Pain Of Salvation

Remedy Lane

Published on July 21, 2005 By AlexMatheson In Music

It's not every day that you encounter an album that really blows your mind. As it happens, I've just had one of those days when you find two albums that blow your mind. This is the first of them.

I had been aware of this Swedish progressive rock outfit fronted by Daniel Gildenlow and his impressive vocal, lyrical and guitar playing talent for some time. In fact, I downloaded a couple of free MP3s by the band from the very useful and informative ProgArchives.com in order to hear what they sounded like. One of these "Beyond The Pale", from their 2002 album "Remedy Lane", grabbed my attention immediately because of the unusual chord progression that opens and forms a main them of the track. It starts quietly and builds, layer upon layer, becoming ever powerful until it reaches a shattering conclusion.

Anyway, after a couple of listens to this track and the other three samples - "!(Foreword)" from 1997s Entropia, "New Year's Eve" from One Hour By The Concrete Lake (1999) and "Ashes" from the 2001 album "The Perfect Element, Part 1" - I decided a copy of the entire "Remedy Lane" album had to be obtained for my shelf. By the way, the other three tracks mentioned here are all very good but not quite so impressive as "Beyond The Pale".

Then...

I listened to "Remedy Lane" and was left gobsmacked. So gobsmacked in fact that I played it again. And again. Soaking up new experiences with each listen.

There are a whole range of musical styles, signatures, and keys in evidence here. All beautifully structured to craft an album which flows seemlessly from "Beginnings" all the way through to the triumphant climax of "Beyond The Pale". For me, the stand out songs on this album are "A Trace Of Blood", "Rope Ends", "Chain Sling", "Waking Every God" and, of course, "Beyond The Pale" though I must say that there is not a weak or out of place track among the remainder. Over all, the tone of the album is dark but uplifting. And this is perhaps what you would expect when dealing with the aftermath and consequences of a failed relationship as the album does.

So there you have it. If you are a fan of the likes of Queensryche, Dream Theater and other progressive rock/metal artists then you should not be disappointed by this album. In fact, if you like this type of music, then I'd say this is an essential for your collection and deserves a five star rating. Go on. Check it out. You know you want to!!!

Comments

No one has commented on this article. Be the first!

Welcome Guest! Please take the time to register with us.
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:

Richer content, access to many features that are disabled for guests like commenting on the forums.
Access to a great community, with a massive database of many, many areas of interest.
Access to contests & subscription offers like exclusive emails.
It's simple, and FREE!