Pain of Salvation remains one of the most complex and fascinating acts in all of progressive metal--the group's last studio album, the restless and imaginative Be, nearly required that the listener hold degrees in philosophy and theology in order to process all of the record's weighty lyrical themes. Scarsick proves an exceptional and equally complex addition to the PoS oeuvre. Listeners get a good dose of the progress ("Spitfall"), the unapologetically metal ("Scarsick"), the far-out ("Disco Queen," a track that wouldn't be out of place on a Frank Zappa or Mr. Bungle album) and the utterly epic (the 10-minute "Enter Rain"). In short, Pain of Salvation's music may be the musical equivalent of reading a Samuel Beckett or James Joyce novel, the kind of stimulating and challenging endeavor that few will undertake and even fewer will see through to the end, although those who do complete the perilous intellectual journey will find the sum of the parts richly rewarding as it fuels the powers of both the intellect and the imagination.--Jedd Beaudoin
Album Description
With their current album Scarsick, the members around mastermind Daniel Gildenlöw are back with a vengeance. Pain Of Salvation have impressively created an opus that couldn't have been more multi-faceted and diverse. Progressive metal with touches of slightly dark sounds that are wrapped in remarkable structures and surprising turns. Despite, or even because of its love of detail, this piece of work sounds whole in all its entirety. A creative masterpiece, which only very few in the genre of prog metal are capable of. Pain Of Salvation have become a familiar and constant name in the field of progressive metal. They have regularly been releasing first-class music for 10 years, all of which enjoys excellent criticism. Their live skills prove to be convincing alone or when performing as supporting act for Dream Theater. Daniel Gildenlöw, no doubt, is one of the most creative Swedish artists who gains additional attention as tour musician with the progressive rock bands Transatlantic and The Flower Kings.
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