THE PERFECT ELEMENT - PART 1

This stuff fits my definition of emo-prog--real angry music (and at times increidbly sad and morose). I'm not one to get very emotionally involved in my music, but this is one of those rare albums that can't help but pull me in. That's probably one reason why I don't listen to it very much.

The Perfect Element, at least to me, is one of those rare albums where all the songs really do run together and form one cohesive piece. Given this, I'll just try to point out the highlights and lowlights (though of course the highlights far outnumber the lowlights).

The highlights: Used, In the Flesh, Idioglossia, Her Voices, King of Loss, Reconciliation. These songs are absulote prog gold--full of great melodies, tons of interesting stuff going on (the occasional yawning fretless bass, guitar harmonies, grungy/dirty textures, and vocal harmonies), and of course plenty of captivating lyrics, excellently performed (most notbably by Gildenlow). Used really breaks the the album through on a high--somehow bouncy and depressing at the same time. Reconciliation is the perfect summary song for a concept album--bringing both melody and theme together before the big finale, while the rest are longer songs, and each definitely worth listening all the way through each time. My favorite is Her Voices, with an absolutely inspired jam in the middle, though Idioglossia is a close second with its sheer catchiness.

Un-highlights: Ashes, Morning on Earth, Dedication, The Perfect Element. I call these un-highlights to be clear that they are far from lowlights. Ashes is just too simple to represent the album as the song that most people will hear. Morning on Earth and Dedication are simply too slow--there are plenty of slow moments on the album, and these are simply unnecesary. The most unfortunate letdown is the title track, which has the length and melody to put it over the top, but unfortunately all the best material has been already used, and the result is a conclusion not fitting of a true masterpiece.

Pain of Salvation have come painfully close to a masterpiece, but they are not quite there, due to the occasional drop in tempo (and emotion) and the rather non-descrpt finale. Otherwise, I have to admit that this is a fantastic album, and you owe it to yourself to track it down, even if you are like me and are not in the proper mood to appreciate it's dreary and intesne outlook very often.