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Pain Of Salvation - Remedy Lane review



Reviewer:
10

601 users:
8.88
Band: Pain Of Salvation
Album: Remedy Lane
Release date: January 2002


01. Of Two Beginnings
02. Ending Theme
03. Fandango
04. A Trace Of Blood
05. This Heart Of Mine (I Pledge)
06. Undertow
07. Rope Ends
08. Chain Sling
09. Dryad Of The Woods
10. Thorn Clown [Japanese bonus]
11. Remedy Lane
12. Waking Every God
13. Second Love
14. Beyond The Pale

Real. The story of a person's life set to music with nothing held back. Outside of feeding base pleasures and trying to escape from a past that didn't go as hoped, where is life going? Are these desires in the mind just a wish to escape to a time when life was simpler or an attempt at moving on? What brings two people together and can they pull one another from the depths they have both fallen into? Remedy Lane is the voyage of two lost souls trying to find their way in a merciless world, but unlike in most concept albums, Pain Of Salvation doesn't delve into the world of fantasy; they have no need to. Reality takes more cruel twists and disturbed turns than the mind could ever hope to make up.

Remedy Lane is the journey of adulthood we all face, being thrust from the innocence of childhood into the complexities of understanding what can rarely be fully understood. What Pain Of Salvation does is give this journey, with all of its ups and downs, a sound and a voice. There are some genuinely crushing moments within that will bring you to tears. There are some genuinely touching and uplifting moments that will make you feel a fresh vigor for life. There is no build and fall; things come as they do in reality, hitting whether you are prepared for them or not.

Musically Remedy Lane is progressive with clean vocals and a hard rock vibe. But as good as the music is the focus is elsewhere. I feel like I could sit down and talk for hours about the themes this album tackles without feeling a moment of boredom. As someone who was molested when I was young, I know the profound effect underaged sexual encounters can have on your life. Remedy Lane opens with such a story, though it is far more innocent than my own. Hearing the story of a more typical first sexual encounter helped me to realize that my situation was truly on the extreme end of wrong and to seek in my adult life the comfort that was stolen from me when I was young. I am grateful to say that I have been successful.

= In Short = A lot of albums impact your life as background noise to your own personal story, Remedy Lane had a direct impact on understanding my own life. The honesty with which inner thoughts and feelings about sexuality are discussed is healing to a soul that has struggled with some of the same issues. Even if you ignore the lyrics, the musical journey is robust and the passion in Daniel Gildenlöw's voice is addictive. If there is such a thing as a perfect album, this is it.


Rating breakdown
Performance: 10
Songwriting: 10
Originality: 10
Production: 10

Written by WayTooManyCDs | 30.09.2016




Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.

Guest review by
DreamWeaver
Rating:
9.5
Staying true to what they have done in the past, Pain Of Salvation's "Remedy Lane" sounds like a Pain Of Salvation disc, but sounds completely different than anything the band has done before. Both lighter and more straightforward than their previous two discs, "Remedy Lane" is simply difficult to take out of the CD-player, because most other discs from other bands seem boring after listening to this.

Read more ››
published 04.03.2004 | Comments (2)

Staff review by
Dream Taster
Rating:
9.0
2002's "Remedy Lane" was my first encounter with Pain Of Salvation's music and although I heard that the band had an excellent reputation, the only thing I knew about the combo was its name. The truth is that I wasn't prepare for something as beautiful as "Remedy Lane". I'm no stranger to progressive metal, one of my favorite bands being Dream Theater, but oddly I missed the Pain Of Salvation phenomenon until now and do I regret to have discarded an opportunity to listen to "The Perfect Element" years ago? So you guessed it, this album is something so unique, so pure and so authentic that it's a insurmountable task for me to be neutral. At least, I'm warning you?

Read more ››
published 26.09.2004 | Comments (3)


Comments

Comments: 1   Visited by: 38 users
11.11.2016 - 17:07
Rating: 10
busodeLcueo

FinaLLy someone who gives this aLbum the rating it deserves, unfortunateLy most peopLe don't bother with understanding the Lyrics. thank you for reminding me why it's my favourite aLbum (not that i'd forget ).
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