SCARSICK

Being a huge Pain of Salvation fan, I was obviously extremely excited about this album, especially after the masterpiece "Be" which has grown to become one of my favorite albums of all time. "Be" was recognizably a pretentious effort with a 'love-it-or-hate-it' quality which garnered positive reviews, but alienated some fans. "Scarsick" from the beginning was stated as more band-oriented album and very different from "Be", which in my mind always translated as more commercial. This, combined with negative reviews of the leaked album made me weary, but I gave the album a shot anyway.

Let me just say that I was actually pleasantly surprised. Maybe on the basis of all the negative reviews, I set my expectations quite low, but overall I came out really liking this album. Is it a new masterpiece? No, in fact I place it way below the amazing "Be", "Remedy Lane" and "Perfect Element." But is it as people say? Definitely not.

As with all Pain of Salvation albums, it takes several listens to gather the full scope of the album, and it's the same with "Scarsick."

GENERAL:

This is without a doubt Pain of Salvation's heaviest and darkest effort, with lyrical criticism on capitalistic society, etc. Lyrically, not as good as "Be" or other albums, but still amusing to listen to, especially Daniel's attack on rappers.

In terms of mix, the album is great, with a beautiful flowing ambience slightly remniscient of "Porcupine Tree." I would have to say that this album also has the best guitar sounds, with amazing distorted tone pushed by punishing 7-string guitar riffs. In spite of some scathing reviews, I also think that Daniel's bass playing was surprisingly good, especially on some songs like "Flame to the Moth." Of course, nowhere near as good as Kristoffer's playing, but not deserving of the flak it received, either.

Song breakdown:

1.) Scarsick (9/10)--

I think that this is the best opening track ever done by Pain of Salvation. (For all you fanboys, I'm *NOT* saying that this is a better song than songs like "Used." I'm just saying that it's more fit to open an album). With the dark melodies and build up into a really heavy section, it's also one of Pain of Salvation's heaviest efforts. In spite of proceeding into some rapping sections, I think it works for this song pretty well (and isn't quite as straightforward rap as "Spitfall.") The chorus on this song also has some of the coolest vocal harmonies I've heard from Daniel so far.

As I will repeat, my main gripe with most of these songs is the absence of guitar solos and instrumental sections, which did wonders for the band's previous efforts. "Scarsick" is no exception and begs for an instrumental break, however short.

2.) Spitfall (7/10)--

This song is sure to be a hard one to digest for many fans of the band, but I personally dig it. This is how rap *SHOULD* be done (and used to be done before crappy keyboard loops became the trend). Very heavy, dark, straightforward rap song with a really cool chorus. Seriously, this song has one of my favorite PoS choruses, not as good as classics like "Iter Imus" or "Trace of Blood" but still great. About halfway through, a really catchy guitar melody comes in.

3.) Cribcaged (8.5/10)--

I would describe this as pretty much a classic PoS song in terms of melodies and all that. Very pleasant intro, and a build up into a distorted part that, in terms of lyrics, you have to hear to believe. I'll just say this--this song is the reason that the album features an 'Explicit Lyrics' label. Very good song nonetheless.

4.) America (6/10)--

While one of the more popular songs from the album among PoS fans, this is one of my least favorite songs from the album. It's by no means bad--definitely creative, with a sort of Chili-Peppers meet West-Side-Story vibe, but I'm no fan of West Side Story in the first place and stuff like the chorus irritate me. Again, it's a personal thing, but in my opinion, one of the weaker efforts from the album.

5.) Disco Queen (9/10)--

Yup, chances are you've heard rumors about this tune, and indeed they're true--this song has to be heard to be believed. If you haven't heard it, I won't spoil it for you, but this is definitely a song that will rub many fans the wrong way.

For me, I would describe this song as a guilty pleasure--not something I'd want to be caught listening to outside, but in some sick way, I do like this song. As long as you approach this tune with a sense of humor, you shouldn't have any problems. The outro is unbelievable. At the end of the day, I give props to Daniel for having the balls to do something like this, and for trying something new. If this isn't a weird, un-commerical song, then I don't know what is.

Again, approach with a sense of humor.

6.) Kindgdom of Loss (9/10)--

Another typical PoS song with a slightly folky vibe in places. Great melodies, and the only guitar solo on the entire album resides on this song. It's an amazing solo and I wish PoS had done more on this album. The solo leads into one of my favorite PoS outros ever. It's a pity that the outro ends so quickly.

7.) Mrs. Modern Mother Mary (6.5/10)--

This is a song that if you're a musician (like me) you will appreciate, and if you're not, you probably won't like.

The song employs some Meshuggah-style polymetrics with over-the-top vocals/melodies that remind me of Steve Vai's "Sex and Religion" album. Even though, much like "Sex and Religion", the vocal-line seems forced, and even though the entire song is based on the repetition of the exact same riff, I found it refreshing to hear polymetrics used in a different context from what Meshuggah are doing, and I liked it. It's certainly different from anything Pain of Salvation have done before.

8.) Idiocracy (6.5/10)--

This song is, in a way, symbolic for the entire "Scarsick" album, in the sense that it had potential, but this potential was not realized to its full extent. Even by employing fairly little distortion, this still comes across as one of PoS's heaviest and darkest songs. All the instruments are great, but for the first 5 minutes I just don't 'get' the vocals. They have an experimental almost Primus-esque vibe that I really didn't like. The song picks up and sounds amazing around the 5 minute mark, but unfortunately by that point, there's only 2 minutes left of the song to enjoy. It has a short but great piano/accoustic guitar outro as well.

9.) Flame to the Moth (9/10)--

Without a doubt, this is another one of my favorites from the album. Very heavy and dark, this song utilizes a somewhat folky feel in a dark, moody song, with a chorus somewhat remniscent of "To The End" from "Entropia" (which is a good thing). This song also is, in my mind, the perfect example of how screaming should be integrated into music--that's right, Daniel screams a bit on this song, but it's used very well in that it provides punch to the parts that need it, but does not dominate the song. Excellent song.

10.) Enter Rain (7/10)--

After hearing samples, and knowing that this song is 10 minutes long, I expected an epic with the likes of "The Perfect Element" or "Beyond the Pale" and so I was disappointed. While it does fill the 10 minute mark, the amount of melodies going into the song is probably 10 times less than the aforementioned epics. Indeed, it feels like PoS took several good melodies and stretched them to fill 10 minutes. Because of this, the song feels very loose and insubstantial in many spots.

The song sports a slight Pink-Floydish vibe, and while there are some good moments, it's not an epic worthy of being placed alongside other PoS classics.

THE VERDICT:

The main point I would like to get across is that, while one of Pain of Salvation's weaker efforts, this album is still not as bad as many people make it out to be. Definitely not a good album to get started on, but there are plenty of great songs and moments on this album, and it should by no means be neglected. If I could, I would rate the album with 3.5/5 stars. While not as essential as other albums, I do believe that it's an excellent addition to any prog selection. Also, this album remains better than most of the music out there nowadays, hence why I gave it 4 stars.