Pain Of Salvation - Remedy Lane Re:visited Review

------------------------------------------------Introduction:
------------With a more modern mix on the studio version, and an expertly done live renditio
n, Pain Of Salvation's 2002 classic gets a new lease on life.

Sound - 10/10
------------Standing as one of progressive metal's most revered classics, Pain Of Salvation'
s 2002 record "Remedy Lane" has been one of the band's most enduring works. Sinc
e releasing this album, the band's sound has diverged quite often and quite dras
tically, making this the last sort of "traditional" progressive metal album the
band has released.
Perhaps a mix of the response to the band's changes in style and, to put it simp
ly, how important this release was to early-00s progressive metal fans, Daniel G
ildenlow and company have decided to take this album on the road and perform it
in its entirety through 2014. This meant performing some incredibly personal and
emotional tracks that have rarely, or in some cases never, been played before.
The second disc of this collection (titled "Re:lived") comprises a recording of
the band's live performance of the album at ProgPower USA, one of the few times
in the band's recent history that they've performed in North America. With the o
nly remaining original member of the band being Daniel Gildenlow, one would expe
ct the band to have a completely different take on the record, but the new batch
of musicians (Ragnar Zolberg on vocals and guitar, Gustaf Hielm on bass, Daniel
Karlsson on keyboards, and Leo Margarit on drums) stay faithful to the original
album, though there are a few unexpected moments from the band, like Ragnar Zol
berg's handling of the lead vocals on the incredibly emotional "Undertow" and th
e extraordinary jam that closes the otherwise subdued instrumental "Dryad Of The
Woods". Daniel's voice on this recording is incredible, and while long-time fan
s might worry that the backing vocals are going to be a little off because of th
e new members (former guitarist Johan Hallgren had many very prominent backing v
ocal parts when playing many of the songs live), Ragnar and Leo handle them quit
e proficiently, especially on the song "Chain Sling".
While it seems odd that I'd mention the first disc last, the live performance do
es offer up a lot more of what fans will be wanting from this record, but that d
oesn't mean that the second disc (titled "Re:mixed") doesn't offer anything new.
The production of the original did suffer from a bit of thinness, presumably a
result of Daniel and Johan using primordial guitar multi-effect processors in pl
ace of amplifiers, something which was far less commonplace in 2002 than it is t
oday. The original guitar parts have been re-amped, and significantly beefed up.
The dynamics seem a little louder, but there actually seems to be a bit more he
adroom between instruments on this remix. The bass sound is especially reaping t
he benefits of this new production, with lots of parts being more prominent, to
the point where I'm hearing bass lines I have never heard in this album before.
The vocals also seem a little clearer, with some of the harmonies coming through
even better than the original.
Between the excellent live rendition and the well-done remixes of the original a
lbum, I would not be surprised if this version of the album becomes the standard
that this album is measured by, and if nothing else, hearing the production sty

le is getting me very excited for the band's upcoming studio record, "In The Pas
sing Light Of Day"

Lyrics - 10/10
-------------Pain Of Salvation has always been known for releasing deep, often emotional conc
ept albums, and while the idea of a "concept album" might conjure up images of g
eeky Dungeons & Dragons pandering or science-fiction scenes, many of the concept
s Daniel Gildenlow chooses to write about are intensely personal, and sometimes
political. In the case of "Remedy Lane", Daniel wrote a semi-autobiographical al
bum whose lyrics focus on events in his life that have shaped his perspectives o
n love, lust, freedom, loss, and self-understanding. The songs actually have a c
hronological order that differs from the track listing (which is something noted
in the original album's liner notes). There are many songs on the album dealing
with very dark subject matter. "Rope Ends" deals with a suicide attempt. "A Tra
ce Of Blood" was written about a miscarriage Daniel and his wife faced early on
in their relationship, and was, for a time, such an emotional song that Daniel w
ould not perform it live. "Of Two Beginnings" deals with discovery of sexuality
and perhaps loss of innocence. But among these dark clouds, there are lyrics and
themes that are more positive. "Second Love" was a love song written by Daniel
at 16 years old, and "Dryad Of The Woods" is an instrumental dedicated to his wi
fe. It seems that through this album, even if the events are a bit exaggerated o
r dramatized, one can find a lot of relatable lyrics, and perhaps live a little
vicariously through Daniel Gildenlow.
Daniel's voice, as always, is exquisite, even on the live version of the album.
On the studio version, the harmonies are mostly Daniel himself, but when the ban
d performs songs from this album live, the other members often get quite promine
nt harmony vocals, and even some lead vocal parts. Take for instance the song "C
hain Sling", which has traditionally been sung fairly equally between Daniel and
former guitarist Johan Hallgren. On this live version, new addition Ragnar Zolb
erg does an amazing job with the chorus vocals. Ragnar also sings lead on "Under
tow" on the live version, and while some fans may be a little put off by the fac
t that it's not Daniel singing it, I felt it was good to give Ragnar a chance to
shine, and perhaps ease fans into the possible changes in vocal style that may
be apparent on future studio and live material.

Overall Impression - 10/10

-------------------------With this being the first of two releases planned by Pain Of Salvation this year
("In The Passing Light Of Day" will be released later in the year), this is sha
ping up to be a fairly busy year for them. This is especially welcome after all
of the setbacks the band has suffered in the past few years, such as a near-comp
lete lineup change, Daniel Gildenlow's illness (being struck with flesh-eating b
acteria a couple of years ago) and family obligations, and many other issues whi
ch are being brought to light in a documentary series by Mapenzi Film. If nothin
g else, this release serves as a good reminder that this band is still out there
, and will hopefully touch off a bit of a second rennaisance for the band, and a
good opportunity to hear the current lineup tackle something a bit more in Pain
Of Salvation's traditional vein (this lineup was also present on 2014's "Fallin
g Home", an acoustic release). And hearing this prog-metal classic sounding so r
efreshed, really shows how well this music has stood the test of time, still sou
nding very modern 14 years after its original release.