Pain Of Salvation: Scarsick

Three observations:

1). Pain Of Salvation is a complex group of artists. Really complex.

2). Daniel Gildenlow is a very angry man.

3). Love this or hate it (and many will hate it), you can't ignore Scarsick.

Let's explain:

First, that complexity: Pain Of Salvation has always written dense music with a deep message. Those ideas have become more complicated with time, and the band has found more and more experimental and expressive ways to deliver the memo. From Entropia and the excellent One Hour By The Concrete Lake through the exceptional Remedy Lane, their sound was relatively conventional, the performances were outstanding, and the light-progressive-metal meets various other forms of prog won them a legion of followers. Then along came Be, a heavily philosophical piece and a wild swing away from convention and into a variety of sounds so diverse that huge numbers of listeners - including many disillusioned fans - had difficulty wrapping their arms around the album. But with its new complexity Be also won Pain Of Salvation many new fans. Well Scarsick extends that trend. It isn't quite as diverse as Be, but it's just as far removed from anything else in the band's back catalog. And although the band is generally lumped into the prog-metal pigeonhole - Scarsick is a bit metallic, and with its damn-the-conventions, its diversity and its experimental nature, it's very progressive.

Next - Daniel's anger. Music is 'expression' - and make no mistake, Gildenlow expresses himself with powerful if unconventional effect here. There's an overwhelming impression of bitter cynicism and a deep emotional investment. Many lyrics are the diatribe of intelligent opposition political commentary, and the instrumentation supports that attitude. Listen to the first song, the title track, with its rap-like vocal tones - half-spoken prose, spat out with anger and a captivating rhythm and serious attitude. Then listen to the lyrics of "Cribcaged" - with its chortling baby in the intro and the outro, the simple chord sequence and elegant guitar work, and the pleasing rhythmic lilt that is so catchy and reminiscent of Remedy Lane. But as the soft ballad builds into a shopping list of people that anger Daniel, it develops into a list of 'fuck yous' - and the first impression is that Daniel is just anti-everything. The real point seems to be that to protect that laughing baby, the successful and influential people of the world need to understand that they're really just people. But that isn't immediately apparent, and on the first several spins it just sounds enraged and bitter.

Finally - whether this music appeals to you or not, whether you agree with Daniel's somewhat extreme politics or not, you will be affected by Scarsick. You'll love it, or you'll hate it. You might nod at the social commentary, or you might want to break the CD in half when you hear the lyrics to the anthemic "America" which expresses his anger at the USA with lyrics like Sick Of America ... and You could have been good America / Could have been great, America... It's the most controversial song on the record and has already caused many to swear they'll never buy another record from Pain Of Salvation. So here's a marketing hint: If you want to sell your music to an audience, don't insult them!

"Disco Queen" is probably the most quirky song you'll hear all year. On the surface it's a pure disco number, a send-up or a caricature of everything that was terrible about disco music. But spin it again, and there's a second, more powerful thread of pure, classic Pain Of Salvation-styled prog-metal that weaves its way through the piece, and helps convey the song's message. Very clever.

The second half of the record seems to settle into something closer to the band's earlier sounds. "Kingdom Of Loss" has always been the band's catch-name for themselves - their web site, for example, has always invited surfers to 'Enter the kingdom of loss'. And the song with that title sounds as if it could have been lifted from many of their earlier records. "Flame To the Moth" features some of the album's heavier moments, and closing track "Enter Rain" is a complex, well layered 10-minute piece that wraps the record up admirably.

Kristoffer Gildenlow left the band before Scarsick, and seems to have taken something with him. While Daniel does an admirable job on the bass guitar, his brother's popularity and his interesting bass lines have not been fully replaced. Scarsick will win Pain Of Salvation some new fans, but there's no question that it will also cost them some fans who have been fiercely loyal for many years.

What a complex, insanely talented, angry group of artists!

Important Postscript:

After the first reviews of Be were published, Daniel had to correct many of us. We thought we'd interpreted the music correctly, but it turned out we were way off-beam - and we were further impressed by the incredible attention he had paid to every tiny detail. Just watch the DVD of Be, and you'll be amazed to discover that even the smallest gestures were designed to convey a part of the overall message.

So we tried to contact him before publishing this review, but logistics prevented that interview from taking place as planned. And without the lyrics at hand, we're at a disadvantage.

So expect an interview in the near future that will hopefully cast a lot more light on the intent behind the lyrics, the cause of some of the anger, and exactly how he's using this music to express his concerns about social issues and world politics. And if there are corrections to - or deeper explanations of - the items described in this review, we'll be quick to publish them.

Meantime - get Scarsick if you think you're equal to the challenge.

Track Listing:
1. Scarsick
2. Spitfall
3. Cribcaged
4. America
5. Disco Queen
6. Kingdom Of Loss
7. Mrs Modern Mother Mary
8. Idiocracy
9. Flame To The Moth
10.Enter Rain

Added: February 4th 2007
Reviewer: Duncan Glenday
Score:
Related Link: The Band's Website
Hits: 13432
Language: english

[ Printer Friendly Page ]
[ Send to a Friend ]