Pain Of Salvation - Linoleum EP [Review]
Yes, it's that time again. I'm writing a long-ass review of an album.
Pain Of Salvation just recently released "Linoleum", a 6-track EP with four new original songs and two bonus tracks, one of which is a cover. It's a pretty short taste of what's to come with Daniel and Co.'s upcoming "Road Salt" album, but it's a very satisfying taste.
The EP opens with the title track, and right away, you can see that the band is diverging from the beaten path again. Starting with a shouted count-in, the guitar begins its assault on the eardrums by pumping out a badass, bluesy, gritty guitar riff. Once the drums and bass kick in, you can tell the band is in full ROCK ON mode. The verse has some very interesting harmonizations, and I really enjoy Daniel's voice here. It's gritty, raw, and real, while still being melodic and beautiful. The chorus continues the trend of gritty, raw, real, melodic, beautiful. One might be too quick to judge the song of not being too dynamic, and maybe even being too "simplistic", but the lyrics are as emotional as Pain Of Salvation has ever been, and there are definitely enough vocal harmonies to keep things interesting. About halfway through the song, it goes through a pretty jarring dynamic shift with a really cool electric piano riff. It's around this part that I'm expecting some really cool Opethian stuff to come in. But what we're treated to is something that sounds like it could have come straight from an actual Camel album (and I mean that in the BEST possible way :D). The vocal backing is pretty amazing, and the section really builds up to an effective climax. It sets a really tense mood, and can be noted as a pretty amazing musical Crowning Moment Of Awesome. Daniel's shouts might not be to everyone's tastes, but they're followed by a chorus with Johan and Leo singing the backing vocals. My only gripe is that it ends too soon. This song begs me to repeat it.
Following the title track, we have "Mortar Grind". This song has already seen a live debut and led to many accusations of sounding "too close to Scarsick". Fortunately, this song doesn't sound like it could fit on Scarsick at all. It's far too groovy and psychedelic. The synth is really interesting on this song. The theremin-like passage just adds that touch of "cool" that makes this song incredible. The bass also shines on this song, and it's mixed so that the bass can be easily heard, which was one of my gripes with Scarsick, being unable to hear a lot of the bass riffs. For the entire song, we're treated to a pretty groovy, slow, cool beat, but the drums intensify quite a bit in the middle of the song. It's almost like this song was intended to advertise "hey look, we have Léo on the drums now, isn't he AWESOME?". Fortunately, the results didn't come off as overly arrogant, as the drumming actually fits really well. Léo is an incredibly skilled drummer, and definitely a suitable replacement for Johan Langell. But what's great is that both of them have very different styles. They can't be compared easily. "Mortar Grind" also has some pretty awesome vocals from Daniel, but I wouldn't expect anything less.
After this, we have the fragile and all too brief "If You Wait". Daniel has stated that standard prog isn't really his thing in interviews in the past, but it's very clear in this song that they're channeling a bit of Marillion. Daniel's voice is the obvious clincher in this song, as it sounds incredibly pained and fragile, much like Marillion's Steve Hogarth's vocals. While the rest of the instrumentals in this song are still great, this song really comes off to me as a vocal showcase. And Daniel's vocal skills are definitely not to be denied on this song. Ultimately, my only gripe is the brevity of this song, and the feeling that it's simply over too soon. This song probably left the least of a lasting impression on me, though it doesn't mean this is any lesser of a song.
The last original on the album, "Gone", begins on a very old-school PoS note. It almost sounds like something that could have fit on one of their early albums, like The Perfect Element Part 1 or Remedy Lane. Some less-than-obvious-and-maybe-intentional references to TPE, "Foreword" and "Pilgrim" are present in the lyrics. This song also seems to happily see the return of fretless bass. And it has an amazing chorus. Overall, the first half of this song is very cool, and old-school without retreading old ground. The electric piano motif from the first track is explored again here. Well, not the same melody by any means, but the same idea. During this section, we have another tasteful buildup to a climax, leading back to a sole electric piano. A false ending brings in a downright EPIC closing section. This song left me with no gripes. Hands-down, my favourite song from the EP, and possibly my favourite PoS song of all time. And this seems to be a theme on this EP, a lot of music meant to create a mood, revisit a certain emotion, place, time... There's nothing "wanky" on this EP at all. No guitar solos so far, not too much emphasis on single-note riffs or crazy time signatures. Musically, it's simplistic. But boy, is it effective.
So. The EP is done then for listening. But not entirely! "Bonus Track B" is our bonus chapter after the last page. And this band proves that they can go beyond music very effectively... into comedy gold! Truly an epic hair metal track to behold. And there's so much beard in this track that it's too manly to be bearable. But I always say that. I guess that's it, next track coming up.
The final track is a cover of Scorpions' "Yellow Raven". Despite this song being quite faithful to the original, this song still exudes enough of a PoS vibe where if one didn't tell me it was a cover first, I would have thought it was an original work. So far, this is the only new track I've heard with any guitar soloing, but it's of the more "soaring, slow, sweet" guitar solo variety. Which is far superior to the shred variety. This song is absolutely beautiful, and PoS do it justice. It feels so much like an original PoS song that I can almost ignore that the original even exists. And then the song ends on an incredibly epic riff leading into a recap of the intro and that's it. End of the EP.
So with the EP finished, we're left with a pretty long wait until "Road Salt" comes out, but I think that "Linoleum" has quenched my thirst rather effectively. For only five songs and one bonus track, the band really put enough emotion and BADASSERY into it to make up for lack of a full-length album. I seriously can't get enough of this EP. It needed a little time to grow on me, but in the end, this is going to be one of those EPs that stand the test of time for my tastes. I can't really say I have many gripes with the EP. I kinda wish some of the songs were expanded on a bit more (though I could say that I'd have to wait until Road Salt is released to hear the songs in context), and some fans will probably be put off by the lack of guitar solos (if that's the case, Steve Vai's right this way), but otherwise, this EP shows a band in top form, even if they have undergone some pretty major personnel changes and personal struggles. "Linoleum" shows a PoS that's older, wiser, but more youthful and invigorated than ever before. If this is what we can expect from "Road Salt", then I say, BRING IT ON!
Pain Of Salvation just recently released "Linoleum", a 6-track EP with four new original songs and two bonus tracks, one of which is a cover. It's a pretty short taste of what's to come with Daniel and Co.'s upcoming "Road Salt" album, but it's a very satisfying taste.
The EP opens with the title track, and right away, you can see that the band is diverging from the beaten path again. Starting with a shouted count-in, the guitar begins its assault on the eardrums by pumping out a badass, bluesy, gritty guitar riff. Once the drums and bass kick in, you can tell the band is in full ROCK ON mode. The verse has some very interesting harmonizations, and I really enjoy Daniel's voice here. It's gritty, raw, and real, while still being melodic and beautiful. The chorus continues the trend of gritty, raw, real, melodic, beautiful. One might be too quick to judge the song of not being too dynamic, and maybe even being too "simplistic", but the lyrics are as emotional as Pain Of Salvation has ever been, and there are definitely enough vocal harmonies to keep things interesting. About halfway through the song, it goes through a pretty jarring dynamic shift with a really cool electric piano riff. It's around this part that I'm expecting some really cool Opethian stuff to come in. But what we're treated to is something that sounds like it could have come straight from an actual Camel album (and I mean that in the BEST possible way :D). The vocal backing is pretty amazing, and the section really builds up to an effective climax. It sets a really tense mood, and can be noted as a pretty amazing musical Crowning Moment Of Awesome. Daniel's shouts might not be to everyone's tastes, but they're followed by a chorus with Johan and Leo singing the backing vocals. My only gripe is that it ends too soon. This song begs me to repeat it.
Following the title track, we have "Mortar Grind". This song has already seen a live debut and led to many accusations of sounding "too close to Scarsick". Fortunately, this song doesn't sound like it could fit on Scarsick at all. It's far too groovy and psychedelic. The synth is really interesting on this song. The theremin-like passage just adds that touch of "cool" that makes this song incredible. The bass also shines on this song, and it's mixed so that the bass can be easily heard, which was one of my gripes with Scarsick, being unable to hear a lot of the bass riffs. For the entire song, we're treated to a pretty groovy, slow, cool beat, but the drums intensify quite a bit in the middle of the song. It's almost like this song was intended to advertise "hey look, we have Léo on the drums now, isn't he AWESOME?". Fortunately, the results didn't come off as overly arrogant, as the drumming actually fits really well. Léo is an incredibly skilled drummer, and definitely a suitable replacement for Johan Langell. But what's great is that both of them have very different styles. They can't be compared easily. "Mortar Grind" also has some pretty awesome vocals from Daniel, but I wouldn't expect anything less.
After this, we have the fragile and all too brief "If You Wait". Daniel has stated that standard prog isn't really his thing in interviews in the past, but it's very clear in this song that they're channeling a bit of Marillion. Daniel's voice is the obvious clincher in this song, as it sounds incredibly pained and fragile, much like Marillion's Steve Hogarth's vocals. While the rest of the instrumentals in this song are still great, this song really comes off to me as a vocal showcase. And Daniel's vocal skills are definitely not to be denied on this song. Ultimately, my only gripe is the brevity of this song, and the feeling that it's simply over too soon. This song probably left the least of a lasting impression on me, though it doesn't mean this is any lesser of a song.
The last original on the album, "Gone", begins on a very old-school PoS note. It almost sounds like something that could have fit on one of their early albums, like The Perfect Element Part 1 or Remedy Lane. Some less-than-obvious-and-maybe-intentional references to TPE, "Foreword" and "Pilgrim" are present in the lyrics. This song also seems to happily see the return of fretless bass. And it has an amazing chorus. Overall, the first half of this song is very cool, and old-school without retreading old ground. The electric piano motif from the first track is explored again here. Well, not the same melody by any means, but the same idea. During this section, we have another tasteful buildup to a climax, leading back to a sole electric piano. A false ending brings in a downright EPIC closing section. This song left me with no gripes. Hands-down, my favourite song from the EP, and possibly my favourite PoS song of all time. And this seems to be a theme on this EP, a lot of music meant to create a mood, revisit a certain emotion, place, time... There's nothing "wanky" on this EP at all. No guitar solos so far, not too much emphasis on single-note riffs or crazy time signatures. Musically, it's simplistic. But boy, is it effective.
So. The EP is done then for listening. But not entirely! "Bonus Track B" is our bonus chapter after the last page. And this band proves that they can go beyond music very effectively... into comedy gold! Truly an epic hair metal track to behold. And there's so much beard in this track that it's too manly to be bearable. But I always say that. I guess that's it, next track coming up.
The final track is a cover of Scorpions' "Yellow Raven". Despite this song being quite faithful to the original, this song still exudes enough of a PoS vibe where if one didn't tell me it was a cover first, I would have thought it was an original work. So far, this is the only new track I've heard with any guitar soloing, but it's of the more "soaring, slow, sweet" guitar solo variety. Which is far superior to the shred variety. This song is absolutely beautiful, and PoS do it justice. It feels so much like an original PoS song that I can almost ignore that the original even exists. And then the song ends on an incredibly epic riff leading into a recap of the intro and that's it. End of the EP.
So with the EP finished, we're left with a pretty long wait until "Road Salt" comes out, but I think that "Linoleum" has quenched my thirst rather effectively. For only five songs and one bonus track, the band really put enough emotion and BADASSERY into it to make up for lack of a full-length album. I seriously can't get enough of this EP. It needed a little time to grow on me, but in the end, this is going to be one of those EPs that stand the test of time for my tastes. I can't really say I have many gripes with the EP. I kinda wish some of the songs were expanded on a bit more (though I could say that I'd have to wait until Road Salt is released to hear the songs in context), and some fans will probably be put off by the lack of guitar solos (if that's the case, Steve Vai's right this way), but otherwise, this EP shows a band in top form, even if they have undergone some pretty major personnel changes and personal struggles. "Linoleum" shows a PoS that's older, wiser, but more youthful and invigorated than ever before. If this is what we can expect from "Road Salt", then I say, BRING IT ON!