FALLING HOME

A lot of progressive metal doesn't translate well to an acoustic format, but that's not the case here. I've had friends who don't like progressive music at all compliment the acoustic cover renditions of Holy Diver and Perfect Day. Obviously if you're a fan of POS, the other songs will be familiar and yet different enough to be pretty fun! This was a surprising gem for me; I wasn't expecting much when I gave it my first listen, but I came away very impressed.

Stress doesn't seem like a song that would sound good in this format, but somehow it sounds amazing. The clean, twangy guitars actually give the song a different kind of life, and hearing the various time signatures and crazy rhythms like this reinvigorated my love for this classic POS song.

Linoleum actually sounds better on this album than it does on Road Salt One IMO. The more laid back approach without the bluesy electric guitar in your face makes this song come across far more subtly but more enjoyably also. Gildenlow's emotional singing is perfect for this song.

To The Shoreline is another Road Salt Song, this one from RS2. Honestly while I like the way this song sounds it's one of the least impressive on the album only because it sounds almost exactly like the original. Its saving grace is the final chorus, which comes across as stronger in this version than on the original track, as the vocals are more dominant in the mix.

Holy Diver is a very strange anomaly. The original Dio version is one of the most classic heavy metal anthems from a time when heavy metal was truly coming into its own. Killswitch Engage did a modern metal cover true to the original that was well-received, too. Well, this is absolutely nothing like either one of those versions. Imagine if Bob Marley was still alive and decided he wanted to write a cover of Holy Diver and have Gildenlow sing... That's basically what you have here. This song has some old school Frank Sinatra-styled vocals and some very reggae funky music going on, and for some reason it works. Really well. The tricky thing about doing a cover is that most bands choose to either cover it exactly like the original or completely do a different take on it. There are inherent risks with both approaches, especially when taking a completely different approach, but this is a risk that paid off.

1979 is another great RS2 song that sounds very similar to the original. With it being their most recent album those songs were really too fresh to try to redo. Just like To the Shoreline, this one still sounds great, but it seemed unnecessary to redo so soon after it was released.

Chain Sling is one of my favorite POS songs of all time; it's almost a perfect song so to change anything is a risky endeavor. This version carries over the spirit of the original really well and is probably the least acoustic-sounding song on the entire album. There's more emphasis on the vocals in this format so I wind up appreciating even more the various harmonies going on.

Perfect Day is a wonderful cover of a classic Lou Reed song. After the whole Lulu travesty I felt pretty ornery towards Lou Reed, but Walk on the Wild Side and Perfect Day are great songs. POS's rendition is so much better in so many ways though. Gildenlow's vocals are so much more nuanced and deliberate. The music behind is smoother than the original. The climax near the end of the song is more dramatic and emotional. It's a great cover.

Mrs. Modern Mother Mary is a toned down version of the Scarsick song. Scarsick gets a lot of hate, so if you hated its in-your-face -rap approach, you'll probably like this version better.

Flame to the Moth is overall my favorite POS re-imagining on this album. It has an almost flamenco feel with the acoustic strumming and the vocal melodies translate amazingly well with the acoustic music. This is definitely a much improved song.

Spitfall is the third and final acoustic Scarsick song and.... It's very amusing to hear Gildenlow delivering spoken word over an acoustic guitar saying things like, "Yeah right. f*ck you. F*ck you right down to the core" and "When you're rappin' your sh*t y'all". This song is meant to essentially attack celebrity culture but it somehow seems more effective in this format because it's so ridiculous to hear someone rapping spoken word over acoustic music. Still, it honestly sounds good.

Falling Home. If you're not interested in hearing covers, you should still listen to this original masterpiece. It's a folky, sad song with absolutely perfect vocals. This song blends the voices of Ragnar and Gildenlow better than any other song I've heard them do together, including newer tracks like Meaningless. If you're a fan of POS's less metal songs, it doesn't really get much better than this.

Overall is this album going to blow anyone away? No. Does it really do a whole lot of new, exciting things? No, it's mostly a self-cover album. Regardless, it's an enjoyable experience that any POS fan should enjoy.