ROAD SALT ONE

Originally I was vey hyped for this album. I had just gotten into Pain of salvation the summer before it came out and I was ready for another masterpiece. When it came out I was severely disappointed. But, as time went on I began to realize that even though it is far from their best work it is still a very good album. Also what I noticed was that like BE it is very different from traditional metal. Or even prog metal.

The songs on this album are relatively short, compared to many of their other albums. One thing that is different is that they are lacking the huge middle solos and extended instrumental parts in their songs. Most of the time Daniel Gildenlow is singing which is a much different way then most of their other stuff.

The first time I began to see some of the brilliance, if you could call it that, behind the songs was in "No Way" and "She Likes to Hide". I like these songs because they are very bass driven and have a good feel to them that makes you get into the music. Also many of the songs are dark and mostly evil sounding. One that is different is "Sleeping Under the Stars" which is a very weird song. Unlike the other songs it has a much more upbeat tome to it and even has a little of a circus theme song to it. Pain of Salvation also uses a lot of disharmony in the song which counter-acts the happy feel in it. One thing that is odd about it is that the lyrics don't really make sense. At one point they are talking about semen stains, and then all of a sudden they are singing about sleeping under stars.

Other good songs on it include "Linoleum" off of their EP Linoleum, "Darkness of Mine, and "Innocence". This blend of songs and, of course, the masterfulness of Daniel Gildenlow's lyrics, plus the great musical skills of the whole band make this album worth 3.5 stars.