PANTHER

Iconic art prog metal inventors Pain of Salvation released their eighth studio album 'Panther' in August 2020, as usual, through Inside Out Music, and this new recording serves as a successor to their absolutely brilliant 2017 offering 'In the Passing Light of Day'. The band present a collection of nine new songs spanning across some fifty minutes of playtime, giving the world of heavy music a real breath of fresh air - this album is quite unique in terms of how it sounds like when compared to the music of Pain of Salvation's peers, and while the listener will find the usual ingredients of a good PoS album - the peculiar approach to songwriting, the memorable choruses, the thoughtful lyrics, and the variety of sounds that the band members create - there is also something that sets this record apart from the rest of the band's catalogue; It is exquisitely personalized and sincere, it is almost like a shelter for all the wayward sons out there, and a very realistic reflection on the current condition of the human spirit.

'Panther' is just as dark as it is heavy, and the overall feel that this album leaves is of something comforting, a bit like a friend who is willing to listen to you when you most need it; This, however, does not mean that the record is uplifting - it is, in fact, engaging and reflective, and it demands your full attention, as is the case with most releases by this excellent Swedish band. The album kicks off with the powerful track 'Accelerator', accompanied by a very well-shot video, the song tells the story of the disappointments you could stumble upon in a relationship, and the angst is perfectly portrayed by Daniel Gildenlöw's powerful singing. 'Unfuture' follows up, a song that builds up slowly and gradually unfolds into one of the most menacing choruses you could hear on a Pain of Salvation song. Then comes the single 'Restless Boy', a song that easily sums up what the whole thing is about. 'Wait' is a 7-minute emotional ride and a very unusually-sounding song for the band, with the ambient soundscapes and the vocal effects going on; Then there is 'Keen to a Fault', another powerful track on which Gildenlöw is exquisite. 'Fur' is a daring little instrumental leading to the almost rap-metal title track that would have certainly fitted perfectly the track list of 'Scarsick'; 'Species' is a decent metal track that comments on the storyteller's disappointment with the society he is exposed to. And finally, the 13-minute 'Icon' is an interesting composition that kind of bottles up all the different aspects of the preceding songs but the songwriting is not necessarily among the band's strongest.

In a word, 'Panther' is a strong addition to the Pain of Salvation discography, an emotional and grim collection of very innovative prog metal mixed up with their art rock inclinations that gives us Daniel Gildenlöw's pessimistic overview of the world we live in.