Search - Pain of Salvation :: Scarsick

"In two seconds, I will hit the ground..."

The Wickerman | Austin, TX | 02/03/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"So, I finally got ahold of my copy of this album, and I've been listening to it nonstop. Take my praise for what it's worth (which is perhaps nothing, considering I love this band so much), but this was definitely worth the wait. To be honest, I'm still kind of getting over the shock that "Scarsick" turned out to be "The Perfect Element 2" in disguise. I was really just expecting this to be a decent album to tide us over until the ultimate masterpiece was released on some magical day in the far distant future. So, when suddenly it's just here before I knew it, I was just completely thrown.



So, what do we have here? While I was pretty much expecting TPE2 to just level everything in music as we know it, I have to say that this isn't nearly THAT good, but then that just goes to show that expectations can be a bad thing. I don't think this album is ever going to quite rank up there with TPE1 or "Remedy Lane" (for all I know, that may be impossible), but it doesn't matter, because this album is still freaking great.



Lyrically, and musically, this album is ANGRY. It's dark, it's aggressive, it's caustic, it's vitriolic. Lyrics unabashedly rage against greed, materialism, conformity, hypocrisy, and of course, President Bush. You can tell that in writing this, Daniel Gildenlow was really blowing off some steam. I should clarify that "angriest album" doesn't necessarily mean "heaviest album", as it's more in just the overall feel and nature of the music. You have songs like "Spitfall" and the title track, which are powerfully heavy, and superbly utilize Daniel's rap vocals, which are only getting better ("Spitfall"...I mean WOW), and then there's "Mrs. Modern Mother Mary", with an offbeat grungy riff, and "Flame to the Moth", which features some almost hardcore/metalcore-type vocals (but only a little).



BUT, then you have stuff like "Disco Queen"! I believe PoS have, with this song, created a brand new genre: PROGRESSIVE DISCO!!! Ok, maybe Mr. Bungle got there first, but this song is just insane. An 8-minute prog epic, filled with pulsating disco rhythms, melded perfectly with the myriad time changes, and Daniel's ever-dynamic vocals. And amazingly, the lyrics don't deviate from the angriness of the concept, and yet still fit with the music. Yep, genius.



Elsewhere, there's plenty more greatness. "America" is surprisingly bouncy and catchy, despite its super-scathing lyrics (how funny would it be to see this song become a hit single???), "Cribcaged" is dark and melodic, and despite its repeated use of the f-word (that's another thing, this album narrowly escaped an "explicit lyrics" label), retains great beauty. "Kingdom of Loss" is a smooth broadway-esque ballad, and while it doesn't come near the heights of its predecessor, "King of Loss", it's stunning in its own right. "Idiocracy" was a bit slow to grow on me, but it's got some wicked cool time changes, and nice use of mandolin (excellent outro as well). The album ends with the HUGE "Enter Rain", which is minimally grandiose, and much like the closing track on TPE1, ends the album on a powerful note.



This is something I'll definitely be listening to for quite some time. Just a warning, this probably will alienate a lot of the more "prog-oriented" fans of the band, who may perhaps think disco, cursing, and rapping are evil and boorish, and send them running for the latest Shadow Gallery release. Not to mention this album contains only ONE guitar solo! *gasp, shudder, faint, monacle dropping into wine glass* But, if you love stuff like Tool, Deftones, Nine Inch Nails, Devin Townsend, Faith No More, etc, I think you'll have no complaints. As with any PoS album, come expecting something different, and something great. Again, take my praise for what it's worth, I know I'm sufficiently obsessed, but I promise you this is definitely worth hearing. I know I won't be getting sick of "Scarsick" any time soon.



(Oh, and the "Thanks to George W. Bush for all the inspiration" line in the liner notes is just freakin' gold.)"

4/10

Rifugium | Newtown Square, PA | 05/03/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I've only been listening to Pain of Salvation for a few years, but apparently that was long enough for me to witness the ship sink. They definitely have had a good run with several good albums and yes, a couple great ones as well. But now, it seems with this album (as with the previous one) they are content with releasing material rife with prog-garbage and inane glorification of their own personal agendas, that only fanboys/girls in denial can appreciate.



It seems that Scarsick is actually sequel to The Perfect Element, though I seem to be unclear as to whether this applies to the whole album, or just the second side, for it seems that only the second side continues on (if only somewhat) in TPE tradition. Addressing this latter portion of the album first, I'd say that it contains the majority--if not all--of the good moments Scarsick has to offer, and is really the only part that I find even remotely memorable. "Kingdom of Loss" and "Idiocracy" are definite album highlights, and the remaining songs in the second half do have musical and conceptual high points, despite being a bit bland and not very memorable in the end. I almost wish this portion of the album had been released as an EP, because it could be that it really is better than the impression I have received from it, due to the horrendous songs that precede it blinding/deafening my judgment. Returning to this first side of the album, the songs are just too distasteful and pannoying to be enjoyed on any level. (Pannoying = prog-annoying, a word I just created.) Don't get me wrong, I understand what they're trying to do, namely, a seemingly tounge-in-cheek lashing-out at certain aspects of modern life, etc., etc. But no, it just doesn't work. Not for this band, and not in this way. The overuse of spoken word/rapping/cussing, prevalent mostly in "Spitfall," is really awful. "Cribcaged" is all right at first, until it turns into a weak and blatant rip-off of Tool's "Aenima." (**** your own lack of originality, Gildenlow.) then the pitiful America-bashing song: probably one of the band's worst to date. Apparently Danny boy is still disgruntled over the fingerprint incident. "Disco Queen." No. Just...no. There are no two ways about it: the song is terrible and wrong in every way. So overall it seems that Gildenlow, once a bold and imaginative lyricist, has reverted into a spiteful and juvenille creature, even more pretentious than before. I can deal with pretension, but there's a threshold of tolerance, and he has definitely surpassed it.



In short, I feel this is a very weak album overall, infused with but a few strong points, and that--in conjunction with the incredibly terrible BE--it may be safe to assert that the days of consistently good song-writing are over for this once-exceptional band. A generous 4/10 for Scarsick, with the points mainly going toward the second half of the album."

Marred by the lyrics

J. Pager | 03/08/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I would have given this four stars for the music alone, which is, for the most part, interesting. It is definitely finding its way into my CD player. The lyrics are, however, irritating. Gildenlow's anti-consumerist, anti-capitalist, anti-wealthy rants get a little bit tired after awhile. Every once in awhile, he makes a fair point. However, there are just too many rants about those evil, greedy rich people who exploit the poor, absolutely guiltless poor people to ignore. At times, I feel like I'm listening to the recitation of a 19-year-old college freshman essay on Marxism."