REMEDY LANE

Like many other prog metal bands which seem to get universal praise from others, I find Pain of Salvation a very hit and miss affair. Once again, the band's histrionic and melodramatic musical style tips over the borderline into irritating cheesiness for my tastes, and the album's concept seems just as irritating preachy as One Hour By the Concrete Lake or Entropia. The studio production is impeccable, but to me that's part of the problem - the band seem to be more interested in trying out all the studio tricks they are in the simple skill of writing a good tune. Frankly, this seems to be the problem with many prog bands - they're so dedicated to being progger-than-thou that they neglect more basic skills of the rock musician's craft, to their detriment.