) to promote this new album (completely sung in English), to punish them for their intolerance (can't believe he can't see these contradictions) and he fails to understand that USA is a 300 million people country with the greatest cultural diversity you are likely to find (and they probably constitute a large portion of his band's albums buyers) etc, etc.

All in all POS is generally very bold in their musical and lyrical proposals, going several steps beyond your typical bands (of any genre). Sadly they take SEVERAL steps back by coming up with OOOOOH SOOO typical I hate America hypocrisy. Still, as Willie B said, the music is well worth buying and the album is overall very fun (if you are not too heartbroken with Mr Gildenlow's naiveness.