Band:	Pain Of Salvation
Album:	The Perfect Element, Part I
Style:	Progressive metal
Release date:	October 31, 2000
Guest review by:	DreamWeaver

Disc I
01. Used
02. In The Flesh
03. Ashes
04. Morning On Earth
05. Idioglossia
06. Her Voices
07. Dedication
08. King Of Loss
09. Reconciliation
10. Song For The Innocent
11. Falling
12. The Perfect Element
13. Epilogue [Japanese bonus]


Disc II [Limited Edition Bonus]
01. Beyond The Mirror
02. Never Learn To Fly
03. Timeweaver's Tale
+ Multimedia Section

The new "Perfect Element" from Pain Of Salvation is a dark, dramatic, melodic, and masterfully intense gem of modern progressive-metal. Influences from Pink Floyd to Queensrÿche and Savatage can be heard in its sound. But even these lofty comparisons discredit the album's breathtaking originality. Pain of Salvation are real geniuses, their music is totally different, more original and unique.

I will pull an excerpt from the album to explain the story:
"'The Perfect Element, Part I' is the first half of a planned two-piece concept revolving around childhood and adolescence. What is forming us as individuals, what makes us tick, and what makes some people stop ticking, or make other people stop ticking? In a way, this is thus a classic Bildungsroman, but in this form perhaps with a bit more focus on the social and educational aspects of the forming of the individual."

From the nasty, modernized metal and sweetly engaging chorus melodies of "Used" to the moving balladry of "Ashes," the stunning, dynamic instrumental section of "Her Voices," and the spectacular, blasting outro of "Song For The Innocent," "The Perfect Element" is a deeply affecting and coherent experience. Its rich vocal performances, evocative instrumentation, memorable melodies, and striking, dynamic mood swings shape listeners' emotions as its story proceeds, never diluting its power with needlessly artsy instrumental bursts or soullessly jagged compositions.

The prior albums from Pain Of Salvation had already established them at the vanguard of modern progressive-metal; this remarkably mature "Perfect Element" is even better, a truly essential purchase for fans of powerfully dark prog and the above-named bands. Its dynamic intensity isn't broadly accessible enough to break the band into the company of, say, Spock's Beard, but their prog credibility has never been higher, and this album could well become one of the genre's classics.