SCARSICK

An Album that I cannot stop playing it .

Am I a great fan of Pain of Salvation? Not quite sure on this. Let me put it this way. As far as enjoying the music, I always like their music offering. You can check my rating on all of the band's albums here at this site. But as far as following-up with the band and monitoring what's going to come up next, I have never done it. I'm too lazy following- up the band's activities through their official website. In fact when the local mailing list down here at my country, talking about the band's search for new bassist, I did not really pay into attention about it. And .. finally the new album "Scarsick" came out in 2007 and I was not that curious about the album and just spun it once and put it back in a shelf. Some people was mumbling and complaining about "disco" element in this album which I even at that time did not really care. For some reason, I started spinning the album again couple of days ago and don't know why I can never stop it. I keep replaying again and again .

To me the music is so straight forward but it's still a Pain-of-Salvation-specific kind of thing. There are still parts that remind me to the band's music nuance of "Entropia" album combined with "Perfect Element Part 1" album as well. For my ears, the Daniel Gildenlow's voice is very unique and can easily be identified, even with some tracks in rap style. For the purpose of writing this review, I rely heavily on how my ears and my mind interpret the music offered in this album, without having to browse what is the intention of the band with this album. I just enjoy the music and put my views against it. While the band still maintain their energetic beats (most of tracks) and ambient nuance, there are some nuances that typically produced by Pink Floyd's music. This has never happened before with Pain of Salvation.

Why liking this album?

Digestible. It does not require progressive ears or mind to digest the music of this album. All songs have strong soul and groove that make them attractive to follow. This is totally different with "Be" album which was very hard to digest at first spin. If that is the case, this might not be a prog album? I leave it up to you to this matter. From the opening track which is the album title track the music flows easily into my ears and my mind without any difficulty at all. The opening track still has so much style of Pain of Salvation music so far. One who has been familiar with Pain of Salvation music would easily identify that this is PoS! It moves nicely to the next track "Spitfall" right way through to final track "Enter Rain" without any difficulty at all.

Excellent Composition. This might be debate-able since the old school fans of Pain of Salvation might think that this album composition is of less quality than previous albums. Well, I don't blame on them at all. The fact that most songs are easy to digest itself would lead to a conclusion that there is nothing in the music. But, hold your thoughts for a second . is there any rule that says prog music must be complicated to qualify as good ones? What about with Pink Floyd in which most of their compositions are pretty simple and relying the music on soundscapes and ambience?

One good example of excellent composition is the second track "Spitfall" which I think it has brilliant composition and powerful songwriting. The song has "energy" as well as groove and soul. The strong point of the song relies on how the music provides ambient style on the upbeat music. It's quite a challenge, actually, and I don't think any band can do so with this brilliant work. When you have a chance to enjoy this album, please observe the subtleties of this song. I guess you would agree with me. "Cribcaged" also gives another great example of what to qualify as excellent music. This song has so much roots with earlier Pain of Salvation music, eg. "Perfect Element Part 1" album. It's so powerful song.

Dare to challenge music boundaries. What I mean with this is the fact that the band does not really care about how people and (especially) their fans would perceive the band with respect to their exploration into disco and rap (I a way) styles. Who can stop the band from playing disco - or even reggae music? The risk is huge because old fans would run away from them. But, this is not the first case the band experiences because their previous album "Be" has split the fans into two poles: those who loved it and hated it. The band moves forward with their creation.

It's important also to notice here that on "Idiocracy" I can sense the style of Tool music as well. This proves the band's free exploration of their music. They might even consider that music should not be categorized - just let it flow. Who knows, one day Pain of Salvation would play swing jazz?

Why (you are) NOT liking this album?

Allergic to disco music. This applies to the fact that "Disco Queen" is a perfect disco music. If this is the case and you do hate anything "disco", you might consider this album is a crap. But, if you can tolerate a little bit, please observe how keyboard sounds are intertwined with the upbeat music. It's a joy, actually, listening to this kind of music.

"Prog must be complex!" Hmmm . if you have this principle in your mind, you will definitely have trouble appreciating this album. My suggestion, try "Kingdom Loss" in loud volume and the light is off, observe the subtleties as well as how melody brings the song into nice composition. I can assure you there is a kind of Pink Floyd style you can find in this song. As for my case, I really enjoy this song despite its simple composition. Oh the chorus is so beautiful!

Conclusion

Despite all positive points I elaborated above, one thing for sure that has not been tested yet: will this music become so boring? I can not answer this now as I just got it couple of weeks and cannot predict how will it be. Typically, any music which can be digested easily will fade away easily as well. Do you think so? Let's see. That's why I put this rating as an excellent addition to any prog music collection with a possibility to upgrade into five stars. Maybe. I do not recommend you to buy this album as your first Pain of Salvation album. I'd rather recommend you start with "Perfect Elements". But if you have been familiar with previous albums, I recommend you to buy this CD. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

PS. Oh by the way, I do not like the album cover. It's so ugly and scary, my friend.

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