REMEDY LANE

When Daniel Gildenlöw joined the Flower Kings, I became interested in hearing some of his main bands work. I had, of course, heard of the band before and knew they were a prog metal outfit, but that was the extent of my knowledge of them. I picked Remedy Lane because it was their latest album at the time, and because it was the only one my local CD store had in stock :-) To be honest, I wasn't that impressed initially. It seems less technical than Dream Theater, and not even really as heavy. I'm not a particularly big fan of prog metal to begin with but at that time I was curious to hear some of the more lauded bands (and PoS was quite the buzz back then).

Repeated listens, however, revealed a very unique and interesting album. The concept, part biographical and part fictional as I understand it, is quite emotional and human. The album is quite cohesive in lyrical content, though the music doesn't flow quite like most other concept albums. This isn't really a problem, as each song stands quite well on its own. The first few songs still don't stand out to me all that much, being sort of sludgy metal of the typical prog metal variety but raised up somewhat by Daniels outstanding vocals. With A Trace Of Blood, things start getting very interesting, and the album just gets better from there. Rope Ends is probably the more proggy track here, as there are plenty of time and tempo changes and quirky rhythms. An absolutely outstanding chorus on this song, which this album seems to have quite a few of. Chain Sling has a marvelous arabian type riff running through it. Dryad Of The Woods is a beautiful pastoral piece that picks up in intensity as it progresses. Second Love has one of the best melodies I've ever heard and some very restrained and emotional singing from Daniel. Beyond the Pale is a magnificent ending that lays out the purpose of the album beautifully by combining lyrics and music to create the whole picture (the words alone do not reveal the meaning of the song......bear that in mind while listening).

What makes this album is the singing of Daniel Gildenlöw. The man has so many facets to his vocals, it's astounding. Sure, when he goes into high registers it can seem a bit too 80's hair band, but he uses his range exceptionally well for the most part. And his cleaner vocals are some of the best I've ever heard. This guy can SING, like nobody else in prog.

Despite what for me, at least, is a somewhat slow and unimpressive start, this album proves to be the best PoS album to date. As much as l like the following album, this one seems to encapsulate everything this band was about up to this point, and does it with such passion and emotion and power that it is hard to dislike. Even for someone like myself, who isn't very keen on prog metal. I'd very much like to give this 5 stars, but due to my tastes and the slow start the albums has, I will have to settle for 4. 4.5 is probably closer to the mark though. Well worth checking out and certainly an excellent addition for anyone looking to try out prog metal or already a fan of the genre.