Review Summary: Pain of Salvation show their new face,with the second part of the unforgettable"The Perfect Element"
To define progressive music has always been difficult since the time when huge prog bands used to rule the rock universe in the 70’s(Yes,King Crimson,…). Progressive music has been explained by so much people, with so much words, that anyone can be easily excused by feeling a little lost when talking about it. Generally it used to describe groups with complex time signatures and compositional structures, pushing the technical boundaries and experimenting with new sounds and approaches to their view of music as whole. Even if any attempt to define progressive music would seem like a joke nowadays, one thing is undeniably true: progressive means evolution. And from this point of view, Pain of Salvation has always been a band that progressed its music, not for its own sake, but in order to express a wide variety of emotions, an essential thing for every artist.
Oscar Wilde wrote in the preface to “The Picture Of Dorian Gray”:
«Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital. When critics disagree, the artist is in accord with himself.» Pain Of Salvation have tried to take an alternative path this time, with an album that is considered to be the second part of the memorable “The Perfect element”, including songs with raw power, disco beats, rapping and heavily emotional moments. All this stuff is melt together in an amalgam which very few bands could deliver.
The songwriting on this album is once again proved to be the band's biggest advantage,as Gildenlow has somehow managed to incorporate many new elements to his music,without sacrificing the unique sound of the band. Maybe it doesn’t reach the heights of their previous albums, but this time the riffs are heavier, as 7-strings have arrived, and the solos are limited. The sound approach is close to more modern standards, but the dark feeling that used to be present in their past works is also present in this album. The guitar work generally is once again splendid, with the instrument sometimes building backgrounds for smooth piano melodies ,or producing beautiful sound effects like the one in “Kingdom of Loss”(a lovely –trrrrrr- sound!). As always the tracks show the band's preference to experiment and try new things. From the beginning one can witness the heaviness of "Scarsick",followed by a almost rap song with an addictive beat and piano melody. "Spitfall" manages to catch the ironic theme that Gildenlow wanted to expose,about the hip-hop celebrities,and at the same time is considered a truly great track with superb lyrics. The biggest surprise of the album is with no doubt “Disco Queen”,a powerful song using a strange 80s'disco melody,without ever being stupid or cheesy. ”Kingdom Of Loss” is destined to be a Pos classic, as it is one of their most touching songs to date.
The lyrics are also great as with every Pain of Salvation album.This time, as the second part of The Perfect Element,
Scarsick follows the story of the boy introduced in the previous album, underlying the devastating emotional effect that society’s structure has on a half-crumbled individual. Apart from the classic PoS elements of loss, pain, alienation, hope and disgust, Gildenlow manages to criticize other thing too,like America’s diminishing picture of the 21st century, or even the star system(in America, Cribcaged, Spitfall). In this part ,some people felt that the lyrics were hilarious and ridiculous,by hearing lines such as:
“*** the drugs, the gold, the strip poles! *** the homies, *** the poses”
or
“You're far from being unique but you still look pristine
Mundanely exotic, like the French cuisine”
It’s a fact that such lines may sound ridiculous sometimes, but I think that they are to been seen under an ironic, inside-the-concept display. Also in songs like “Disco Queen”,the humorous approach of the band is easily obvious ,in order to justify such lines,which from this aspect seem pretty clever.
But it is only if you see
Scarsick in its entirety,that you will understand its grandeur or maybe its confusing diversity. Complaints are made about a more simple approach,or about an identity loss that PoS suffer from in this particular effort. Although it is maybe true that PoS were a little confused at that time,mainly due to the departure of Daniel’s brother,but the road they chose to follow, seemed obvious after an achievement like “Be”.
Scarsick stands as the remedy of what the band tried during the recording of “Be”, as here they took a lot of risks,which eventually led the album to be destined merely as a “love or hate”record.The record's diversity may stand as an advantage or as a flaw too. Crucial is the way you will deal with it, because if you expect a similar to the first chapter album,
Scarsick will fail your expectations.Even if it’s maybe the first time a PoS album doesn’t present a truly concrete concept, in which lyrics and music correspond to each other in a perfect way to deliver a solid musical experience,
Scarsick can be seen as a brave record that deals somehow successfully with the state of its main character: it is intense,deep and complex at its structure, and it feels like an outsider within the ocean of prog-metal records produced today, as the man in the story feels like a stranger to the outside world,like a problem child releasing his anger to society, only to let us figure out in the end that he was the sole survivor of a rare breed of people,who, despite their unfortunate past,strive to make a difference.
Does
Scarsick mark the decline of a band that used to be a pinnacle for the prog-metal communion,or does it lead to a new path to follow? Personally, I believe that it is a big step for the band,and a truly solid album that anyone can enjoy,Furthermore, it can also be a good introduction to PoS’s music. Until their next work, one can happily dive into the vertigo of
Scarsick which unfortunately and tragically ends to the epic ”Enter Rain”.
