Pain of Salvation's Remedy Lane - The Ultimate Thread

We'll start a rap-talking pit Wednesday night.. you know, just to add some excitement to the show.
 
My PoS journey began when everyone was raving about OHBTCL on Perpetual Motion so I went and got it. I kinda dug it but it was not at all what I was expecting. It was very kewl and progressive and fresh but did not do it for me like it was for everyone else. Same with Entropia. Then I got Perfect Element. Still, not blowing me away... but when I went to PPUSA I and saw them live, I don't think I have ever had such a powerful "OH I GET IT!" feeling ever... the way the band played together... Daniel's voice... man, the layered lyrics .. it all came into view at that show. They have since been hands down my favorite band, though I admit I have not given the Road Salt albums their fair shake... I do own them. I own all PoS.

it was like... the guitar sound didn't really matter.. these guys were gonna breathe life into anything they put their hands on. For me, TPE was the one which really got me and I took it into music stores to test Studio Monitors because it was my gold standard for audio production, in sounding like a very good classic record... like the same feeling you would get in the vinyl days cranking up your favorite Priest or Rush or whatever.

Remedy Lane is a masterpiece. It was a little spotty for me at first but all of it... very powerful. This Heart (of Mine) encapsulates something.. expresses something.... we mens only wish we could convey to our women's...No contending, no arguing with the depth of emotion and rawness and great melodies and brilliance... and just growing everlasting appreciation to be found on that record. They play on your emotions, woo and pluck your heartstrings, scarificate your soul and rake you through traces of blood.. all the while being blindingly brilliant and intellectual.

Back to One Hour by the Concrete Lake, I appreciate it's depth and spirit and it is certainly good. Has flashes of absolute brilliance like Entropia... I mean, they are so bold and creative, it takes courage just to be so brazen and do entirely your own thing. Yes, you can hear odd influences like Faith No More, even maybe Eminem.. but they've made their own sound.

BE is very awesome.. I mean, some might say it is the most pretentious album ever made... and it does have some very simple melodies and droning... but again.. the brilliance and growing appreciation for this is amazing. Every time I experience it, it becomes more embedded in my heart, mind and soul. It is just a disc that must be acknowledged as not only an odd homage to Andrew Lloyd Weber.. but its its own thing and corny and cool and so 70's hippie dip-artsy fartsy it is unreal. But excellent. Powerful. Uncanny. Who else makes a record/DVD like this? NO ONE.

Sadly after Kristoffer and Johan departed their was a loss in chemistry which I felt Daniel tried to close the gap on. Scarsick was the result, and it is the American way to differ with an opinion but defend the other's right to express it so why they caught hell for Daniel calling it how he sees it on the America song is just silly. Look, it is quite a great album. Cribcaged especially is a killer statement. Always a little goofy and abrasive for us sugar coating Americans but I love Scarsick. The live album is fun to throw on once in a while.

So, hold your tongue, Haters! PoS deserves respect, dammit! Even if they are doing stuff like on Road Salt or whatever that I might not like... I can always acknowledge my very deep respect, admiration and take my hat of to the brilliant band, especially Daniel... whatever his politics or views or music is like... to me, he is THE MAN, and kind of a renaissance Da Vinci, educated liberal arts creative uncompromising left brain GOD.
 
Milton, is your first impression the same opinion you have for this album? Or do you agree with some of the other posters that this album is a "grower" that takes like fifty listens to fully appreciate?
 
Milton, is your first impression the same opinion you have for this album? Or do you agree with some of the other posters that this album is a "grower" that takes like fifty listens to fully appreciate?

William, that's a very good question. I was already a Pain of Salvation fan when this came out (thanks to Angrafan for turning me into them in 2002 prior to PP3). I never disliked Remedy Lane, but it took a few listens to fully digest/understand it. I remember asking myself "Is he really saying what I think he is?", which made things sound a little weird without the concept context. I also remember a friend of mine listening to it with me in the car and asking me "Why do you like this? I mean, do you really?" and my answer...

"I like it. I just can't figure out why or what it is about this that I like."

Normally when that happens to me, I tend to put the album down for a little while and go back to it eventually. Remedy Lane was different. It kept sucking me back into it. I would go grab an Angra disc, for instance, and come back with Remedy Lane. I wanted to hear something that would get me pumped, and I would put in Remedy Lane. I swear to God, it was like the album would make the decision for me.
 
I'm going to have to differ with popular opinion and say I don't have extremely strong feelings either way about Remedy Lane. I will say there's some good stuff on it, and it may even be my favorite Pain Of Salvation album (I only have the first 4). Overall I've generally felt they were a solid, creative band... but the 4 albums I've heard and the 2 live performances I've seen never made them one of my favorites. I will certainly listen more over the upcoming year. I've already listened to Remedy Lane again a couple times over the last few weeks, after not having heard it for probably 8 - 10 years. I suppose I'll also check out their later material (despite mixed reviews) so I have some idea what to expect during the Wednesday show and the rest of the Saturday show.
 
Remedy Lane was different. It kept sucking me back into it. I would go grab an Angra disc, for instance, and come back with Remedy Lane. I wanted to hear something that would get me pumped, and I would put in Remedy Lane. I swear to God, it was like the album would make the decision for me.

Yup.. Thats how I'm feeling about it about a dozen listens in..

Oddly, one of my favorite songs is Dryad of the Woods.. its simple.. starts out sounding a lot like some classic Rik Emmitt acoustic guitar, then goes almost full new-age piano, and then back again, and it JUST WORKS..

My one complaint is that when I listen to Chain Sling in the car, I think that there's a belt going wrong in the engine. :)
 
Milton, is your first impression the same opinion you have for this album? Or do you agree with some of the other posters that this album is a "grower" that takes like fifty listens to fully appreciate?

I get why some would find it a difficult listen at first since songs like "Of Two Beginnings" and "Ending Themes" aren't exactly the kind of stuff you'd expect to start off an album with this kind of praise. But for me, Remedy Lane was the easiest album to get into.

My suggestion for those struggling to get into it is to cherry pick the metal songs and listen to those for a while. It's definitely an ALBUM and not just a collection of songs, but some of the stuff that puts it all together can be a little weird, I guess. A Trace of Blood, Rope Ends, Waking Every God, are pretty straight forward prog metal songs that should be easy to listen to.

- Who let Portoy sing on Beyond the Pale?!? Oh wait. This came out in 2002. Ah, this influenced BCASL.

This might be the most insulting post in the thread. Maybe even ever.
 
Actually, it reminds me a little bit of the old red hot chili peppers when he is rap talking, meaning it's more funky/stylized, and chili peppers are better because of the funky bass that matches the style of the music. Clearly it is the bass / drum combo groove that matters on Zombie Eaters. Also sounds like the Armored Saint guy a little bit. The recording quality on this song is horrible. You have to like 90's rock to appreciate it. I try to avoid listening to 90's rock now, but obviously a lot of people like this stuff or foo fighters dude wouldn't be mega-rich for being an average guitarist. It's as good as any other 90's band. Hopefully this type of music won't make a come-back though.


hoooooly shiiiiiiit.
 
Thank you PromisedLand for the excuse to listen to Faith No More! Love them. And they took a long while to grow on me and for me to "get" it....so it seems an apt comparison to how I am working on POS.

And to all who said it before, reading along with the lyrics is helping out a LOT. Is it time for this thing to happen yet? :)

Oh yeah, Mike Patton during both his Bungle Days and his FMN days influenced an uncountable number of singers, no doubt Daniel from PoS being one of them. A lot of singers identify their voice as an instrument, but Patton's voice TRULY is an instrument. Definitely one of the greats! The Real Thing is probably my favorite record of all time.

Have you heard his Mondo Crane album? It's incredible - he does a bunch of classic Italian 60's and 50's songs.
 
He's done prominent lead vocal parts as far back as Six Degrees (Notably, he sings throughout the entire 45 minute title suite), and perhaps Scenes too.