Band:	Pain Of Salvation
Album:	Panther
Style:	Progressive metal, Progressive rock
Release date:	August 28, 2020
A review by:	musclassia

Disc I
01. Accelerator
02. Unfuture
03. Restless Boy
04. Wait
05. Keen To A Fault
06. Fur
07. Panther
08. Species
09. Icon

Disc II [limited mediabook edition]
01. Panther [demo]
02. Keen To A Fault [demo]
03. Fifi Gruffi
04. Unforever

In The Passing Light Of Day was a highly successful return for Pain Of Salvation following the health issues of bandleader Daniel Gildenlöw. Naturally, for their follow-up record Panther, they went in a completely different musical direction.

The Swedish prog heavyweights are no strangers to reinventing their sound almost on an album-to-album basis; In The Passing Light Of Day itself was a return to heavier and proggier territory after the rock-oriented Road Salt records. Given the success of this album, Gildenlöw may have felt inclined to stick close to that sound for an album or two to capitalize on the momentum; however, the first single and opening track to Panther, "Accelerator", made it pretty clear that the band were going to put forth an altogether different beast of a record, and the album as a whole follows up on that promise.

The most striking thing about "Accelerator" on first listening was how prominent the electronics were throughout, with a dark yet anthemic synth line riding above the opening polyrhythms, and an array of electronic tones and effects drifting in and out of the song as it progressed, including the odd robotic vocal effect. This track did not end up being an anomaly; Panther is far and away the band's most electronic-heavy record yet, and benefits greatly from this approach. The robo-vocals and synth pulses in "Restless Boy" feed into the insidious vibe of this off-kilter, rhythmic track, and the lead synths on "Keen To A Fault" work nicely both as accompaniment to acoustic guitar in the smooth verses and as a noisy lead in the contorted chorus. Additionally, glitching sounds provide a cyberpunk feel to the quirky title track. The keyboards do venture away from purely synth territory, with some lush piano arrangements in "Wait", but overall the tones used here help to emulate the dystopian cyberpunk vibe hinted at by the album artwork.

The other thing that really stood out to me on initial listens of Panther was how relatively easy it was to like from very early on in my time with it. I do like Pain Of Salvation, but they are an adventurous and, for lack of a better word, "quirky" band; Gildenlöw himself proclaims himself to be "a perfectionist with a taste for the flawed" on his Twitter bio, and that taste for the flawed has always stood out to me listening to Pain Of Salvation, even on the likes of The Perfect Element and Remedy Lane, comfortably my favourite records from the band. In comparison to In The Passing Light Of Day, however, there were surprisingly few moments on Panther that provided the kind of recoil that I'm trained to expect from the band. "Restless Boy", a curious choice for a single from the album, is probably the most "out there" track on the album, although the return of rapping (a long-time occasional feature of the band, right back to "Used" on The Perfect Element) on the title track certainly has the potential to divide; I'm not a huge fan, but I do like the sung chorus on "Panther". The album's not exempt from the kind of vocally twisted and challenging chorus the group can deliver, most notably on "Keen To A Fault", where said chorus provides stark contrast to the otherwise lush acoustic guitars and moving soundscapes of the rest of the track. However, these moments feel like more of an exception this time round; hardcore fans may not be thrilled by this, but I appreciated how immediately likeable the record is.

And likeable it very much is, right from the get go. "Accelerator", although quite not as sensational as "On A Tuesday" from the last record, is a strong opening gambit, carrying a serious sense of urgency whilst also feeling subdued and gradually dialling up the intensity throughout. It's a serious contender for my favourite track on Panther, but faces stiff competition from "Wait" and "Icon". "Wait" is one of the most melodic tracks the band has done, sustained by soulful piano, delicate Latin guitar and persistently moving and evocative vocals throughout from Gildenlöw. The track even manages to fit in a turn for the weird later on with what sounds like discordant wind pipes midway through, without diminishing any of the track's lustre. "Icon", on the other hand, follows in the long legacy of top-tier lengthy closing tracks (see "The Perfect Element", "Beyond The Pale" and "In The Passing Light Of Day" for others), spending most of its time in muted territory with smooth soundscapes occasionally punctuated by bursts of metal. The track is fairly vocal-dominated, drawing noticeably from R&B/soul with some of its melodies midway through, but delivers a belter of a solo before all is said and done.

Panther is also a departure from its predecessor on the lyrical front. In The Passing Light Of Day was rooted in Gildenlöw's health scares amongst other things, and was a deeply personal record lyrically. Panther in contrast, shifts its focus to more societal and political territory, a concept album that muses on norms in society and those that deviate from them, set in a city populated by dogs (the 'normies', as it were) and panthers. Gildenlöw's evidently not afraid to make his message nakedly clear at times (see the choral line "Sometimes I hate my fucking species" from "Species"), but he's also capable of delivering moving lyrics to match the quality of the vocal melodies on songs such as "Icon", meaning the record's not a complete departure emotionally from its predecessor.

I've long accepted that nothing else Pain Of Salvation release will challenge The Perfect Element or Remedy Lane for my favourite record from the group, but Panther makes a solid case for taking third place from In The Passing Light Of Day. One of prog's most creative and ambitious groups have pulled of a successful reinvention here, and although based on past form it may end up being a one-off, the increased prominence of electronics was an inspired move.