Pain Of Salvation
Linoleum

I have always adored Pain of Salvation.

Since 1997, with their debut "Entropia," I noticed in their music something I had rarely found condensed in other groups: melody, taste, technique, and great lyrics. Furthermore, Daniel Gildenlow and company have always shown their unwillingness to stick to a single solution; on the contrary, they have always demonstrated that their albums are very different from one another, both in themes and music (not surprisingly, each album is considered by the band to be a "world" of its own). Until 2002, with "Remedy Lane," they received acclaim practically everywhere, establishing themselves as one of the most renowned prog bands on the European scene. But in 2004 came the apple of discord, namely "BE." An orchestral album, bordering on avant-garde, certainly far from any work ever published by the group; some consider it the pinnacle of their career, others judge it as overly grandiose and dispersive (personally, I adored it). Fans are divided, but the band continues on its path undeterred, reaching 2007 with "Scarsick," which in turn divides the followers of the Swedish band, but for the completely opposite reason: dryness in arrangements, overuse of rap vocals, and experimentation ("America" and especially "Disco Queen") for its own sake. After two such experimental yet so different albums, what can we expect from Pain of Salvation in the year of grace 2009?

"1976 on steroids" declared Daniel Gildenlow, regarding the upcoming (double) album "Road Salt," of which this "Linoleum" is an appetizer. 4 unreleased songs, 1 cover of the Scorpions (dated, no coincidence, 1976), and a (fun) bonus track: so what do we find? Right from the guitar riff that opens the title track, we understand that Pain of Salvation has completely set aside the lavish arrangements of "BE" and in fact, amplified and exacerbated the path already started with the previous "Scarsick." Straight to the point, but without abandoning the group's characteristic taste for melody. Guitars in the spotlight, keyboard limited to mere accompaniment (forget the solo whims of "Pluvius Aestivus"), and the drums more varied and powerful than ever. "Desperation" is, however, the keyword for this Ep. In line with the concept (similar to that of "Remedy Lane"), every single note unleashed by the group, filtered through a dirtier-than-ever production (in line with the sound made of '70s) conveys a sense of oppression, suffocation, a pain held back and waiting to explode, like a time bomb; a pain mixed with impotent anger, from those who have no possibility to resist. But if the title track represents the band's brutal and direct side, "Gone" represents the more complex and multifaceted one: 7 minutes in which the always excellent Gildenlow's pained voice is accompanied by slow rhythms, almost like a ballad, alternated with harsher parts in the chorus, and a bridge that, softly, flows into the destructive final part. Very likely, the future of the band is summed up in those few minutes.

Pain of Salvation thus proves to be a band not afraid of changes, and above all not afraid to put themselves at the mercy of fans' criticism: such radical changes have rarely ever been heard, yet this concentration of hard rock, blues, and psychedelia made of Sweden proves to be well-blended and designed, just as the new path undertaken by the group does not seem to pale compared to the classic past of Gildenlow and company. Could the next "Road Salt" be a new pinnacle in the artistic career of this group?