Review Summary: Their most straightforward effort
I always felt that a huge element of Pain of Salvation was Daniel Gildenlöws self-indulgence. He is opinionated and is very sharing of his own insight and feelings. Other bands and artists in similiar genre (or more correctly, in this spectrum of moden musical culture), seem to focus on interesting rational and philosophical thinking. Pain of Salvation always seem to focus on the individual human. This album doesn't differ from that focus.
Now, musically, the focus is harder to define because of the bands variety from album to album. However, In the Passing Light of Day is not only musically more straightforward, but easiest to define by genre. This is clearly metal, and one would not be wrong to put half of the album in the subgenre of modern "Djent", and the other in "Alternative metal". While most will see this as going back to the roots, I see it as a continuation of some elements found on "Road Salt"-albums ("Innocence", "Physics of Gridlock" etc.), combined with sweet chorus melodies found on "Scarsick".
The riffing and metal aspect of this album feels very bland, with approach to the subgenre by only taking the obvious heavy elements. These heavy passages are sometimes tedious and long-winded, with some verses sounding very dry. Thankfully almost every song contains a powerful and catchy chorus which lifts the spirit and quality of the album. The dynamic as usual shifts from some dark and heavier songs, to some lighter and more straightforward, with an intimate and grandiose ending with two beautifully crafted songs. This dynamic is more apparent than it has been in past albums, and it is one of the albums best quality.
Personally, "Silent Gold" became an instant favorite, which I believe would have been a better single. I felt it needed a mention.
To summarize, Pain of Salvation releases the most straightforward and focused album in their catalogue. Mixing "Road Salt"s minimalistic nature, and "Scarsick"s straightforward heaviness, they create a stable album with as many low points as high points, but most importantly not losing Daniels naked and intimate aura.
