Review Summary: Melancholy, anger, depression, and triumph wrapped in a neat little prog package.
Every once in a while, you come across a piece of music that is so undeniably deep and personal that it catches you off guard. It's almost as if you've stumbled upon someone's personal journal and just can't help but crack it open. "In the Passing Light of Day" is the perfect example of such a piece of music. It epitomizes melancholy, sadness, and reflection.
This is an album that, from start to finish, offers incredibly dark, isolated lyrics and themes. Unsurprisingly, Pain of Salvation is one of the most appropriate groups to bring forth such an album. The album kicks off with some withdrawn spoken words that invoke loneliness and isolation. Discussing the randomness of any given day in one's life, "On a Tuesday" opens the album with a track that runs over 10 minutes in length and is filled with some standard prog metal riffing. It really sets the the mood of the album right from the get-go.
Following this lengthy introduction are a couple of songs that offer some intimate - one could even argue sexual - pieces of imagery. "Tongue of God" falls a bit short for me while "Meaningless" stands strong. I find the lyricism on "Tongue of God" too off-putting. "Meaningless", however, provides good insight into what it means to have distance between oneself and a loved one. I like to think of the next song, "Silent Gold", as a break in the action. It is toned down in comparison to the first couple of songs on the album, and it offers some soft, beautiful vocals on top of a somber instrumental.
An album-standout, "Full Throttle Tribe", follows with one of the most memorable melodies I've heard in a long time. I constantly find myself humming this tune long after the album ends. This is one of three tracks on the album, including the intro track, that run around the 10 to 15-minute length. In my opinion, this song offers some of the most "proggy" elements of the entire album. Next on the album, the song "Reasons" is very unique. Arranged in a format that literally offers a list of reasons why one might simultaneously love and hate someone, this song could come across as either very tacky or very creative. Fortunately, I think they do it in such a way that it leans on the creative side. It is a song that gives a good look into the mind of someone who loves his or her partner, but also cannot stand living with this person on a daily basis.
The next three songs on the album form the backbone of the album leading to the 15-minute epic that concludes it all. Each of these three songs follows the format of "Silent Gold" in that they are more toned down. They form a series of ballads that build the mood for the finale. While some might enjoy the conflicting odd timings between the guitars on the first of these three tracks, "Angels of Broken Things", I find that the time signatures clash with one another and create an unpleasant sound to my ear. The solo during the outro, however, is incredibly passionate. The second of these three tracks, "The Taming of a Beast" is probably the most forgettable on the album. "If This if the End" wraps things up nicely before bringing forth the finale.
The last song on the album, "The Passing Light of Day", ties a lot of the sounds, melodies, and themes from the album together nicely. It ebbs and it flows in typical prog fashion across a 15-minute time span. It has peaks and it has valleys, and it ultimately leaves me satisfied albeit somber and emotional. Overall, this is an album that reads like the pages from a diary. It is incredibly soft and sad. It is filled with melancholy, anger, depression, and triumph. It has its highs and it has its lows, but on the whole, it is a solid piece of music.
