ROAD SALT ONE

It seems many want PoS to write an album like their first 4 albums, but as we all know, as you get older your tastes change, diversify, maybe improve. So to expect prog metal from these guys may be asking too much, especially if we want to hear something new.

I daresay I wouldn't mind hearing TPE2, but I'm happy to hear whatever comes along in the meantime - as long as it's good. So, is RS1 a good album? Yes, I think it is.

There's a big 70's bluesy influence to this album. I was surpised to read that DG hadn't listened to Led Zeppelin until he was asked to sing in Mike Portnoy's Led Zep tribute band and I wondered whether that influence as well as his time with The Flower Kings might creep into PoS. I think it might've, but there's a wide range of other sounds and different ethnic experiences that have crept in too, French, Middle Eastern, etc.

The distortion pedal is off, and the overdrive on the guitars has been turned down. DG sings in more of a rasp rather than reaching the clear high notes and the guitar solos are merely bluesy interludes. The keyboards are mainly Fender Rhodes and piano and this is perhaps the highlight of the album musically. Song structures are also relatively straight forward, but the melodies are quite catchy and they do hold your interest.

Overall, this is a good album, but as PA is all about Prog, it's hard to rate this any higher than a 3. In fact, I doubt a metal website would be able to rate it much higher than a 3 either. It is however probably a 4/5 in the braoder music world.