PANTHER

Pain of Salvation is no stranger to making changes in musical direction and is seemingly undeterred by fan opinion, though I would argue all their post Remedy Lane output while eclectic is still rock based. Not all of these albums have been as successful as others the band deserves credit for going there. After a partial return to their original form with "In the Passing Light of Day" Pain of Salvation has done it again: they pulled the rug out from under us. "Panther" is their most unusual work yet however. Unlike all their prior rock based albums, "Panther" takes a turn in the electronic direction. Given this comes directly after the bands return to heavy, more aggressive metal that had so many long turned off fans almost excited again, this truly is a bold effort.

When I first listened to this album I was bewildered. It's light on the rock, heavy on the electronics. On some songs I was struggling to tell if guitar was even present! When it was there, it was often simply just another sound, a piece of the soundscape. The drums are fine, but that's it...just fine, certainly nothing spectacular. It was an electronic and Daniel driven effort. It was weird and jarring, but not terrible upon first listen. Daniel's vocals are superb, as would be expected. There were some cool riffs and melodies, and a few songs that really struck me even upon first listen.

After giving "Panther" some time and a few spins, I can say it's a pretty good album. The music is different, no doubt there, and it may take some getting used to but it's really quite solid. The soundscape that is created is quite rich, and don't be fooled by my use of electronic. This is not some energetic upbeat album you can dance to, no it's fairly ambient, I'd say even somber and dark. Some of the hard edge that we have come to expect and love from Pain of Salvation is very much here in my opinion. The instruments all work together in a wonderful way, Daniel is piercing and driving and his voice has not lost even an ounce of its beauty, power, or nuance.

"Accelerator" kicks off the album with a pretty driving drum rhythm throughout, "Unfuture" is one of the more standard Pain of Salvation style songs, "Wait" features some great keyboard and guitar melodies, interesting passages and sections as it traverses the song, "Keen to a Fault" is a brilliant song that is one of the more energetic and musically interesting on the album, and I think should appeal to most Pain of Salvation fans. "Panther" is an interesting song that sounds a lot like Linkin Park, filled with electronic flourishes and sounds that sound straight from well, Linkin Park, and even Daniel rapping though thankfully it seems he's improved from his attempts on "Scarsick" (granted that was a more tongue in cheek and satiric effort). There are some rockin drums and it's all interspaced with quite piano and Daniel sections. Many may shudder at seeing Linkin Park in a Pain of Salvation review but frankly, it's one of my favorite songs, possibly favorite, on the album. "Species" is a good, slow burn and the 13 minute finale "Icon" is a straight up prog rock epic. It ebbs and flows through its well crafted song structure and is filled with beauty and passion. After writing all this I realized I have covered most of the album. That's how "Panther" was for me. Listening, listening, not super sure then it was over and I realized wow, I enjoyed that.

Is "Panther" different? Yes. Does it reach the highs of the bands first four albums? No. Though come one fellow prog fans, we pat ourselves on the backs for our open mindedness and pride in deviating from the mean! I was quite perplexed, weirded out and immensely unsure about this album when I first heard it. That said, I quite like it. I would encourage all Pain of Salvation fans to give it a try, maybe a few, and keep an open mind. Like myself, you may be surprised! If you are a fan of just rock based music perhaps this will be a difficult listen, though I would consider myself a fan of rock based music and still was gripped enough from the first listen to keep going with it, I ask you to do the same. For those who simply can't get past the band's post Remedy Lane output and just itch for those days, then yeah this probably won't be worth the time. I for one am glad to see Pain of Salvation has not just avoided the trap of spinning their wheels for over a decade as happens to many bands, but manages to come up with new sounds and pulls them off.

THREE AND A HALF STARS

bump: Four Stars

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