SCARSICK

OK, it's been quite a few listens now so I feel allowed to review Pain of Salvation's 2007 release "Scarsick". As it happens, opinions about this album are dispersed on a wide range, from loving it to hating it. I'm going to side with the dislike.

I haven't found and still don't find any of the first seven songs moving, neither musically nor from the point of lyrics. The same can be applied to the whole. I'm usually very fond of conceptual albums with a message to give, but this more or less sounds like a teenage reaction against the world's problems. Surely not the part for Pain of Salvation to play. I believe they could've done and will surely do better; their musicianship and artistic skills are far better then they exposed on this album. I hope this is just a "relief" album in PoS' discography and will not set the tone for the forthcoming albums.

"Scarsick" failed to grow on me, but I still acknowledge the final three tracks' quality. And that's exactly what saved me from giving the wrost rating to a PoS album. Nevertheless, if you think of buying "Scarsick", don't forget that any opinion is present at the same amount and I'm afraid you have to see it for yourself if you will like it or not. Anyway, I say, a disappointing 2 stars for this one.