THE PERFECT ELEMENT - PART 1

An album that is both interesting and difficult to listen all the way through. This is in my opinion the weakest Pain of Salvation album. It focuses on Daniel's vocals and his storytelling, though I find this album to have his worst vocals to date. A huge problem I have with the album is the production and how the music feels overcrowded and overproduced. If you felt "Yes - Going for the One" had that annoying "overproduced" sound, wait until you hear this. Also, This album is very difficult to approach as it manages to use many different styles and genres into a unique sound of Progressive Metal

Used starts the album on a very disturbing note with a very raw metal-rap song. I particularly like the pre-choruses with him rapping angrily "Getting Used Away". It's very memorable, but I really don't like the melodic chorus. They really don't fit and aren't anything special on their own. In The Flesh is a chore to listen to, with some vocal melodies being very irritating. A supposedly soft-metal track focusing on the melody, but I think it's a big flaw in the album. The song ends unnecessarily with an instrumental so that it could connect [badly] with Ashes , a ballad that gets high praise but does nothing for me. The verses has an irritating keyboard/guitar unison riff on a loop and the chorus is as unmemorable as a Linkin' Park refrain. Morning on Earth is basically a guitar line done with harmonies and a decent melodic chorus. The vocal melodies are very unimaginative, sometimes even singing the guitar line which is awkward.

Idioglossia starts with an instrumental very much in the style of Dream Theater. It's not bad, especially when a bass riff begins after arounnd 50 seconds, the instrumental professionally melds into the first verse with a very nice guitar riff. The first chorus is a better reworking of the "Ashes" chorus, and the second chorus doesn't exist, it is a nice section with guitar solos. The last two minutes has that unbearable "overproduced" feel and over-processed vocals that ruin what could have been a good song. Her Voices is another unmemorable ballad with choruses that feel like they don't connect and are nothing special on their own, sounding again a bit like Linkin' Park. Thanksfully, at minute 4, a crazy instrumental comes that is really really good and saves the song. The instrumental reminds of the Pain of Salvation I love. The ending is as weak as the one in "Idioglassia" with that overproduced "wall of sound" feel that just doesn't work. Dedication is another musically dull ballad though it has a neat and unexpected symphonic burst around the middle. King of Loss is one of the better tracks ... with a very menacing sound and and a good first verse that teases you into getting you into a chorus but doesn't until three minutes passed. Unfortunately, the choruses are screechy and very annoying. The bridge around minute six to eight is very good and is another bright spot in this album. It is deep, complex, well-arranged, and contains an excellent guitar solo.

Reconciliation is not much more than a rewriting of "Morning On Earth" on a heavier tone. The verses are similar but with electric guitars instead of harmonics, the chorus are similar, the only major difference is the heavy pre-chorus that is pretty memorable. Song For the Innocent is at a point where I'm already tired of listening to this album, but I can't deny that this song is great. It sounds slightly happy at first but then turns into a hard rock monstrosity. Possibly the best song in the album for me. Falling continues the surprisingly high quality set by Song For The Innocent with a very emotional guitar solo that leads into the epic and last song of the album, which is an overall good lengthy song that brings the album to a close. It's not great, but it has some great moments.

So overall, I'd give it 2 stars for "fans only", but even if you are a fan, listen to the sample of the song in here in progarchives to see if you like it. This album for me is the worst album they ever did. I know I have given a poor review to "BE" but I would like to eventually change it to arouund 3.5 stars now that it 'clicked'. What bothers me in this album is that overproduced feel, lack of good melodies, Daniel's vocals (what happened to him in this album?), and the overall songwriting. I am a casual fan of Pain of Salvations and this is the only album that didn't do it for me, which is ironically the best one rated by far.

1. Used (C+) 2. In The Flesh (D) 3. Ashes (D+) 4. Morning On Earth (D+) 5. Ideoglossia (C) 6. Her Voices (C) 7. Dedication (C-) 8. King Of Loss (C) 9. Reconciliation (C-) 10. Song For The Innocent (B+) 11. Falling (A-) 12. The Perfect Element (C+)