REMEDY LANE

This is the fourth album by Swedish prog metallers Pain Of Salvation and although it is again a concept album, it is not a follow-up to 'The Perfect Element Part 1'. The band has decided not to work on a sequel just yet, although that is in place for the future. POS have been working with the usual suspects in the past, having toured with both Threshold and Arena while band leader Danny Gildenlöw also found himself playing with Transatlantic. They have also confirmed dates with Dream Theater in the near future. Danny describes the album himself as follows "If you're looking for a band that sounds like your favourite group, forget about us. But if you happen to be looking for a band that lets you forget your favourite group, take a few walks down Remedy Lane and you'll find that you're not the same person that you were before".

The album is about failed relationships and the role of a person's past when entering into a relationship. At times the music is very heavy, at others very light, but there is a constant tension between the two, so that the listener is never quite sure what is going to happen next. The vocals also take on an important aspect as they move between rock screams and almost spoken passages, while at all times maintaining a certain menace.

While there are no really long tracks (closer "Beyond The Pale" is the longest at less than ten minutes), the proghead cannot feel hard done by as there is plenty of complexity and intricacy to get their head into. Again an intriguing album from Pain Of Salvation that may be too heavy for the proghead while being too complex for those into metal, but it is rewarding for those who follow the path to the end.

Originally appeared in Feedback #67, Apr 02