Pain of Salvation thread, v.2 (merged)

[Silver Tears]

BE is still my fave 

[Zantera]

BE is still my fave 

Same! o/ 

[Silver Tears]

*\o

[Ultimetalhead]

I can't believe it took me a year and a half to appreciate how awesome The Physics of Gridlock is. The "we're all longing to be loved" chorus is just stunning.

[Zantera]

Yeah, The Physics of Gridlock would be a top10 PoS-song for me. I love it. Might even be top5, I dunno.. haven't really ranked my favorites.

[contest_sanity]

I think Remedy Lane is my favourite now. I used to be the biggest BE fanboy and RL used to be my third favourite, but I like it a lot more now for some reason.

Agreed, and RL is probably still in my top 10 favorite albums of all time.  I cosign UMH, too, when he said nobody did progressive metal quite like POS.  I know Daniel's moved on, but I sometimes wish he'd revisit that style for at least one more album.

[Scorpion]

Yeah, Remedy Lane is fast becoming one of my favourite albums as well, and it's definitely my favourite PoS album.

Today, Undertow was the first song ever that made me cry. Ever.

[Elite]

Exact quote from the survivor thread:

I'm back from Scotland, so the survivor is up and running again! Fun thing; I caught PoS live on the eve of my return (yesterday) with their live acoustic tour. This was the setlist. Some songs were really awesome acoustically, others.. not so much. Highlights included To the Shoreline, Spitfall, Chain Sling and the unexpected, unprepared SECOND encore, No Way. Stuff that wasn't so well included (ironically, two of my favourites) Ashes and Iter Impius.

Also, vote there!

[Cyclopssss]

Wait, a swing version of ´Stress´ ? WTF? 

[Lynxo]

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10200216933400061.1073741827.1054069574&type=1

Album from their last concert on the current acoustic tour. Man, why didn't they visit Stockholm?

[abydos]

Did Anneke and Daniel sing anything together?

[Elite]

Did Anneke and Daniel sing anything together?

Yes, a cover of Kris Kristofferson's 'Help Me Mke It Through The Night'.

[gilpdawg]

So.....is anyone else getting really fucking stoked for this US/Canada tour? I've been waiting for this for a decade.

[kirksnosehair]

Yeah, Remedy Lane is fast becoming one of my favourite albums as well, and it's definitely my favourite PoS album.

Today, Undertow was the first song ever that made me cry. Ever.

I go back and forth between "Remedy Lane" and "The Perfect Element" as my favorites.  Depends on my mood.  I really love the first 4 albums.  "Be" is....decent.  Don't like anything they've released since then, though.  The change in style was just too drastic.   

[Destiny Of Chaos]

Finally seeing PoS tonight! Can't wait!

[Scorpion]

Apparently you'll be seeing without the keyboardist, so it'll be a unique experience, that's for sure. Be sure to report back afterwards!

[Destiny Of Chaos]

Apparently you'll be seeing without the keyboardist, so it'll be a unique experience, that's for sure. Be sure to report back afterwards!

I read as much on their Facebook page.

Very special show at the Empire yesterday. As some of you may have heard, Roger had to stay at home. This is due to very sudden complications with his girlfriend's pregnancy and they are at home, facing a possible emergency c-section in the 6th month. Our hearts are with them every hour of the day.

Instead of canceling the tour, we decided to go as four people, and we have spent the last two days trying to rearrange songs and redistribute harmony vocals. You guys have been waiting for so long for us to come back, and it was great to be so welcomed and appreciated yesterday. We are surrounded by wonderful new people on this tour, and we look forward to the coming gigs now. Tonight, House of Rock in White Marsh, Maryland! See you there

Still pumped. Will report back.

[Destiny Of Chaos]

Short report for now as I'm exhausted. I'm ashamed of what PoS had to see tonight. I'd be shocked if there were more than 75 people at the show. And during the quieter songs or parts of songs, you could hear people having full blown conversations. The band was great and the set list was decent. When they didn't do an encore some people got up set. But they ended with Falling/TPE, so I left very happy and grateful that I got to see a great band that I feared would never come back to the states.

[Scorpion]

How did they go around the missing keyboardist problem? Did they rearrange stuff, did they adapt the setlist (I mean, I can't imagine them playing Iter Impius without keys, for example)?

[Destiny Of Chaos]

Well the missing member was Ragnar, the other guitarist. Basically, Daniel handled all guitar duties other than bass of course. So whenever there was two guitar parts, there was only one.

[Scorpion]

Oh. I thought the keyboardist was sick, though looking back, I have no idea where that came from.

[Mebert78]

Can't wait to see them on Sunday in NYC.  My friend last night also reported that the crowd tiny.  She also said they played a lot of the Road Salt albums.   

[Tyrias]

Does anybody know what happened to Ragnar? He was already replaced by Roger during the European Acoustic Tour.
Also, they were great when I saw the 3 weeks ago. THe show started late (due to local supports) and I was already really tired, so I spent the whole show in a certain state of mind, like just before going to bed. The whole show felt like a dream to me (literally) and I think it also made me a lot more animated, jumping around and singing along whenever it was appropriate. The drums were too loud from time to time, though.
And they had the best supporting act ever, Arstidir.
Shame for the band the venue was half empty (I guess there were around 200-250 people), but I've also never had as much space to move on a concert

[Zantera]

When is the acoustic album coming out?

[Nick]

2nd guitarists wife had their kid 3 months early a day before they were going to leave for the states

[Elite]

What's the deal with Scarsick? It seems to be by far the most dividing album they have put out. There's people who love it, stating it's their favourite PoS album and there's people that really dislike it, like me. I think it's their second worst album, because I feel the whole album sounds the same and is pretty boring overall. It does have a couple of 'good' moments, but nothing comes remotely close to their better stuff. The only song that has that chance is *maybe* Cribcaged, though I know people will disagree on that as well.

Seriously, what's the deal with Scarsick?

[Ben_Jamin]

Let's Disco.


I like it cause it feels tongue in cheek.

[jammindude]

...because I feel the whole album sounds the same...

So...Disco Queen sounds exactly like America which sounds exactly like Spitfall???

So much fail in this line.

As I said in the survivor thread...  I don't listen to Scarsick as much as the others, but it's actually really good.   It's just that there's nothing *incredible* on it.   It's like, instead of releasing an album with several 10's and a couple of 4's, they released an album that was all 7's top to bottom.    It's not great, but it's VERY consistent.   Hard to pick a favorite, but hard to pick a least favorite as well.

Although Moth to the Flame is probably as close as the album gets to perfect for me....probably a top 10 PoS track in my book.

LOVE Disco Queen and America.    The lyrics to Kingdom of Loss and Spitfall are absolutely brilliant.    It's a very daring album to be sure....and whether you love it or hate it, it can't be denied that it is a VERY DIVERSE album.    TONS of experimentation with different styles and new sounds that had never been tried by PoS before.    Very eclectic album. 

[Zantera]

I really don't like Scarsick. I don't know why, because it's not like it's all horrible. When I browse through the songlist, there are some songs like Enter Rain and Flame to the Moth, both are amazing. I would also say that the title-track, America and Kingdom of Loss are pretty sweet as well. Still, that's about half of the album. The rest is sort of "meh".

Musically it's not horrible. There is worse music out there. But there is something about it that I just dislike. It feels a bit like Daniel has more misses than homeruns on it. I do like his range and I think his vocal range is what makes BE such a fantastic record for example, but on Scarsick it feels like he is trying even more to be as "out there" as possible with his voice, and it's just where it all falls apart.

It just feels very scattered. For some of the songs it feels like there could be a different singer for each song, and a song like "Disco Queen" to me is the perfect showcase of taking the fun aspect of PoS and crossing the line, making it really bad. It just leaves a very bad taste, and in comparison to a song like America where the goofy aspects works in the songs favor, in Disco Queen they are working against it.

But yeah, I just feel like there is a certain line that Daniel crosses on Scarsick that makes me dislike it. Like I said, I love his range on BE, and I don't mind him using different vocal techniques, but on Scarsick it feels like he tries even more to sing every section in a different way, and it just falls flat. The music is not bad, but also doesn't live up to previous albums (apart from 2 songs). That's what I love the most about the Road Salt albums really, it was Daniel taking a step back again and his singing doesn't bother me on those two albums. I think Road Salt One leaves a bit to be desired, but Road Salt Two is amazing.

[Elite]

I wasn't saying the album is not diverse. Yes, the band does indeed experiment with lots of different stuff, but they still manage each one of them to sound similar to the other tracks on the album. Maybe they're too drawn out, or maybe there's just not enough variation within the songs, but I can't help but feel that every song has a similar vibe going on. There's barely any leads in any of the songs, the guitars sound EXACTLY the same everywhere and the riffs feel uninspired and are repeated way too often in every single song (this is especially the case for the title-track, Mrs. Modern Mother Mary and Idiocracy).

The band had some good ideas and some worked (I do like Spitfall, for instance, but that's probably because it has a good buildup and actually goes somewhere), but other just take way too long. Disco Queen, for example, is a great idea, but it would have done at half the length. Same goes for Enter Rain.

I do agree on your sentiment towards Flame to the Moth; that song is actually good, but it suffers from production. I think it would have been far better if the guitars were a little heavier and those screams (also unique for PoS!) were done a little more professionally. I prefer the version that's on the live album Ending Themes, because it's more intense.

Still, overall, the album just doesn't speak to me like other albums do, at all. Yes, I find it boring, I'm very sorry. That doesn't mean PoS isn't my favourite band anymore suddenly; I was just very disappointed with Scarsick.

EDIT: Just saw Zantera's reply. His statements there are precisely what I feel as well.

[Perpetual Change]

I really don't like Scarsick. I don't know why, because it's not like it's all horrible. When I browse through the songlist, there are some songs like Enter Rain and Flame to the Moth, both are amazing. I would also say that the title-track, America and Kingdom of Loss are pretty sweet as well. Still, that's about half of the album. The rest is sort of "meh".

Musically it's not horrible. There is worse music out there. But there is something about it that I just dislike. It feels a bit like Daniel has more misses than homeruns on it. I do like his range and I think his vocal range is what makes BE such a fantastic record for example, but on Scarsick it feels like he is trying even more to be as "out there" as possible with his voice, and it's just where it all falls apart.

It just feels very scattered. For some of the songs it feels like there could be a different singer for each song, and a song like "Disco Queen" to me is the perfect showcase of taking the fun aspect of PoS and crossing the line, making it really bad. It just leaves a very bad taste, and in comparison to a song like America where the goofy aspects works in the songs favor, in Disco Queen they are working against it.

But yeah, I just feel like there is a certain line that Daniel crosses on Scarsick that makes me dislike it. Like I said, I love his range on BE, and I don't mind him using different vocal techniques, but on Scarsick it feels like he tries even more to sing every section in a different way, and it just falls flat. The music is not bad, but also doesn't live up to previous albums (apart from 2 songs). That's what I love the most about the Road Salt albums really, it was Daniel taking a step back again and his singing doesn't bother me on those two albums. I think Road Salt One leaves a bit to be desired, but Road Salt Two is amazing.

Interesting ideas Jimmy. I agree.

[Zantera]

I forgot to expand on it, but my problems with Disco Queen is not just that song, but with most of the album. It feels like PoS crosses that line on several songs. I feel like PoS are very much riding that thin line between being awesome and being pretentious douchebags who are too goofy for words (or something like that), and in most cases they balance themselves towards the better side. But on this album it just feels like they fall over to the other side.

[ColdFireYYZ]

Just saw them live yesterday and they were really good. I wasn't familiar with some of the material but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

I picked up Scarsick, so I'll see how I like it.

[MoraWintersoul]

Every band has this one or a couple of albums where they need to work things out of their system - more or less noticeably. The things PoS had to work out were somewhat ugly, and unnecessary, in my opinion. They always made me a teensy bit uneasy with their lyrics and their over-the-top-ness on previous albums, but it was matched with beauty and perfect emotional depth and the quality of being perfectly relatable and immersive (HOW THE FUCK DO YOU SPELL THESE WORDS UGH). Now they just made me feel awkward. The lyrics were preachy. We get it, Dani, you're the smartest person in the world for figuring out something's wrong in America and people care more about their money than anything, especially the environment and yadda yadda. Please tell me all about it.

[Silver Tears]

Eh Scarsick's alright. I'm not overly fussed about it either way.