PANTHER

The glory days of 1997-2004 are definitely gone for Pain of Salvation. Yes, 2017's "In the Passing Light of Day" was a nice effort (almost a return-to-form) but 2020's "Panther" feels like an electronic solo album by Daniel Gildenlow.

Most songs are "songs" in the traditional sense - they come and go with no big surprises. The "band" is not a "band", it's the home studio of Mister Gildenlow. Lyrics are all Daniel's. Compositions are also his. i don't hear anybody but Daniel in the vocals. The keyboard parts are almost non-existent.

Not even the 13-minute closer, "Icon", is able to revive this sleepy panther. Not that expectations were really high. Fans of POS have experienced many disappointments with their prog-metal cult band. 2007's Scarsick has divided the camp, throwing many prog-heads overboard and losing touch with POS for a complete decade.

Now Daniel is back with something which cannot be described as an ensemble. It is clear that Daniel does not work with people anymore - he just works with himself. So the verdict is clear: Panther can be easily skipped. Musically it's thin and almost mediocre. Gildenlow has thrown rock-and-roll out the window, and he's overemphasizing the importance of his lyrics.

Panther's a very long cry from masterpieces such as Remedy Lane and/or The Perfect Element. We can safely move on to younger, bolder groups.