The Pain of Salvation and the Remedy Lane

Remedy Lane by  Pain of Salvation, released in 2002 

Pain of Salvation is a Swedish band founded by Daniel Gildenlöw in 1984 (originally under the name "Reality"), whose name was changed by leader and founder Gildenlöw to Pain of Salvation in 1991, symbolizing the balance of life's duality (good/evil, light/darkness).

Their style is characterized by powerful guitar work, vocals with great range, syncopation, polyrhythms, and unexpected transitions between heavy and intense atmospheres and calm, atmospheric passages for an extraordinary fusion of heavy metal, progressive rock, and alternative, always marked by complex rhythms.
Their concept albums are endowed with great emotional depth and explore themes such as war, existence, and the human experience.

The band's vision is fundamentally that of Gildenlöw both musically and narratively, pushing beyond the musical boundaries known up to that point with each release, systematically stepping out of the "comfort zone" and alternately provoking mixed opinions from critics.
The ever-present member in the lineup is Daniel Gildenlöw (vocals, guitar, main composer), with constantly evolving lineups but with long-standing members such as Fredrik Hermansson (keyboards) and Johan Hallgren (guitar).

Their albums have musically evolved from technical metal to prog-fusion, touching on phases with acoustic and orchestral or experimental sounds, and even phases with blues and electronic music influences.

The debut studio album, Entropia (1997), was a concept album about a family in a society destroyed by war. This was quickly followed by One Hour by the Concrete Lake (1998), which dealt with the arms industry and environmental disasters. Then two masterpieces, The Perfect Element, Part I (2000) and the semi-autobiographical Remedy Lane (2002), which are, in my opinion, their creative peak so far. Afterwards, the band experimented with different styles, releasing the complex and philosophical album BE (2004), performed live with an orchestra. Scarsick (2007) continued the concept of Perfect Element, but explored a more accessible alternative/nu-metal sound. The two-part albums Road Salt (One in 2010 and Two in 2011) shifted drastically towards a '70s-inspired blues and hard rock style. Following a life-threatening illness contracted by Daniel Gildenlöw in 2014, the band returned to a more traditional progressive metal sound with In the Passing Light of Day (2017), an album reflecting on his experience in hospital. Their latest album, Panther, was released in August 2020, focusing on themes of alienation and social anxiety.

Remedy Lane, here in the Re-Mixed version, is their masterpiece and an absolute masterpiece of Progressive Metal, as well as, in my opinion, an Essential album in a Progressive Rock collection.

The concept is a semi-autobiographical story about a man's relentless, exhausting search for himself, and in describing this search, it deals with the nature of freedom, exploring themes such as love, loss, lust, sex, and regret. The story is told largely through flashbacks, as the protagonist travels and stays in a hotel room in Budapest. The narration of the tracks is not in chronological order, while the liner notes reconstruct the narrative order.

The album title is a play on words referring to the English expression "take a walk down memory lane," that is, “take a stroll down memory lane”; similarly, in the album, the protagonist revisits and reflects on his past experiences, on his scars, to find a “remedy,” and musically this is expressed through dark and emotionally intense atmospheres.

An album of great emotional intensity both musically and lyrically, very moving with tragic images such as a miscarriage, suicide attempts described in a raw way with the use of hard rock and progressive atmospheres, complex arrangements and sudden changes of tempo and mood, blending aggressive passages with acoustic phases, all with masterful technique and above all with Daniel Gildenlöw's voice, to say the least, exceptional.

The album contains tracks of great power, such as A Trace of Blood, which explicitly addresses the tragic theme of a miscarriage with extreme mood swings, tension-filled guitar riffs, piano melodies that evoke anger, sadness, and despair.
The beautiful Rope Ends with a complex instrumental opening.
Chain Sling is a rhythmic track with a folk sound and a great acoustic guitar riff.
Dryad of the Woods is an exceptional acoustic instrumental track with a superb arrangement of acoustic guitar, piano, and atmospheric keyboards.
Beyond the Pale, which at 10 minutes closes the album, is a masterpiece within a masterpiece with a pounding and engaging guitar riff full of tension that ends with the line "We will always be much more human than we wish to be."

But there are tracks with unusual atmospheres such as Ending Theme with a melancholic tone, or Fandango with a Spanish-flavored atmosphere, odd time signatures, and a vocal range pushed to the limits, between deep lows and high-pitched screams. This Heart of Mine (I Pledge) / Second Love are beautiful ballads with a soft and melodic tone.

A milestone, on par with Operation: Mindcrime by Queensrÿche or the great masterpieces by Dream Theater. Remedy Lane is perhaps the band's last absolute masterpiece, an album that, together with The Perfect Element Pt I, is one of the greatest progressive metal records I have ever heard so far. Essential.

Note: All links to the musicians' works are in the TAGS below the article title or on the "Artists" page

LineUp

- Daniel Gildenlöw - guitars, lead vocals, co-producer
- Johan Hallgren - guitars, backing vocals
- Fredrik Hermansson - keyboards
- Kristoffer Gildenlöw - bass, backing vocals
- Johan Langell - drums, backing vocals