Pain of Salvation

The Perfect Element... I'm not even sure if I can really put down in words how I truly feel about this album. Sure, I can talk about the superb musicianship, excellent vocals, and amazing lyrics, but I don't even think that will accurately describe my feelings of it.

The first time I listened to it, I didn't really care for it. Now, there was no doubt in my mind that it was a well-written, well-executed piece of work, but it just didn't sound to interesting. None of the songs sounded very inviting or warm, or really what I was hoping for. I now realize how stupid I was. This album.... geez, this album is incredible in every sense of the word. The HUGE amount of sheer emotion and soul and heart put into every little second of every song is indescribable. Lead singer/songwriter/lead guitarist Daniel Gildenlow is not only an excellent guitarist but a poet. There are only a few records that I own that have lyrics that give me the sort of feeling the lyrics of this album do. As for his voice, it's his own unique power metal-esque voice, very original and powerful, filled with anger, sadness, beauty, torment, despair, and passion.

The Perfect Element is a concept album (like all of POS' albums) that follows the story of a boy and a girl. They are both broken down by the pressures of society, and have become lonely, hopeless, and desolate. Through this, they are drawn to each other through their similarties. The boy is an outcast, who I believe has fallen into drug addiction and gotten in trouble with the law a few times. The girl is a runaway from home who has sold her body to feel accepted. The first song, Used is about the he character, and In The Flesh is about the she character. They meet and have sex (I believe so anyway) in the song Ashes. The next song, Morning On Earth, is the boy lying in bed with her, watching her sleep, reflecting on why they like each other and marveling at her innocence. These first four songs are part of the first chapter of the album: As These Two Desolate World Collide. The next chapter consists of the next four songs, and is called It All Catches Up On You When You Slow down, which focuses on the past of the two characters and the struggles they had to face. Then, the next four songs make up the 3rd chapter, Far Beyond the Point of No Return, which ends with the he character spiralling into seclusion and a mental breakdown. In the song Reconciliation, the boy has become too disordered and depressed, and he knows it, so he tells the girl to run away from him and get herself help. On the title track she meets back up with him, and sees that he is "at his last breath."

By listening to this album in its entirety, and paying attention to it's story, it's very easy to become emotionally drained by the end. This album has seriously made me come close to tears. I don't care how feminine or "homosexual" that makes me sound; I really don't. The fact is that this album probably strikes an emotional chord in me that doesn't strike most people. I was going through some pretty bad stuff about a year ago that isn't too different from the he character in this album. I was depressed, lonely, isolated, and was getting into some bad stuff. Things did get better eventually, and listening to this album almost sounds like the soundtrack to those days. But it doesn't make me shudder or feel depressed, it only makes me love this album all the more, knowing that I wasn't alone.

I can honestly say that this is one of the best prog metal albums ever; right up there with Dream Theater's Scenes From A Memory, Queensryche's Operation: Mindcrime, And Symphony X's V: The New Mythology (and those are all concept albums too!). Not only that, but I consider it to be one of the greatest albums written. Daniel Gildenlow is a genius in every sense of this word. So, please, I urge you to buy this album. Let Pain of Salvation take you on a journey through depression, sadness, hate, pain, anger, despair, tragedy, shame, regret, and beauty.

A very good album by PoS. One of the best progressive metal albums I've ever listened to.

This is the album that first introduced me to Pain Of Salvation. I also had the one and only opportunity to see them live at ProgDay. I still remember the band opening with the leadoff track from this album "Used" with it's brutal refrain of "getting used to pain". Listening to it again, the lyric is still powerful and the music brutal. This is another top notch progressive metal album. The music once again explores a large amount of territory and the lyrics explore a myriad of topics relevant to today's headlines. This is another concept album (as are all of POS releases) exploring the lives of two children whose lives turn into a chilling downward spiral into chaos in a mythic city. Highlights include the previously mentioned "Used", "Ashes" (which almost sounds like Queensrcyhe), "Her Voices", and especially the closing track "The Perfect Element". Pain Of Salvation puts out consistently quality progressive metal and this album is no exception.

I cannot get enough of this album and I agree with the other reviews that would consider this a masterpiece. It has been a long time since a band has come along and knocked my socks off with their performance and songwriting skills and PoS has definitely done this.

I listen to this album daily.

IT'S THE FIRST TIME I LISTEN TO THIS BAND AND I ADVISE YOU TO GET IT IF YOU ARE A REAL PROGRESSIVE METAL LISTENER, WHAT ELSE CAN I SAY, JUST A FEW WORDS FOR A GREAT CD.EAF

I'm a fan of metal, death metal,prog metal Also I am a guitar player for 12 years and while the music is not technical and I am obsessed with technical ability... the singer and the way this band put's out an album.....this is by far the best musical album I own...not to mention Daniel's vocal's near opeth's???

This is another outstanding album from the band. Another conceptual album this one covers an amazing amount of musical ground ranking up with the best the band has done. The music, vocals and lyrics are all top notch. This is progressive metal at its finest. Highlights include the three longest tracks on the disc "A Trace Of Blood", "The Road Ends" and "Beyond The Pale". Really the whole disc is strong. This album is another must own for fans of innovative progressive metal.

Honestly, the music on this album is so moving, so inventive, so unique, that trying to explain it to someone is almost futile. You would benefit yourself immensely if you just stopped reading my review right now and immediately bought this album.

This music does not easily fall into any category, but if you are a fan of progressive rock/metal, alternative, classical, or just a music fan in general, then you NEED this album. If I had to choose one word to describe the sound it would be EPIC.

The first track 'Of Two Beginnings' gives you an idea of the diversity, emotion, and complexity that will captivate your ears when listening through the entire album. Starting with a mellow, eery mood and Daniel's soft melodic vocals beginning the story of this concept album, not even a minute into the song the atmosphere changes dramatically with the vocals becoming a deeper emotional yell backed by pounding riffs, various background vocals, and wailing guitars - within 2 minutes the song is back to a mellow mood again before immediately taking you into the next song with a loud melodic guitar piece that almost makes you cry.

The entire album is full of climactic mood changes, intelligent lyrics, and unpredictable complex song arrangments that defy normality. The drumming, keyboards, strings, vocals, and other sounds are arranged in such perfect beauty that the listener can only sit in wonder and amazement at the quality of sound coming forth from their speakers.

My personal favorite track is 'Trace of Blood', an epic 8 minute tale of a couple's emotions over having a miscarriage, full of great guitar work and hauntingly moving vocals. 'Dryad of the Woods' is a beautiful 5 minute instrumental piece that has just as much emotion as any of the songs accompanied by Daniel's broad vocal range. There is no bad song on this album, and one song runs into the other making a complete musical masterpiece.

RECOMMENDATION: Do yourself a favor and buy not only this album, but every POS release. If you have to choose one more to buy after 'Remedy Lane' then purchase 'The Perfect Element 1' - another masterpiece, but you cannot go wrong with any music by this band. The new album 'Scarsick' is coming out this month!

Hey, just wanted to write a review for Pain of Salvation on Daniel Gildenlow's birthday. This album is really amazing, their second best next to TPE. If you haven't heard it, you should definitely buy it (although if you haven't heard them before, get TPE first).

So anyway, that's it. One of the best albums ever, by anyone, for sure.

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?

Being a fan of progressive, I would try to find passages to enjoy in these consciously bombastic overtures. Too often however I am just rubbed the wrong way with his approach. Everything feels over-the-top bloated with Gildenlow. From his arrangements and lyrics, to production and singing, he rarely seems to know when he has overdone it, when his group is simply unequipped to portray the heaviness or intelligence the songwriting infers. Unfortunately, the few musical passages which do transcend the ego-cloud fogging this group prove what fans will often argue; that the band helps guide symphonic rock to ambitious places.

Sweden's Pain Of Salvation is one of the more unique progressive metal bands on the scene today. They continually move in different directions and challenge the notion of just what a progressive metal band can be. "Entropia" was the band's debut album and is one of my favorites from them. The album is a concept piece with a story that is rather involved so I won't go into it here, but both the music and the lyrics cover a lot of ground. Band leader Daniel Gildenlow wrote the material and also serves as vocalist and lead guitar. Everyone in the band is top notch and the band move effortlessly from a myriad of musical styles all framed within a prog metal whole. For those of you who came to Pain Of Salvation with their later albums, if you don't have this one you are missing out. It should defiantly be a part of any of the band's fans collection.

As a debut album, I have only two words to say.
HELL YES!

This is a short review, that says six words.
Amazing vocals, Great songs, Amazing lyrcs.

Enjoy!

ENTROPIA is a wonderful album, and again shows the diversity of Pain of Salvation, one thing it has common with all of their albums, is that they're all completely different. With each successive album by this band they're all independant, and seperate from each other with out rehashing the same songs over and over, something bands like Dream Theater are guilty of. From Entropia to BE they all have something to offer. Entropia is conceptual, aggressive, and heavier than successive albums, which is totally killer. So if you enjoy this band, and you enjoy their work, purchase Entropia, because it's a master work.

This is my favorite POS album, mainly due to its raw emotion and adventurous spirit. Is there any type of music not used on this recording? These guys are the Kings of BOMBAST, and that's what is so endearing about them. From whispered passages directly into ear- shattering power chords, all done at breakneck speed! I swear, a screeching guitar solo nearly left a shard from my headphone embedded in the side of my skull! Not for the faint of heart or someone who likes his/ her music predictable or formulaic. Really dig the first track, "Foreword," the emotionally- charged "Oblivion Ocean," and the guitar intro to "Void of Her." The whole disc is good and definitely not boring!

Pain Of Salvations second album is another concept piece by mastermind Daniel Gildenlow. The story is rather complicated so I am not going to go into it in my review, but suffice to say it covers a lot of social and political ground. This is probably the band's heaviest album, and does not contain us much variety in the music as some of their other stuff. This is not a criticism however; as the music here fits the overall feel of the material to a t. Along with the dense lyrics and vocals there are plenty of instrumental fireworks throughout the disc for anyone who enjoys quality prog metal. This is not my favorite POS album, but it is definitely a must own for fans of the band.

A disillusioned man working in the weapons industry begins to bring the morals and ethics of his occupation into question, falling into doubt about what it really is that he's doing from day to day. He considers the justifications that have been thrown at him by the Big Machine, as it were - "The pain and hunger is not your fault!"; "You are not guilty!"; "Guns don't kill, men kill!" Finally, on New Year's Eve, he makes a resolution to discover just what effects his seemingly harmless actions back home are having on the world at large. He sets off on a journey around the world, visiting far reaching places (including some real world locales such as the Black Hills in North America) and becoming witness to terrible acts that go against everything he was once told. Civilizations ripped apart by war, lands left barren by environmental devastation, careless water consumption, and more.

In the last step of his eye-opening journey, he arrives at the desolate shores of Lake Karachay, a place in the former Soviet Union that was used to store nuclear waste for upwards of forty years and that was eventually covered in concrete to dampen the incredible amount of radiation that was present. Unfortunately, the concrete began to split open after several years. Consequently, a given person would only need to stand on the shore of Lake Karachay for a single hour before the radiation exposure would reach such levels that the person would die from physical injuries in approximately two weeks.

Horrified by his discoveries, the man heads back home. Considering his situation, he realizes that he will never truly be able to distance himself from the Big Machine because it is his home, and because the world is just a giant maze of machines within more machines. Instead, he begins to understand that a machine is only made up of its proverbial wheels, and he is such a wheel. He decides to stay inside his chosen machine in an attempt to change its direction.

...and that is the groundwork for Pain of Salvation's dark concept album, One Hour By The Concrete Lake. It is a tale of sheer outrage towards war, environmental pollution, nuclear industry, and man's inhumanity to man that stems straight from frontman Daniel Gildenlow's personal distaste for western civilization in the contemporary world.

Fitting with the mood, this is also Pain of Salvation's most "metal" album. Where Entropia focused more on experimentation with various musical directions, One Hour By The Concrete Lake is far more direct and determined in its approach. Where The Perfect Element I focused on expansive dramaticism and empathy, One Hour By The Concrete Lake is far more immediate and angry in its delivery. The guitars are crunchy and riff-heavy, the drums probably see more double bass abuse than every other Pain of Salvation album put together, the bass is a highly prominent member of the music and often soars majestically over the guitars, and Daniel's vocals are aggressive and desperate, quizzical and confused... almost pleading. None of this is to imply that anything about this album is dull or monotonous - far from it. It is still distinctly Pain of Salvation's brand of utterly unique progressive metal, where the focus is always on the message and the delivery of that message, with instrumental acrobatics melding seamlessly and unobtrusively into that delivery.

The introductory track, "Spirit of the Land", is a brief instrumental filled with ethereal keyboards. It does, however, have some fitting lyrics which are obviously not sung or otherwise present in the music, but are relevant in setting the mood -

"Sit for a while, why rush?
The beauty is all around.
The red sky of the morning,
the different colours of the landscape,
the freshness of the breeze.
So sit for a while and rest
with the spirit of the land."

- and so we come to "Inside", starting with a continuation of the theme from "Spirit of the Land" mixed with classical piano and ride cymbals, with the band coming in shortly after with Daniel singing in a pained voice - "I was told the pain and hunger was not my fault - how could they be so wrong?" This is the moment where you are made aware that the album is deadly serious in what its attempting to relay, grasping your full attention in a rather subtle way.

"The Big Machine" is dark and brooding, with an outro that leaves me shivering in my skin every single time, without fail - Daniel chants repeatedly, "...what if we lose control?" First over a menacing guitar line and tribal drumming, but soon the band comes in with dense chord progressions and keyboards, and Daniel's voice gradually increases in intensity and power, until it strains noticeably. Powerful.

"Handful of Nothing" sees an uncompromising yet deceptively complex double-bass assault providing a driving backdrop for somber and tranquil guitar melodies and a soft vocal delivery. However, things turn upside down around halfway through as Daniel releases a piercing scream of frightening proportions... and just like that the song breaks into a stretch of acoustic guitar arpeggios behind multiple layers of Daniel's crooning vocals. A brief guitar solo comprised of beautiful volume swells follows, and the song draws to a close with Daniel engaging in sinister, propulsive narration atop a pulsing kick drum pattern.

The eighth track, "Black Hills", features my most beloved moment on this entire disc starting at approximately 3:40. Palm-muted acoustic arpeggios fill the scene along with Daniel's wordless vocal melodies; soon, the drums come in with sparsely distributed hits on the floor tom alternating with an open hi-hat; Daniel's vocals shift to a darker tone, with powerful exhalations that almost resemble a one-man choir; the bass escapes from its rhythmic trappings and lets loose several distinct notes opposite the drums, and then the scene culminates into phase two. Frantic ride cymbals augment the now slightly overdriven variation of the previous guitar melody; Daniel's voice begins to lose some of its structure and moves into a freer style; the bass turns into a full out melodic force, and the band comes together for a purely instrumental permutation of everything that had been building up to that point. This segment goes on for twenty seconds. Then, just as the music seems like it cannot possibly build any further - keyboardist Fredrik Hermansson comes in with an absolutely majestic classical piano, drummer Johan Langell brings in an absolutely fitting double bass pattern, and bassist Kristoffer Gildenlow really outdoes himself with soaring bass work that seems to pull at your very heart. End. Wow. I probably didn't do a very good job of describing that, but those are two minutes of truly staggering music.

The last two songs here, "Shore Serenity" and "Inside Out" are definitely the most frantic, to go along with the traumatic experiences being undergone by the protagonist at this final stage of his journey. "Inside Out" especially is an absolute monster that seems to cover everything previously heard on the album in the span of a single song. The double bass-led fury, the classical piano-led tenderness, the atmospheric and dense layers of sound punctuated by sweeping guitar solos, Daniel's multi-faceted vocal delivery, and even sections of flamenco-style guitar.

The ending also has associated lyricism that isn't actually heard on the album, much like the beginning -

"I dread the day my children will ask my why. I dread the day when I will have to explain to them that people thought it was acceptable to destroy the environment so that we could have jobs. I dread the day I will have to explain to my bright-eyed Joshua, who talks to dogs and listens to the grass screaming, that we were all too busy driving fast cars, rushing our children off to day-care, finding seniors' homes for our grandparents, and listening to the ringing of cash registers - We were all too busy to hear the grass screaming."

These unspoken excerpts are actually found all throughout the album, but I think it might be going a bit overboard to write all of them out in this review.

I read in another review that this album was conceived while Daniel was involved in International Relations and Nuclear Physics studies at school, and that the band decided to start recording this album after Daniel finished writing a very lengthy paper about the impact of music lyrics on listeners at a social level - and this is the kind of thing that separates Pain of Salvation from every last one of their peers, in my eyes at least. Their music has a sincere purpose. Every one of their albums screams out with beauty, emotion, awareness, and intelligence. Their music is not a vessel for instrumental [...]; rather, their instruments are vessels for the creation of worlds.

Pain of Salvation are utterly unique and original, and this album is yet another testament to the fact.

One Hour By The Concrete Lake is an unusual album. In some respects, it is the quintiscential prog rock album - difficult time signatures that change often, demanding instrumental parts, non-traditional song structure (not just verse-chorus-verse-chorus) and a general epic feeling to the songs. However, this band has managed to apply these prog rock traits in new and exciting ways! The lead singer's voice changes from sounding rather like Peter Gabriel (from old Genesis) to Matt Stone (one of the South Park creators), and many things in between. The song lyrics are politically aware, and while sometimes they are a bit too purple-prose-ish for my taste it is part of what differentiates them from other prog rock bands (such as Porcupine Tree or Dream Theater).

Other differences between this and more typical prog rock: normal speech overlaid on many parts of the music, often very heavy, growling singing, but without any actual death metal type vocals, and many occasions of straying into other areas of rock (strangely this gives them a more progressive sound, since so many different sounds occur in their music). This band is definately not afraid to experiment. If you enjoy music that is unpredictable, and have no objection to music that gets heavy or dark sounding, then you will probably love this.

Pain of Salvation (POS) are a one of a kind prog-metal band. They sound like no one else, the music they create is packed with imagination and excitement, and the lyrics are thought provoking. All the ingredients of a great band, right? "One Hour by the Concrete Lake" was my first POS disc and it took me a long time to appreciate it. The first few spins had me scratching my head (didn't know how to react) because it was unlike anything I've ever heard, but kept listening because it was spellbinding. They can combine heavy and soft elements perfectly into one song, which they do on "Water" and "Home". The musicianship is stellar, and the vocals (that alternate from a whisper to a scream, with multi-octave range) are spectacular.

All the songs on this disc will draw you in and hold your attention, like all great art does. Of course, POS are not for everybody, but for those who like this genre of music, this is a great introduction to a wonderful band.

THE BAND: Daniel Gildenlow (lead vocals, guitar), John Hallgren (guitar), Johan Langell (drums), Kristoffer Gildenlow (bass), Fredrik Hermansson (keyboards). A product of Sweden.

THE DISC: (1999) 11 tracks clocking in at approximately 59 minutes. Included with the disc is a 14-page booklet containing song credits, song lyrics, band pictures, thank you's and a brief description behind the meaning of the album ("Concrete Lake" refers to Lake Karachay in the Soviet Union - filled in with concrete due to extreme radioactivity levels... and one hour even remotely near it could kill you). Recorded at Roasting House Recording Studio in Malmo, Sweden. Label - Inside/Out Music.

COMMENTS: There's a plethera of music that hails from Sweden. Old music from Abba still finds it's ways on to certain radio stations. Newer groups like Roxette, Cardigans, Ace Of Base, and rockers Drain STH are here for an album or two and then quickly disappear. There are some genuine metal outfits that lean toward the extreme metal side... in the likes of In Flames, Entombed, Opeth, Dismember, etc. However, this is my first experience finding and listening to a progressive rock band from the same place as all the above mentioned groups. As soon as I found this one, I quickly bought "Entropia" (their 1st album, and a Japan only release until 1999 when they released it globally)... which is good, but by no means classic material. I also picked up "Perfect Element" (2000), "Remedy Lane" (2002), and "Be" (2004)... and with that being said - "One Hour By The Concrete Lake" in my opinion is the place to start. Here, Pain Of Salvation was a young band - trying to prove they can hang with other top progressive acts. No doubt, balls to the wall... giving it their all... I think they proved their chops hand over foot. My two favorite songs are "Water" followed by "Home"... the first featuring brilliant guitar work and amazing solos, and the latter featuring wonderful keyboards and Gildenlow's soaring vocals. Not only can they jam with the likes of other prog favorites of mine (i.e. Dream Theater, Enchant, Porcupine Tree, etc), they can definitely slow it down - check out the acoustic "Pilgrim" with touching lyrics and a masterful cello. Tracks 2-5 rock with great hooks that keeps the listener interested. The last song "Inside Out" is listed at roughly 6.5 minutes, but there's a 5 minute pause at the end of the song with a 1 minute jam at the end (the song lists at 12 minutes when played). Sound production is above average, but not in the ranks of the slick and polished Dream Theater or a Porcupine Tree. Maybe that's some of the appeal here. While still good sound, it's just a tad rough around the edges. Pain of Salvation is a great band with lots of potential. Looking forward to future releases for years to come. Great disc.

When I first listened to Scarsick, I enjoyed it, but it didn't really sink in or have quite as much of an effect on me as previous albums from Pain of Salvation. I didn't quite get the story at first, and I couldn't understand what this had to do with The Perfect Element. All that is there, but it's hidden beneath the surface of the songs.

The album details the background of the "he" character from The Perfect Element. It is less of a narrative and more of a description of the environment which shaped the person. The whole first half of the album is about materialism, greed, using women as object. When you start thinking of the character that played out in the Perfect Element, the songs fit him perfectly. You begin to understand his motivations in the story that unfolds in the previous album.

Musically, the songs are much more simple and straightfoward than most of Pain of Salvation's previous works. To me, this was purposeful. My understanding of the album is that it is not only a description of the environment for the "he" character, but also commentary on the world right now. What better way to make this kind of comment than by parodying the popular culture of the times? Additionally, the themes present throughout The Perfect Element are repeated (albeit with extreme changes in the sound) throughout Scarsick. To get the full effect of the album, listen to it immediately following a listen to The Perfect Element. You'll be surprised how much is hidden in a song as simple sounding as Cribcaged.

One thing I have always admired was how honest Pain of Salvation are with their lyrical content, and how they speak their mind, unashamed of who they might offend. This album seems to take that characteristic to a new extreme. It is lyrically, perhaps their most cynical, mordant, and scornful album yet, and also their most brutally honest work to date. At the same time, it is their most eye-opening album to the world around us, scrutinizing mankind's ongoing troubles, habits, greediness, and overall foolishness.

The first two songs, "Scarsick" and "Spitfall" feature Gildenlow's "rap" vocals, which definitely aren't anything new, I just personally don't think it's the most terribly appealing way to start the album off, but they certainly don't ruin the song or anything. Both of these songs feature a great chorus to balance out the overall melody and rhythm of the song.

If someone unfamiliar with the band were to look at the lyrics to "Cribcaged" they might see the string of "F-bombs" as immature garbage, however this song's lyrics couldn't be more meaningful; describing how we are obsessed with celebrities' lives, perhaps more than our own children's lives (although that seems like a bit of a stretch) and that celebrities are "just people".

"America" is perhaps the most offensive song they have ever written. Being an American, I didn't like this idea at first, but after reading the lyrics I really don't blame them at all for some of the controversies and criticisms explained here, rolled into nifty, disdainful little Metaphors. The song is extremely catchy, and honestly, I can't get enough of it.

"Kingdom of Loss" is another one of my favorites. They talk about how everything is "on sale", from "War" to "Fear" to "Sex" to "Self-Confidence" and the ironic chain of events of buying things such as buying fast food, getting fat, and then buying a Stairmaster machine to lose the weight from the fast food, etc. Some of the spoken parts might seem a little corny, but I think they put it together great and the music is quite dramatic and composed very well.

"Flame to the Moth" is quite perhaps one of the most adrenaline-pumping songs I have ever heard. This may sound contradictory considering I own a lot of straight death and black metal that is overall heavier, faster and contains 100% harsh vocals, but the way Pain of Salvation construct this song and build up to that spine-shattering chorus is one-of-a-kind. The music also matches the honest lyrics describing being an innocent child, and as we grow up we see the cold, money-hungry world full of lies we live in. This is another classic for these brilliant musicians that I will always admire.

The album ends with "Enter Rain," a 10-minute epic, emotional song that seems to be most people's favorite, perhaps because it is so traditional in structure, it sounds like something from "Perfect Element I" or perhaps "Remedy Lane."

Like any other Pain of Salvation album I have ever bought, this album has rapidly and immensely grown on me from the first few listens. I find it incredible how that always seems to happen with their albums. I think that means the songs are deeper and take more time to sink in than if I liked every song instantly. It may seem like my respect for the band is maxed out, but every album makes it grow stronger.

There are basically two types of progressive rock bands. The ones that are progressive because they sound like Yes or King Crimson, and the ones that are genuinely doing something new. Pain of Salvation falls into the second of these two catagories, and Scarsick in a stunning example of just what they're capable of. Though fitting neatly into the POS catalog it is greatly influenced by modern heavy metal, rap and even disco. It both draws upon American music and society for it's inspiration and levels harsh criticism on both. It is the heaviest album they have done in a while, but is strikingly beautiful in many of its melodies. Gildenlow in a superb vocalist, one of my favorites. Whether he's rapping, screaming, or singing in a soft falsetto he is capable of doing things with his voice that few singers can. The entire band is superb. As I have said with other bands, their virtuosity never overwhelms their musicianship. In the end this is a band that is constantly trying to cover new ground. It may take a few listens to get accustomed to the new territory. But once you get familiar you'll be glad you made the trip.

In Pain Of Salvation, I have always found the antidote to popular music- a band which is intelligent, musically and lyrically adventurous, and always seems to push their own boundaries as well as those of their audience and fans with each new release. A rarity, indeed, in today's popular culture, and with this album Daniel Gildenlow and co. may have created more controversy than usual.

In "Scarsick", POS continues the examination of an individual's role in society, and the responsibility of society for the shaping and influence of each citizen's life within it. Continuing or completing a sort of story arc arguably begun in "Remedy Lane" (or "The Perfect Element, Pt 1" if you prefer), this disc is an interesting, politically-and ethically-charged epic examination of life in modern society, and is quite vitriolic and accusatory at times, particularly condemning America's narcissistic and shallow capitalist culture and unwelcome influence in the world. Like it or not, I found Gildenlow's lengthy (and at times quite witty, sardonic and articulate) rantings thought-provoking and compelling. The music is equally diverse and experimental, and although POS are usually located in the "progressive metal" section (if you should be so lucky to have one in your local music store- *grin*), this band is becoming more and more experimental, diverse, and unpredictable....without ruining any of it (and quite frankly, most POS albums take a few spins to even begin to "understand"), this disc is an amalgamation of not only diverse musical styles, but also disparate genres used in clever and unusual ways to illustrate a point in the overall story arc of the album. Avant-garde, fascinating, stimulating, and truly creative. Thinking man's modern rock album, and a future classic. Thank you Daniel Gildenlow......

Scarsick is the long-awaited sequel to Pain of Salvation's masterpiece "The Perfect Element I", and a new experience in and of itself. It picks up the story where it left off, and follows He, the male character of the first part.

I will start with the downsides. This album is not on the same league with other Pain of Salvation albums, at all. The concept is not as humane and appealing as it has always been before (even in the remotely mechanical "One Hour by the Concrete Lake"). The lyrical content, while filled to brim with poetry and incredibly stunning writing, has shifted itself to a new ground that I wish they had left unexplored, or explored in a metaphorical way. That's exactly what Scarsick is; straightforward, in-your-face, unrestrained anger and frustration reeking through the now much more simpler music. The first half alienates you too much, and fuels your expectations for the second part, which are, somehow, not quite fulfilled. The song, "America" deviates from the story and doesn't connect at all; a VERY loose end, something that didn't exist in the previous ones, and its purpose, while evident, smashes the overall nice album's flow, mood, atmosphere and context significantly. The album, while managing to be angry at times, is overall too emotionless, catching emotion with a few songs, if at all. The overall story suddenly reverts back to where it was and then ends after significant deviation; while this is connected with the story, it could have been better.

As for the positive sides, PoS, as always, is coming up with something new in musical terms; "Spitfall" is a melodic rap-metal song, "Disco Queen" is a psychedelic/disco song, "Scarsick" is (unfortunately) similar to a nu-metal song with folk tendencies, "Idiocracy" is a ballad and "Enter Rain" is a closer; something for everyone. The criticism of popular music and idea of popularity, and overall rundown capitalist society is appropriate mostly and very witty (save for "America", which is downright stupid) and it succeeds for the most part in conveying a social commentary through a child's eyes. The band displays the fun they had and the thoughts they had in the process, so, to quote Daniel Gildenlow, it IS a very "band-oriented" album indeed. It is more easily accessible; which is also a downside, because it doesn't keep you wanting to find out more of the intricacies (assuming there are any). But the biggest upside is, PoS is trying something new.

Overall, this is a bad album in the up-to-now almost flawless PoS discography. It is subject to debate among many fans, but I would recommend this album for anyone and everyone, save for those who want to start listening to Pain of Salvation (for whom, The Perfect Element is the perfect start)

Typically epic release in this subgenre, here from the Swedish rock-progsters. And by epic I mean overstuffed and overlong. While not as cloying as say, some of Aryeon's output, the album still suffers many of the same character flaws mucking up the modern progressive rock genre. Diverse and melodically ambitious, much of the rocking just feels tepid and a lot of the progression just overly theatrical at the expense of sincerely engaging. Still, enough will work to appeal to that small demographic who appreciates their rock aggressively orchestrated. The few songs which do translate an unabashedly power-cheese vibe without overcooked vocals, clunky interludes, or overworked instrumentation could appeal to many more for their bold, albeit partially cliched melodic strokes.

One of the greatest concepts ever made, this is a masterpiece of the progressive genre. Must buy.

Just when you think these guys have done it all, they come out with the most varied and probably the best album of their career. This one tends to divide fans of the band into two camps. Those that think it is the best thing they have ever done, and those that think that they went too far over the top into a mishmash of half baked pretentious bloat. I happen to fall in the former category. For me this is the band's masterpiece. It is probably the least metal of any of their albums, although there are sections of it that are plenty heavy enough. The band also throw in sections of folk, traditional ethnic / Celtic music, elements of jazz, ballads, and even a spiritual very similar in style to someone like The Blind Boys Of Alabama. The album was originally conceived as a multimedia stage production and was performed in its entirety a number of times before being released as an audio disc. This is an album that may take several listens to really sink in, but there are many layers to be found here and patient listening will have its rewards. I would probably not recommend this album to beginners just looking to get into the band as it is all quite different from most of their other work, but for fans this is a must own.

BE was the first PoS album that I ever bought. The first time I listened to it, I was bored to tears. I tried again a few days later with no change. I even wrote a review at one point calling it "boring, pretentious garbage."

I went out and bought Remedy Lane to give them another try. RL is a truly great album, and I'm glad it was the second album I bought, 'cause if I'd heard another boring album, I would have written PoS off completely.

Weeks went by and I'd occasionally pop BE into the stereo but didn't pay it much attention. I found myself enjoying a riff here and a groove there, and really started to dig the album from track 10 to the end. Then finally I forced myself to sit down and read the booklet while I listened to the albums. Progress! I finally found it OKAY.

Then I bought the DVD, and it helped me to understand the album more. It adds visuals and characters and makes more sense. I even watched it with the commentary on.

Now, BE is one of my favorite albums of all time. I can't believe that I ever didn't like it. I don't know what came over me that made me decide to give it so many chances - I probably knew unconciously that there was something special about this little gem.

People who say there is not enough music on here are wrong. There are actually very FEW parts where it is only spoken word, 95% of this album is music.

A lot of people also say there isn't much metal on this album, and they are right to an extent. They mix a lot of traditional folk-style music (NOT folk music, I mean traditional culture music) in. There's everything from Celtic music to negro spirituals in here. They toss it in with elements from jazz, and blend in the metal.

I don't think PoS was necessarily GOING FOR a metal record here. I think what they were looking for was a work of art. And they certainly did a terrific job making one.

Go ahead, blow the dust off the copy you shelved a few years ago and give it a couple spins. You just might like it.

I actually would like to preface this review with the comment that I actually like Progressive Rock and Metal. I used to listen to Genesis's Selling England By the Pound all the time. So any of the following comments I make have to be taken in context of the review I'm doing.

I saw these guys at Prog Power 2002, and this was my first time hearing them. The band themselves were good, but I wasn't all totally that taken in, of course most of their music needs to grow on someone.

I subsequently bought their albums, and even though I may not a huge fan I do get an large amount of enjoyment out of them.

Pain of Salvation's Be is definitely the most boring concept album I have in my catalogue of music (around 1500 cds and counting). It lumbers on and on, and contains little actual METAL that I would normally enjoy. Ok, I don't only like metal, but none of the melodies catch on in the way that I normally enjoy. I've never heard Roger Waters solos stuff but critics often have a common complaint: Post Waters Floyd is bereft of concept but decent musically, Waters albums post Floyd are bereft of melody and too "Wordy". This album by Pain of Salvation is definitely the latter, and it just doesn't make you care. The most ambitious concept albums also can benefit from something at times, especially within the Prog genre, a sense of humor. I can only think of Zappa's three sided albums which were chuck full of humor, and didn't take themselves too seriously. Now Pain Of Salvation could use some humor to go along with the pretension. There is so much pretension that it just bares down at you, and when there is a humorous part its really not that funny. The songs just bore me, it reminds me if some really geeky kid who took music theater in high school tried to write some sophomoric screenplay and put it to music. Ok, yeah, we know that resources on earth aren't going to last forever, we all are looking for the meaning of life, but why be so overbearingly boring and negative about it? Daniel Gildenlow comes off sometimes like a geek version of Jonathan Davis of Korn, complete with teen angst and mannerisms adapted from Mike Patton.

It doesn't matter that im not a "huge" fan, I'd probably give Remedy Lane four or five stars because musically its miles above this one and they have made some really good albums generally.

Now on to my next point, its great to have musical diversity. But the sad part about many Prog Geeks is that they would never find themselves listening to anything that was similar to the Blind Boys of Alabama other than one of the songs on this album. I've met many of these fans that will buy Opeth, but I know there is no chance in hell they'd ever pick up anything by any of their influences (its almost like there is this recommended "prog list" and one can't deviate from it at all if you are a fan). I guess there are "fanboys" in every genre though, and many of us don't have the time to "research" different types of music. However, I do think that fans of this album wouldn't like all the diversity if it weren't under the "progressive metal" banner. I personally think that's close mindedness, but I try to be consistent with my own opinions (which of course are sometimes flawed).

Oh yeah, back the album: Its ok at times, but could be much better, and I definitely think that its got the pretension that we don't like in music. Tales from Topographic Oceans, Lamb Lies down on Broadway, etc, they may be pretentious, but at least they aren't pretentious in that they're trying to make some grand political sociological statement that Gildenlow seems to try to be making it. Just make some good music to go along with it next time. Oh yeah Scarsick wasn't good and had disco and nu metal stuff on it? Well thats too bad. I'll stick to even the most pretentious wanky Dream Theater stuff before putting this on again. Those guys at least love to rock and also are nice down to earth guys for the most part, and don't whine about touring somewhere just because they could get fingerprinted by a foreign government.

After a couple of years listening to this CD, I decided to share how beatiful this music is, and explain why this is the CD that I have played the most since 2006 (written on Dec 2008)

1) The music is played with acoustic instruments, so everybody will be able to listen to it no matter their musical taste. I have played Dryad of the Woods every night in the last year as part of a playlist to get my babies to sleep (1 and 2 years old), I have played this CD to people over 50 years old and they loved it, my wife loves this CD, so I can play it anytime I like no matter who is with me.

2) The music selection is so well balanced that you can play it time after time and never get tired.

3) The composition is superb, very epic, very delicate, sometimes to make you feel, sometimes to make you dream of other places, sometimes to make you get inspired.

4) The singing is really good, so if you play this CD to somebody that knows nothing about progressive rock or good musicianship, he or she will love this music anyways.

5) The CD sounds incredible, as good as any studio CD, and the crowd does not ruin the sound.

6) The album title is one of the first to appear on my Zune, so it is easy to find.

If you like acoustic music(which I certainly do) then this one is for you. All the other reviews I have seen are very positive for a reason. In my opinion this is one of the best LPs ever made. And I just started listening to these guys. Their regular stuff is taking me awhile to get hooked on the vocals, but the music is very good. Now this CD here, I heard one short mp3 online and was immediatly hooked on both vocals and music. Just without a doubt a great CD!!

.....but you do have to die when you hear this cd!!!!! And I mean that in a swoony way.... ;-)

From the first track (an awesome new version of "Leaving Entropia") onward, I was almost in tears this album is so beautiful. I would give this many more stars if I could. Pain of Salvation is already a very moving band in their usual metal style, but the acoustic sound shows a lighter side and a stunning one at that. Daniel Gildenlow is my absolute favorite vocalist, and this album just further proves my point. His range is amazing and his voice is sensitive and seductive at times, crazy and theatrical at others. Here's to the band as well for singing AWESOME backup vocals and wonderful aucoustic instruments on this the best "unplugged" show ever! :-D

I've been listening to lots of Pain of Salvation these days (all their albums are great), but this one here is just magical. It's a live album, but it consists of original compositions (well, kind of, they're reworked older songs) played acoustically. The guitar playing is awesome, and Daniel's singing can't be beat.

Highlights: Both Brickworks, "Undertow", and "Winning a War".

You have to get this. You just have to. Seriously, do it. Now.

I was fortunate enough to be introduced to Pain of Salvation's debut release (Entropia) at NEARfest 1999 (North East Art Rock Festival), by the proprietor of the Laser's Edge online progressive rock CD store. I've been hooked on them ever since. In my opinion, they have taken over from Dream Theater as the best progressive metal band making music today.

"12:5" captures a terrific live acoustic show, in which the guys in Pain of Salvation transform their extremely complex and often aggressive sound into something much more mellow and relaxed. The songs that they perform translate perfectly into an acoustic setting, and sound fresh and new -- unlike many live albums where the songs sound almost like carbon copies of the studio recordings. The highlight of the album without a doubt is "Ashes," which by a simple minor to major key transposition and vocal melody change, ends up sounding like a completely different song. While the original version of "Ashes" is dark, heavy, and aggressive, the version on 12:5 is a happy, uplifting acoustic ballad -- and yet it's still essentially the same song.

Bottom line: These guys are brilliant. If you like progressive metal, you need to hear them. Any of their albums would be good to start with, with the possible exception of their newest release "Be" (because it is a bit more experimental and uneven).

Honestly, the music on this album is so moving, so inventive, so unique, that trying to explain it to someone is almost futile. You would benefit yourself immensely if you just stopped reading my review right now and immediately bought this album.

This music does not easily fall into any category, but if you are a fan of progressive rock/metal, alternative, classical, or just a music fan in general, then you NEED this album. If I had to choose one word to describe the sound it would be EPIC.

The first track 'Of Two Beginnings' gives you an idea of the diversity, emotion, and complexity that will captivate your ears when listening through the entire album. Starting with a mellow, eery mood and Daniel's soft melodic vocals beginning the story of this concept album, not even a minute into the song the atmosphere changes dramatically with the vocals becoming a deeper emotional yell backed by pounding riffs, various background vocals, and wailing guitars - within 2 minutes the song is back to a mellow mood again before immediately taking you into the next song with a loud melodic guitar piece that almost makes you cry.

The entire album is full of climactic mood changes, intelligent lyrics, and unpredictable complex song arrangments that defy normality. The drumming, keyboards, strings, vocals, and other sounds are arranged in such perfect beauty that the listener can only sit in wonder and amazement at the quality of sound coming forth from their speakers.

My personal favorite track is 'Trace of Blood', an epic 8 minute tale of a couple's emotions over having a miscarriage, full of great guitar work and hauntingly moving vocals. 'Dryad of the Woods' is a beautiful 5 minute instrumental piece that has just as much emotion as any of the songs accompanied by Daniel's broad vocal range. There is no bad song on this album, and one song runs into the other making a complete musical masterpiece.

RECOMMENDATION: Do yourself a favor and buy not only this album, but every POS release. If you have to choose one more to buy after 'Remedy Lane' then purchase 'The Perfect Element 1' - another masterpiece, but you cannot go wrong with any music by this band. The new album 'Scarsick' is coming out next month!

The is a great album. The lyrics are excellently written and are deep passionate. The music intense and shows a wide range of emotions and dynamics. The musicianship is excellent.

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?

I, like other reviewers here, didn't fully grasp this album at first. It was different, and therefore intriguing. But after about 7 or 8 listens, I filed it away in my CD case, not ever really "getting it."

Fast-forward roughly a year. After finally getting tired of Spocks Beard and Dream Theater, I was hungry for something new. I decided to flip through my CD collection, and re-discovered POS Remedy Lane, and am I ever glad that I did! Remedy Lane has given me a renewed enthusiam for progressive rock.

A few years back I was talking with a friend of mine, who is a very talented musician, about prog rock, and how Dream Theater was my favorite band. His opinion of DT was that they are a very talented band, but that their music lacked EMOTION. I didn't understand what he was talking about...until Remedy Land reached inside me and started pulling emotions and feelings out of me that I didn't realize were there.

To sum it up...what I have come to find with great albums, "masterpieces" as some would label them, is that on the first 3 or 4 listens, you find yourself saying things such as "what is this stuff?" or "man, what were they thinking?" But after some time passes, and you give the album a few more listens, it dawns on you that you have truly come across a "masterpiece." Kind of weird how it works, isn't it?

This new masterpiece that I have discovered is called "Remedy Lane," and it was just the "remedy" that I needed to cure my "progrock burn-out" blues. It is an emotional journey that I will continue to enjoy for years to come.

My favourite Pain of Salvation album, also my favourite album of all time. Remedy Lane is dark, emotive, beautiful, dealing with subjects such as suicide, love, despair, miscarriage, and a trip into a painful past.

Why is it my favourite? First, the production is great. No more muddy tones such as in Perfect Element I. Second, the humanity of the subjects clicks with me very well. Don't get me wrong. 'Be' is good as a philosophical piece, but Remedy Lane's lyrical subjects, music strikes the deeper (and deepest chord) compared to all of their other albums.

Let me touch on Gildenlow. Amazing singer, truly unique, and the only singer I have ever heard to truly use his voice as an instrument. The weird sounds he makes, as mentioned by another reviewer, just enhances Remedy Lane for me. He is on top form here, and backed by an excellent vocalist with complex, deep and stirring music - How could Remedy Lane be anything short of a masterpiece?

Typically epic release in this subgenre, here from the Swedish rock-progsters. And by epic I mean overstuffed and overlong. While not as cloying as say, some of Aryeon's output, the album still suffers many of the same character flaws mucking up the modern progressive rock genre. Diverse and melodically ambitious, much of the rocking just feels tepid and a lot of the progression just overly theatrical at the expense of sincerely engaging. Still, enough will work to appeal to that small demographic who appreciates their rock aggressively orchestrated. The few songs which do translate an unabashedly power-cheese vibe without overcooked vocals, clunky interludes, or overworked instrumentation could appeal to many more for their bold, albeit partially cliched melodic strokes.

One of the greatest concepts ever made, this is a masterpiece of the progressive genre. Must buy.

Just when you think these guys have done it all, they come out with the most varied and probably the best album of their career. This one tends to divide fans of the band into two camps. Those that think it is the best thing they have ever done, and those that think that they went too far over the top into a mishmash of half baked pretentious bloat. I happen to fall in the former category. For me this is the band's masterpiece. It is probably the least metal of any of their albums, although there are sections of it that are plenty heavy enough. The band also throw in sections of folk, traditional ethnic / Celtic music, elements of jazz, ballads, and even a spiritual very similar in style to someone like The Blind Boys Of Alabama. The album was originally conceived as a multimedia stage production and was performed in its entirety a number of times before being released as an audio disc. This is an album that may take several listens to really sink in, but there are many layers to be found here and patient listening will have its rewards. I would probably not recommend this album to beginners just looking to get into the band as it is all quite different from most of their other work, but for fans this is a must own.

BE was the first PoS album that I ever bought. The first time I listened to it, I was bored to tears. I tried again a few days later with no change. I even wrote a review at one point calling it "boring, pretentious garbage."

I went out and bought Remedy Lane to give them another try. RL is a truly great album, and I'm glad it was the second album I bought, 'cause if I'd heard another boring album, I would have written PoS off completely.

Weeks went by and I'd occasionally pop BE into the stereo but didn't pay it much attention. I found myself enjoying a riff here and a groove there, and really started to dig the album from track 10 to the end. Then finally I forced myself to sit down and read the booklet while I listened to the albums. Progress! I finally found it OKAY.

Then I bought the DVD, and it helped me to understand the album more. It adds visuals and characters and makes more sense. I even watched it with the commentary on.

Now, BE is one of my favorite albums of all time. I can't believe that I ever didn't like it. I don't know what came over me that made me decide to give it so many chances - I probably knew unconciously that there was something special about this little gem.

People who say there is not enough music on here are wrong. There are actually very FEW parts where it is only spoken word, 95% of this album is music.

A lot of people also say there isn't much metal on this album, and they are right to an extent. They mix a lot of traditional folk-style music (NOT folk music, I mean traditional culture music) in. There's everything from Celtic music to negro spirituals in here. They toss it in with elements from jazz, and blend in the metal.

I don't think PoS was necessarily GOING FOR a metal record here. I think what they were looking for was a work of art. And they certainly did a terrific job making one.

Go ahead, blow the dust off the copy you shelved a few years ago and give it a couple spins. You just might like it.

I actually would like to preface this review with the comment that I actually like Progressive Rock and Metal. I used to listen to Genesis's Selling England By the Pound all the time. So any of the following comments I make have to be taken in context of the review I'm doing.

I saw these guys at Prog Power 2002, and this was my first time hearing them. The band themselves were good, but I wasn't all totally that taken in, of course most of their music needs to grow on someone.

I subsequently bought their albums, and even though I may not a huge fan I do get an large amount of enjoyment out of them.

Pain of Salvation's Be is definitely the most boring concept album I have in my catalogue of music (around 1500 cds and counting). It lumbers on and on, and contains little actual METAL that I would normally enjoy. Ok, I don't only like metal, but none of the melodies catch on in the way that I normally enjoy. I've never heard Roger Waters solos stuff but critics often have a common complaint: Post Waters Floyd is bereft of concept but decent musically, Waters albums post Floyd are bereft of melody and too "Wordy". This album by Pain of Salvation is definitely the latter, and it just doesn't make you care. The most ambitious concept albums also can benefit from something at times, especially within the Prog genre, a sense of humor. I can only think of Zappa's three sided albums which were chuck full of humor, and didn't take themselves too seriously. Now Pain Of Salvation could use some humor to go along with the pretension. There is so much pretension that it just bares down at you, and when there is a humorous part its really not that funny. The songs just bore me, it reminds me if some really geeky kid who took music theater in high school tried to write some sophomoric screenplay and put it to music. Ok, yeah, we know that resources on earth aren't going to last forever, we all are looking for the meaning of life, but why be so overbearingly boring and negative about it? Daniel Gildenlow comes off sometimes like a geek version of Jonathan Davis of Korn, complete with teen angst and mannerisms adapted from Mike Patton.

It doesn't matter that im not a "huge" fan, I'd probably give Remedy Lane four or five stars because musically its miles above this one and they have made some really good albums generally.

Now on to my next point, its great to have musical diversity. But the sad part about many Prog Geeks is that they would never find themselves listening to anything that was similar to the Blind Boys of Alabama other than one of the songs on this album. I've met many of these fans that will buy Opeth, but I know there is no chance in hell they'd ever pick up anything by any of their influences (its almost like there is this recommended "prog list" and one can't deviate from it at all if you are a fan). I guess there are "fanboys" in every genre though, and many of us don't have the time to "research" different types of music. However, I do think that fans of this album wouldn't like all the diversity if it weren't under the "progressive metal" banner. I personally think that's close mindedness, but I try to be consistent with my own opinions (which of course are sometimes flawed).

Oh yeah, back the album: Its ok at times, but could be much better, and I definitely think that its got the pretension that we don't like in music. Tales from Topographic Oceans, Lamb Lies down on Broadway, etc, they may be pretentious, but at least they aren't pretentious in that they're trying to make some grand political sociological statement that Gildenlow seems to try to be making it. Just make some good music to go along with it next time. Oh yeah Scarsick wasn't good and had disco and nu metal stuff on it? Well thats too bad. I'll stick to even the most pretentious wanky Dream Theater stuff before putting this on again. Those guys at least love to rock and also are nice down to earth guys for the most part, and don't whine about touring somewhere just because they could get fingerprinted by a foreign government.