Remedy Lane 2002

"I am somewhat new to this creative prog metal group from Sweden, Pain of Salvation. So far, I have found their music very enjoyable to listen to. This particular album is outstanding from start to finish. Daniel Gildenlöw’s impressive vocal talents are in full display accompanied by some very well-crafted songs. For purposes of this review, I will ignore the overriding theme (concept) of the album and focus instead on what really moves me: the music.

“Beginnings” is the first song and really gets the listener ready for what is to come. The music fades in with mellow acoustic sounds providing a solid foundation before the guitars come roaring in to remind us that Pain of Salvation plays some mighty nice metal. The stage has been set for Remedy Lane.

The album is divided into three chapters with “Beginnings” being treated as an introduction. Chapter 1 begins with “Ending Theme”, a fabulous tune with a very memorable melody line highlighted by crunchy guitars and Daniel’s layered vocals covering numerous octaves (as he is frequent to do in many of the band’s songs).

“Fandango” is next and is probably the least accessible song on the album with its crazy time signature changes and syncopation. Though I really like this song, it took me a while to be able to digest it and enjoy it to its fullest.

“A Trace of Blood” follows and provides a truly amazing dichotomy in that the music is so very very good and the lyrics are so very very gut-wrenching. I get excited with the catchy melody and emotive vocals, yet the words are so painful that it makes me feel guilty for enjoying this music so much. Daniel and his wife suffered greatly (and still do) so that we could be blessed with such a fascinating song. “A Trace of Blood” is a huge highlight on this album.

“This Heart of Mine” immediately follows and is a soft ballad with wonderful vocals and a beautiful acoustic guitar. This song provides a refreshing change of pace as all of the songs up until this point have been at a torrid pace. The band slows it down and the effect is very nice, in my opinion. Chapter 1 comes to a close.

Chapter 2 begins with “Undertow” which I think is another brilliant rocker. This chapter of the album flows so well that it is easy to forget where one song ends and the next begins. “Rope Ends” is next and like “Fandango”, utilizes some pretty wild time signature changes. But the chorus is fantastic and is another true highlight of this album. “Chain Sling” follows and is another good installment though I don’t find anything remarkable about the music. Chapter 2 closes with “Dryad of the Woods”, a beautiful acoustic instrumental that is mesmerizing and haunting at the same time.

“Remedy Lane” eases the listener into Chapter 3 with a short instrumental, setting up “Waking Every God” in which Daniel really belts out the words with a lot of force and high pitch. Things slow down considerably in “Second Love”, a true ballad with wonderfully layered vocals. I can get bored with ballads but I love this track. “Beyond the Pale” is the concluding song and let me tell you, it just explodes. Great vocals, spine-tingling guitar solos, building momentum all come together in this, the grand finale.

In summary, this album is worthy of a very high rating for this reason: there is not a bad track to be found on the album. If you like music that rocks, I think you will agree with me that Remedy Lane is fabulous prog metal."