Review Summary: Prog essential.
Daniel Gildenlow is a man of character. If you've ever read the man's blogs, you'll see he is one of the most intriguing frontmen on the planet. This man supports Greenpeace. He doesn't litter or fight. Almost everything he writes or has written has provided evidence of having a sort of intelligence that is becoming quite rare in the rock and metal scene nowadays; he even builds lyrical concepts around those ideas, ranging from the (perhaps pretentious) BE to the sociopolitical commentary of Scarsick to the environmentalist nature of One Hour by the Concrete Lake.
Remedy Lane, the band's fourth record, kind of falls in the middle between all these lyrical escapades Daniel has become known for. Of course, his thoughts on this record are still far more profound than many other artists I've read; it's just that the whole thing is more subdued, as this time he has decided to tackle a very different topic; human relationships, love, and the problems and joys that that brings. Of course this topic is still backed up by the musical backbone that has always been trademark PoS: complex arrangements, vocal histrionics that rival Mike Patton, flowing melodies, syncopes, oddball folk melodies, even something that could have been on a pop rock record.
The question is, is this going to hold up? Pain of Salvation have never been secretive about their ambitious records, especially not the mastermind himself, but considering that this is worthy of the dreaded "prog" tag, you'd think a band as talented as this could descend into ungodly amounts of wankery rather than focus on the concept. Luckily, Daniel isn't just a good lyricist and player; he is also a godsend when it comes to songwriting, because he knows when to solo, when not to solo, when to sing softly, when to yell at top speed, in short, he knows how to write a song and make it work.
The prime example of this is "Undertow". Its prying guitar line and dark melodic theme underscore the nature of the lyrics: the extreme longing, the willingness to let go, the pain that is involved with love: the emotional "undertow" so to speak. But the main character's tension builds, and so does the music: screaming power chords arrive during the middle of the song. Daniel's subdued low range transforms into expressive powerful screams that convey anguish and bitterness: "Let me break the things I love / I need to cry!" But as his pain dies out, he returns to softly whispering... "let me fade away into that pitch black velvet night", and his vocals become as soft as the main theme of the melody again. It is hard to comprehend how he does it, or what ungodly talent he possesses, but when he sings, it feels like there is real emotion dripping off the vocals; it is truly a goosebump moment.
Not everything is as exquisite as that, of course, but rest assured there are still other hammers on the album. "A Trace of Blood" deals with miscarriage; the ironic semi-rap vocals in the verses transform into a sugar sweet chorus as Daniel sings that even though he will never know his son's name, he will love him just the same. "Second Love", a song originally written during Daniel's teenage years, features the songwriting being in love and heavily heartbroken as he croons "and I want you to know / I can't sleep anymore by the nights".
Instrumentally the album is sound as well, the band all being well-educated musically, but never veering off into compositions that remind you of that other virtuoso band almost equal to prog (Dream Theater.) The folky instrumental "Dryad of the Woods" is a very neat composition, and the instrumental title track is a brilliant showcase for the talents of keyboardist Fredrik Hermansson. Closing epic "Beyond the Pale" veers from subdued soft passages to powerful choruses and everything in between, proving that Pain of Salvation, when they want, can produce something as grandiose in scale as any other prog band. And finally, This Heart of Mine (I Pledge) shows that a subdued, proggier PoS works just as well as the loud, bombastic side they have.
But the real cherry on the cake comes when the album's runtime is almost at an end. Even though Daniel's shown off every bit of the talent he has during the course of the record, he has the modesty to proclaim at the end that "he will always be so much more human than he wishes to be." Perhaps it is this sense of down-to-earth logic that the band possesses that makes their music seem so divine in comparison; perhaps it is just a healthy sense of realism combined with their idealism that makes them such a pleasure to listen to. Whatever it is, if it results in albums like these, may PoS keep them coming because these sorts of records and profound thoughts are definitely something this world lacks. Highly recommended for anyone who is interested in something more than just a good melody.
