Pain of Salvation thread, v.2 (merged)

[cramx3]

Saw this from a progpower facebook group

Keyboard wizard and all-around cool guy Vikram Shankar of Redemption, Silent Skies, and Lux Terminus will be joining PPUSA alumni Pain of Salvation on their US tour and at ProgPower USA XXI!

Thanks for the info.  So it appears that Daniel (the other Daniel) will be playing bass then and Vikram will be playing keyboards.  It would be nice if the band, or DG, would announce these things for the fans to know.

I thought this was just a fan post and since Vikram has played the fest and attended before (I've met him) I took it as truth, but actually it is sourced from Daniel's Facebook page, here is his quote:

Hey everyone,
The tour is getting closer and closer. And we thought it would be a great idea to introduce the tour line-up.
The last show we did before Covid hit us was with the 4 guys you could see on all the pictures we showed around the PANTHER release and for this tour.
So for this tour we have Daniel Gildenlöw, Johan Hallgren, and Leo Magarit as the usual suspects.
Our keyboardist D2 (Daniel Karlsson) is in the happy circumstance of expanding his family with a little one a while ago. This made it impossible for him to be away for a month from his family duties.  But no worries, we have found an excellent replacement.
So we would like you to welcome to the POS family on keyboards: Vikram Shankar.
Vikram Shankar plays in multinational duo Silent Skies alongside Evergrey frontman Tom Englund, as well as in multinational progressive metal supergroup Redemption and USA-based progressive fusion trio Lux Terminus. Shankar is also a producer, orchestral arranger, and video-game composer whose credits include World War Z: Aftermath and Dakar: Desert Rally.
Vikram says: "I'm thrilled to be helping out the legends in Pain of Salvation on keyboard duties for the upcoming tour dates. Pain of Salvation's music has been a significant part of my musical identity for many years, and it is quite surreal to have the opportunity to be a part of that magic on stage. Looking forward to seeing everyone out on the road!"

[Kram]

Daniel Karlsson (D2) will not be on tour with them. Per Daniels instagram post.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc3xKg4I4cl/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Interesting.  No mention of who will play bass - could it be Daniels brother?

OR it will be backing tracks and a hologram of Daniel playing bass.

Oh god. I can see it too. Daniel on stage with holograms of him playing the other instruments.

LOL  That would be funny!

[Adami]

Based on photos from their cruise shows, they simply don't have a bassist.

[Herrick]

Has anyone bought or listened to The Perfect Element 2020 remix?

[Adami]

Has anyone bought or listened to The Perfect Element 2020 remix?

Yup. It's fine. Few noticeable changes. Little better mix. Nothing massive.

[King Postwhore]

Can't wait to see them on the 25th of this month.

[Cocopjojo]

Based on photos from their cruise shows, they simply don't have a bassist.

Yes, I'm here and they don't. Daniel made a joke about having a hologram of ABBA's bassist, but since ABBA's bassist is dead, the hologram is accurate by not being present.

[Herrick]

Can't wait to see them on the 25th of this month.

That's cool. I was looking into seeing them on the 27th but...mang, I don't like New York Shitty.

[King Postwhore]

Can't wait to see them on the 25th of this month.

That's cool. I was looking into seeing them on the 27th but...mang, I don't like New York Shitty.

Having Klonw as well is a big bonus.

[Herrick]

Can't wait to see them on the 25th of this month.

That's cool. I was looking into seeing them on the 27th but...mang, I don't like New York Shitty.

Having Klonw as well is a big bonus.

You mean Klone? I saw them on there as the "special guest" or something but I haven't heard of them before.

[King Postwhore]

Yes. Damn sausage fingers. Lol. Check them out. You might like them. Check out, "Le Grand Voyage."

[Herrick]

Yes. Damn sausage fingers. Lol. Check them out. You might like them. Check out, "Le Grand Voyage."

I shall. I'm watching their performance of Nebulous from Hellfest 2019 right now.

[King Postwhore]

I saw that. Very cool shoe. I'm so excited to see both bands.

[Herrick]

Just listening to the first few tracks from Klone's Le Grand Voyage, yeah I could definitely listen to this before Pain of Salvation starts. Alass, I don't think my frail old body can make the mile walk from Penn Station to Gramercy Theater. And I have a terrible sense of direction. But I'm still considering it.

[Herrick]

I saw that. Very cool shoe. I'm so excited to see both bands.

Mang, you mixed the "w" and the "e" in this post and your post about Klone 

[King Postwhore]

You know my history here don't you?  Lol

[Adami]

Seeing them in NYC, but I'll honest, it'll be really disappointing if they have no bassist.

@coco, how did they handle the bass parts? Just not at all or prerecorded? I can't imagine Ashes is fun without that intro.

[Cocopjojo]

Seeing them in NYC, but I'll honest, it'll be really disappointing if they have no bassist.

@coco, how did they handle the bass parts? Just not at all or prerecorded? I can't imagine Ashes is fun without that intro.

Sorry, I'm not familiar enough with PoS to have been able to tell. I just stopped by to listen in for a bit and noticed there was no bassist, and heard Daniel comment on it.

[Mebert78]

Random question, but does anyone know what Fredrik Hermansson has been up to?  Just going down the PoS rabbit a hole a bit today.

Also, it's amazing how shredded Daniel has become in recent years.  I was just watching the "Linoleum" video, which I think was only a decaade ago, and Daniel had pretty skinny limbs.  Now he's a monster.  It's quite a Petrucci-esque transformation.

[Nick]

All bass is on a track.

[Kwyjibo]

All bass is on a track.

That's pretty lame imo, are there no bass players out there?

[ChuckSteak]

I think Daniel wants to save some money.

[Kwyjibo]

Probably, but I still think it's lame.

And with this logic, why not do a full playback show without the band?

[axeman90210]

Daniel said something about the bass player having family obligations preventing him from coming on the tour. I guess he didn't want to bring in a hired gun at the last minute. Lack of a bass player didn't stop them from delivering the best set of the cruise so far last night \m/

[Elite]

What did they play?

[Herrick]

Daniel said something about the bass player having family obligations preventing him from coming on the tour. I guess he didn't want to bring in a hired gun at the last minute. Lack of a bass player didn't stop them from delivering the best set of the cruise so far last night \m/

That sounds like he was talking about D2, their keyboardist. I don't think there's been a bass player since Gustav Hielm left in 2020.

[Kram]

I think Daniel wants to save some money.

I'm a bass player and I'll do it for free.  Won't cost Daniel a penny..

[Kram]

Daniel said something about the bass player having family obligations preventing him from coming on the tour. I guess he didn't want to bring in a hired gun at the last minute. Lack of a bass player didn't stop them from delivering the best set of the cruise so far last night \m/

Was it the same setlist as their first show on the cruise or different?

[faizoff]

Has anyone bought or listened to The Perfect Element 2020 remix?

Yup. It's fine. Few noticeable changes. Little better mix. Nothing massive.

I checked it out on streaming at Qobuz and it sounded good. It's a lot more subtle than the Remedy Lane remix. I did enjoy the live tracks that were on the 2nd disc.


I've been digging into their entire discography lately and am almost done with all albums.

I still feel the same about Entropia and One Hour by Concrete Lake. They have some great tracks but the production on both sounds weird, I like Concrete more than Entropia. I can't stand the keyboard sound on Entropia and even the playing is just blah, not having Fredrick on that is one of the biggest reasons I'm guessing. From then on the keys are great though Concrete at times does have that tone that I'm not fond of.

I think I like about half the tracks on Entropia and it's mostly due to them being on 12:5.

Concrete is a great precursor to The Perfect Element, has a lot of groundwork and elements leading to TPE, catchy tracks, and great drum and guitar work. Still not an amazing album but much better than Entropia.

I always go back and forth on which is my fav PoS record and I think I can say for sure TPE is it. Listening to TPE and Remedy Lane back to back, it's still a very tight race and the title track of TPE seals the deal.  Remedy Lane as a whole has more of the favorite melodic tracks and the remix is a solid listening experience.

Didn't think TPE or RL needed remixes but I don't mind them either, the live tracks are definitely a nice bonus.

12:5 is a really fun album, I had heard this before listening to any tracks on Entropia which is probably why I prefer these acoustic version to the album ones.

I hadn't heard BE Live in ages, I always listen to the studio release more than the live one. If I'm not mistaken the live performances were recorded before the studio release of the album. At the time of release I remember it creating a big divide among the fandom at MP.com, I was 50/50 towards it then. Now though I really enjoy it and include it as that amazing stretch of releases of TPE, RL, 12:5 and BE.

The highlight of the album for me is Fredrik's playing throughout. Love his piano tone and arrangements overall, it's such a key part of why this album is amazing for me.

I just got done with Scarsick and I can't put my finger on it but there is something off about the album for my liking. It has great production, playing and the tracks should be something I should enjoy but it's just kinda meh overall.

Next up are the Road Salt albums and I don't have any particularly fond recollections of them apart from the title track.

I had taken a sabbatical from the band after those albums and until recently hadn't heard the last two. I like Passing day a little more than Panther and both are really good return to form for me.
It should be fund re-listening to those albums and getting more familiar with them.


The one aspect of PoS I tend to always ignore is the lyrics and conceptual themes their albums have. It's the one thing I don't care to analyze or dive deep into. It's the same for any band really, I never pay attention to lyrics and themes and all that jazz. I get that Daniel is cut from the same cloth as Steven Wilson, both multi-instrumentalists and highly talented and just really full of themselves. I try not to get too deep into their perspectives on things just to be able to enjoy their music that more.

[Kwyjibo]

Fredrick does play on Entropia, at least according to the liner notes.

[faizoff]

Fredrick does play on Entropia, at least according to the liner notes.

Dammit I mixed that up again. It's Johan on guitar not playing in entropia. Either way I still didn't like the keys on it.

[faizoff]

Road Salt One was a great listen, honestly surprised how much I enjoyed the album. The tracks tonally are all over the place, from Beatles-esque to really dark evil sounding tracks. Sisters and the title tracks are fantastic and probably top 10 PoS tracks. I haven't listened to this album probably since it first came out and had a mostly negative intial reaction.

I would say they've channeled a lot of Led Zepplin into this record. That's the vibe I got from it.

Road Salt two wasn't as memorable, a few catchy tracks here and there but overall not as punchy as the 1st one.

I also listened to Falling Home, all the acoustic track arrangements are great, not sure about the Holy Diver cover, it's a very jazzy version and very bold of them to do that to such an iconic track. I think the Scarsick tracks benefit the most of this acoustic arrangement.

Now on to the last remaining album, the Ending Themes Live album which again I haven't heard since it first came out.

[axeman90210]

I *love* Road Salt 1, such a cool stripped down and vintage vibe.

[Adami]

I *love* Road Salt 1, such a cool stripped down and vintage vibe.

Except the production was so modern. I think the sound of it bothers me a lot, even more than some of the lackluster songs. If they went into the studio with the best sounding 70's kit, and good 70's amps and did it that way, I think it would've sounded good. But instead they went in with totally modern gear and TRIED to make it sound meh and vintage, thus completely missing the point. I remember Daniel saying how sad Leo was when he brought in this lovely kit and they started messing with it to make it sound less good, and the obviously line 6 amps and such just ruin the charm they were going for. Some cool vintage Marshal or Fender amps and a good Ludwig drum kit would've gone a long way.

[faizoff]

Yeah I remember that was my reaction when it came out that the sound they were going for was not at all what that album had. Production wise I don't think it's that great and like you said I don't get the 70's production sound from it, the songwriting possibly but not the design.