REMEDY LANE

Pain of Salvation is one of my favorite progressive metal bands and Daniel Gildenlow is one of my favorite singer and lyricist. I just can find anything that I want in a band, intensely emotional song, delightfully outstanding vocals, beautifully intelligent lyrics, and distinctively original kind of music in the progressive music. Emotion is the main factor that I really like from PoS and strongly demonstrated by their music, lyrics and vocals. In my opinion their vocals arrangement is one of the best in progressive metal, almost all the guys in PoS capable of singing and it really support the emotion of the songs they sing. The lyrics, mainly written by mastermind Daniel Gildenlow, deal with various subjects, things that we can obviously see around us, War, Pollution, Politics, Fracture Relationship, Love, Hatred, Adolescence, Human Existence, Greed, God, and other intellectual topics.

Remedy Lane is my first record I have from PoS despite I've already known PoS far before I have this record. I got some samples from their homepage that I found by coincidence when I tried to explore progressive music world. I downloaded all songs in the free-downloaded list such as Foreword, Inside, Handful of Nothing, Used, In the Flesh, Ashes, Morning on Earth and Fandango. I had a great expectation that time that I've already found another great progressive metal band which might be sound like DT. But after I listened to these songs my expectation flew away, it don't impress me much, because for me progressive song must be like DT's Metropolis Pt 1 or Pull Me Under. It sounds nothing, no complexity, no speed, no virtuosity; it's just average metal songs. That's my initial impression. But I still keep it in my PC and occasionally I listened to it, give it a try to appreciate. Then I found it totally goes wrong, the more I listen to these songs the more subtleties and emotions revealed. And finally I really fall in love with PoS when I found Progarchives.com and I downloaded Beyond the Pale and King of Loss.

Remedy Lane is like a musical journey, flows beautifully from one song to another, divided into three chapters, vary in musical influence such as industrial metal, jazz, progressive, folk, acoustic, ballad etc. The opening track of Two Beginnings has an interesting lyrics and I'm very surprised when read it for the first time, how it could be a child of ten having a sex or maybe he just playing a game. The music set the atmosphere and ambience for the next song, the powerful and beautiful Ending Theme. What follows is Fandango with its catchy keyboard melody throughout the track. Whenever I listen to this song I want to dance along with the music. And then arrive a Trace of Blood, a great progressive metal track, I really like the guitar solo, varied singing style and the screaming by Daniel Gildenlow in the middle of the song, it's really high. The beautiful ballad This Heart of Mine closes the first chapter. The second chapter opened by the haunting ballad Undertow, the vocals in the end of the track is powerfully delivered by Daniel Gildenlow and he really pours all the emotion he has while sing it. Salute! Rope Ends is another great progressive metal track with strange beat, memorable guitar solo and crazy time signature. Chain Sling is the song with the Celtic feeling. Dryad of the Woods is a beautiful acoustic. Remedy Lane is computerized instrumental, the first track of third chapter, here you can listen some melody from other tracks. Great bass work by Kristoffer Gildenlow and incredible screaming can be listened on Waking Every God. Second Love is a mellow track with beautiful melody. And finally Beyond the Pale, one of my favorite PoS songs, so much emotion, delivered by varied singing style, concludes the album in powerful style.

Wow, Remedy Lane must be listened as a whole from the beginning to the end and don't forget to read the lyrics while listening to the songs, it will be more worthy and meaningful and you can feel the emotions. Great lyrics, vocals, song writing and concept construct a great album. maXmury - Yogyakarta, Indonesia.