Pain of Salvation

Recently I have been unable to put down my POS albums (I have all except Scarsick) and have begun to realize the sheer genious involved in their music.  I thought people could post on this thread things that stand out about Pain of Salvation to each person.

Favorite prog-metal band, these guys are great. 'The Perfect Element' has the largest amount of recurring themes, although they are altered, depending on the mood. Something I deeply love about this great band.

Waiting till someone talks about Daniel and the 'P' word. It's usually by the people who don't even understand what it means.

I don't really know what I like about them the most.  I remember when I first heard them eight or nine years ago.  At the time I was a big DT fan and while I was searching for similar band POS just surprised me as something completely different and unique.  The recurring melodies mentioned is one of the things that stand out, and to me, the best thing about concept albums.

I am also one of the few I suppose who actually really likes Scarsick.  In fact, the one album of theirs I don't care so much for is BE.

Okay, I'm going to have to listen to SCARSICK now. Everybody hates it, and I'm gonna have to find out why, aye?

I've spent a few days thinking about this, and how not to turn it into an extended ramble. As most of the long time members will know, PoS are by far my favourite band, I honestly believe that they have not made a bad album ever, even Scarsick, though this last one does leave a lot to be desired in comparison to their previous masterpieces.

They are an exceptionally creative band, no two albums sound alike and each one has its own, unique sound to it that is not recreated (well) by any other band. Each member of the band is technically very proficiant, about equal in level with Dream Theater IMO, but Gildenlow never lets the desire to show just how good they are get in the way of composition, and its this fact that is the most important, and probably why one of very few bands that could have pulled off Be. Most importantly, they are able to make an emtional connection between the listener and the music. 

sleeper wrote: I've spent a few days thinking about this, and how not to turn it into an extended ramble. As most of the long time members will know, PoS are by far my favourite band, I honestly believe that they have not made a bad album ever, even Scarsick, though this last one does leave a lot to be desired in comparison to their previous masterpieces. They are an exceptionally creative band, no two albums sound alike and each one has its own, unique sound to it that is not recreated (well) by any other band. Each member of the band is technically very proficiant, about equal in level with Dream Theater IMO, but Gildenlow never lets the desire to show just how good they are get in the way of composition, and its this fact that is the most important, and probably why one of very few bands that could have pulled off Be. Most importantly, they are able to make an emtional connection between the listener and the music.

p0mt3 wrote: sleeper wrote: I've spent a few days thinking about this, and how not to turn it into an extended ramble. As most of the long time members will know, PoS are by far my favourite band, I honestly believe that they have not made a bad album ever, even Scarsick, though this last one does leave a lot to be desired in comparison to their previous masterpieces. They are an exceptionally creative band, no two albums sound alike and each one has its own, unique sound to it that is not recreated (well) by any other band. Each member of the band is technically very proficiant, about equal in level with Dream Theater IMO, but Gildenlow never lets the desire to show just how good they are get in the way of composition, and its this fact that is the most important, and probably why one of very few bands that could have pulled off Be. Most importantly, they are able to make an emtional connection between the listener and the music.    Very good points indeed, sleeper.   May I also add that Gildenlow is probably one of the most multi-talented musicians/singers/songwriters/conceptual artists/stage performers/intellectuals in music today? He is incredibly gifted in so many ways, it blows my mind. The man is a walking testament of what a little self-confidence and perserverance can lead to. Hell, he started this whole thing when he was a pre-teen!

Indeed you may add that.

Aapatsos, I wouldnt underestimate PoS's future outputs, they were after something specific on Scarsick which clearly didnt apeal to many of their fans, but arent exactly lacking in ideas. I forsee some good things still to come.

E-Dub wrote: Progressive metal isn't exactly my favorite genre; but, hearing all of the good stuff about POS made me test the waters with a few discs. 12:5 was my first disc and I absolutely loved it, but buying Be as the second wasn't a smart move on my part. Although I appreciate it more now, it left me a bit cold in the beginning. When I got Remedy Lane and The Perfect Element I could tell that this was a unique progressive metal band. Simply not relying on grind-it-out riffs and screaming, they instead based their music on intelligent and introspective lyrics that are still relevant to this day and intricate music. I will say that I'm a little troubled with the direction of the last couple of discs. Be and Scarsick are good, but nowhere near the shear power and beauty of TPE and Remedy. E

BE is on a completely dif. level than any of their other releases, even if you didnt like it. i wouldnt lump it in with scarsick, which looking back, put me off listening to them till now. im still reeling from that. There was a time when it was all i could do to listen to something else, and now i have to make time for them. Its stilvery powerful  when i do its just ive lost that special connection i had. I really like BE and wouldnt be discouraged to try it. It seemed to polarize listeners more so than scarsick which was more or less accepted by a majority as being very weak. 

p0mt3 wrote: sleeper wrote: I've spent a few days thinking about this, and how not to turn it into an extended ramble. As most of the long time members will know, PoS are by far my favourite band, I honestly believe that they have not made a bad album ever, even Scarsick, though this last one does leave a lot to be desired in comparison to their previous masterpieces. They are an exceptionally creative band, no two albums sound alike and each one has its own, unique sound to it that is not recreated (well) by any other band. Each member of the band is technically very proficiant, about equal in level with Dream Theater IMO, but Gildenlow never lets the desire to show just how good they are get in the way of composition, and its this fact that is the most important, and probably why one of very few bands that could have pulled off Be. Most importantly, they are able to make an emtional connection between the listener and the music.    Very good points indeed, sleeper.   May I also add that Gildenlow is probably one of the most multi-talented musicians/singers/songwriters/conceptual artists/stage performers/intellectuals in music today? He is incredibly gifted in so many ways, it blows my mind. The man is a walking testament of what a little self-confidence and perserverance can lead to. Hell, he started this whole thing when he was a pre-teen!

Plus he is hot!