The Perfect Element

Again and again continuing the pain of salvation marathon with the break-through album The perfect element part 1.

Again, a strong concept at first, the lives of two children (one male one female) who have been abused as children and how they meet and deal with thisn as dysfunctional people.
So of course it is not a very joyful concept and the music, where PoS finally gets its style as a syncopic, multi vocal progressive metal, really helps gets in the mood of the heavy oriented and numerous lyrics that course through the (as usual) beautifully design booklet. (I must stress that the physical CD is as much part of the concept as the rest of the lyrics and music-all supervised by Daniel Gildenlöw)

The album as a strong debut with the songs used, in the flesh and of course ever favorite dark and gloomy ashes before hitting a small ventre-mou in the middle of the album before the dark finale.
Even if all the songs are not up to the standard of the blessed trilogy that starts the record, the overall quality of the album made it possible to PoS to finally break and get known to -if not the world- at least the progressive and metal music world, what some in the old days could have called a chef d'oeuvre. Maybe not as perfect as the said element but really of notice.

Definitly worth checking out.

One Hour By the Concrete Lake

Continuing the pain of salvation extravaganza, with their second album, the also conceptual One Hour by the Concrete Lake.



First as always the concept : A man working in a weapon factory starts questionning the impact of his work (duh) on the world, travels and sees the disaster made by his guns and the big machine (industrial capitalism as its best) on his fellow men and the nature, ending his trip by the lake Karachay, a nuclear dump that was sealed with concrete and which is one of the most radioactive place on earth... one hour by it and a adult get a lethal dose of radiation....

Musically, with the arrival of johann Hallgren, PoS continue its venture in prog metal but in a less metal way with many syncopic rythms and voice modulations, chorus, chants and such. Daniel Gildenlow makes even the band sounds a bit like Enchant on some tracks and the album flows seamslessy but without a lot of high peaks.

Through its theme and music, 1HbtCL is still an album coming out of youth. the theme is mature yet as a lot of naïveté in it and the music still is searching itself a bit... no wonder the breakthrough would be made with teh next one...but yet a nice album with a strong human and ecological concept that helps define the concerns of the band leader.

Nightmist

Started a retrospective Pain of salvation after seeing them live for their last effort Road Salt 1.
So I started with the debut concept album Entropia (short for entropy and utopia mind you)
Great debut album of metal prog with the great voice of Daniel.
The story is about war and family, soldiers fighting for a lifestyle and of course death.
teh first chapters are very powerful but even if the songs are not bad arriving at the stress track the concept and quality sadly loses a bit of its strenght, barely getting back until the coda which close the story.
Great first debut with nice songs on the first chapter and many songs that will reach their potentials on the acoustic rework album 12.5.
Great catchy melodies on a bit of obscur concept that lay the path for the rest of the discography hopefully coming soon (as soon as I muster the strenght and have my 30+ listening of next album of course)

ROOM V

Small not to say that I had the honor to see Shadow Gallery LIVE !
Sadly problems withe the soundcheck and a lousy mix almost toned down the show who was great.

the set list as follows.

SETLIST

Stiletto In The Sand
War For Sale
Mystery
Pain
Destination Unknown
Questions At Hand
Ghost Of A Chance
Andromeda Strain
Crystalline Dream
Haunted

Rappel :

Room V
Gold Dust

Hindsight

Yesterday was a good day for culture.
first we managed to get (thanks camille and FB) an invitation for the moebius transe-forme exposition @ the fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain. Wonderful stuff, great for original art lovers with also the 3D animation film (did not have time for that one sadly) and a documentary on the great artist (did not have time for that one either). Ranging from all horizon from Blueberry to arzach and edena and difool...
Go check it out. Lots of kids but I must reckon it is not very kid-friendly...

Had to move quickly (in front of an HUUUUUUUGE line of people waiting to go in) in order to go at the Elysée Montmartre where they had a 4 for one concert
First a double acoustique show from PETTER CARLSEN and ANNEKE VAN GIERSBERGEN with bits of the Cavanagh Bros in both.
Then the show in a monstrous heat.(free sauna for the price)
2.30 hours of music with a Vincent a bit rough on voice at first but the heat actually managed to make his vocal chords in shape by the middle of the concert. And they play the wonderful last album in its entirely ! (and get off get out DO sounds like written by Wilson)

The set list.


Thin Air
Summernight Horizon
Dreaming Light
Everything
Balance
Closer
A Natural Disaster
Angels Walk Among Us
Presence
A Simple Mistake
Deep
Pitiless
Forgotten Hopes
Destiny is Dead
Shroud of False
Lost Control
Destiny
Empty
Panic
Temporary Peace
Flying
Get Off, Get Out
Universal
Hindsight
------
Are You There?
Parisienne Moonlight
Sleepless
One Last Goodbye
Fragile Dreams


http://fondation.cartier.com/

www.pettercarlsen.com
www.myspace.com/pettercarlsen
www.aguadeannique.com
http://www.anathema.ws/

The spirit carries on

Siff portnoy leaves Dream theater... burn out syndrome.
Now to see how the group will react... A new breath in teh creativity that maybe was a bit running dry lately.
Anyway a major shock for the small rock prog society.

Someone here is missing

Again a small note to talk about a band not entirely original yet very interesting for fans of groups like Muse, Porcupine Tree, Radiohead and such.
Great pop prog band called The Pinnapple Thief you just released their new album 'someone here is missing'. After half a dozen albums and a best of (3000 days), the band are now at Kscope so you can grab their stuff cheap.
It is a nice effort now very original perse indeed but at least the riffs and rythmic are entertaining and provide a good fill in for oasis fans who are thirsty for good pop and melodies.

Go check them out.

http://www.pineapplethief.com/

Ayreon - The Final Experiment

During a tour in Ireland, we switched quicly from the pogues to something more close to my prog roots. Hence the final experiment by a band called Ayreon. Okay not a band but a rock opera made by hippie ministrel reincarnated prog meister Arjen Lucassen whom works I already talked about in some previous entry (go forth and search !).
TFE is a concept album about a blind ministrel from arthur's court receiving vision from futur scientists (via an experiment - the final one- called time telepathy) as warnings about 3 majors events that will destroy the Earth in the futur 2084.

Lost and confused ? So is Ayreon. He decided yet to go and sing his visions at the Court of Arthur and thus wins the intimacy of Merlin.
All the songs are sung by a bunch of different singers.
This adventure (a bit of la jetée/army of the twelve monkeys rolled unto arthurian excalibur) is not exempt of flaws (it is the first release of an ayreon disc) yet is charmful to say the least with a bunch of songs rising up thanks to the catchy riffs from arjen. We think here 'sail away to avalon' and 'Merlin's will'. But the whole story helps make the solid a tight ensemble who gives a eerie feeling of going back to the dark ages in the middle of all the green pastures and rocky mountains of dingle peninsula and such...

Enjoy the ride folks.

http://www.arjenlucassen.com/

We're here because we're here

It's been a long time as the song says but I must admit I had a pretty heavy couple of months with my work and exams and university and such...
After a quick listening of the three albums from Shadowland (with Clive 'arena /pendragon' Nolan et Karl 'vrooom vrooom threshold' Groom ), which are great neo prog from the 90ies but if you' re not fan just stick with the best of or the double live 'edge of night' it should do the trick; I have received quite a couple of new discs that are turning round on the Ipod and CD player.

I'm gonna do a quick review of the last one which is the new and eagerly awaited album from Anathema.
The album is called We're here because we're here and is in the vein of the last ones (not the earlier doom metal ones mind you), very peaceful , full of small arrangements and harmonies.
Mixed by steven 'Porcupine tree and a thousand more bands' Wilson, the whole album seems very easy to enter but in the end you discover that it is very intimate and deep at the same time. There is a big intimacy and atmosphere of self search that bleeds from most of the songs, wonderfully axed on the 'presence' track and it's spoken story.
There is a couple of songs that may feel a bit weak or out of place ( like 'dreamlight' or 'get off, get out' ) but it does not disturb the order and the flow of this great album that hails the return of a great band.

Oh and check out this great song, simple but powerful that should be rocking your world...'Everything'.

www.anathema.ws
www.shadowlanduk.com

Down and out in Paris and London

Not the book but the CD... and with no relation.
Just a small thought after 25 listenings while running (before I got hurt) of the last album from Tillson (under the tangent moniker). It's classical prog from the 70ies with nice addition of Flute from theo travis. Niot very original but well done though Tillson voice is a bit weak sometimes.
Highlights of the album is (but I'm a sell out on this one) "Perdu dans Paris" which has a nice vibe and middle section with mellotron.

http://www.thetangent.org/

The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR

A small note to praise the glorious new album (out for some times already) of israelian metal prog band Orphaned Land.
The concept album produced with the help of porcupine tree master Steven Wilson is a great disc based on the coming of a warrior of light to bring peace to the eastern world. A message of peace with lots of arabic and yiddish vibes and melodies poured into this record.
A definitive great album for the year 2010.

http://www.orphaned-land.com/

Daugther of the Night

I put on the pod the first album from french symphonic metallists Whyzdom named From the brink of Infinity.

This first try out is a great work that sounds as professionnal as any female-leaded metal symphonic band out there (whatever that means).

It is lyrical, powerful and bombastic with beautiful vocals by Telya. Vynce Leff delivers a great traditional metal boosted with nice choirs and all that is needed symphonic arrangements.

Of course the album suffers the same problem as some bands in that line of music, meaning a female centered cover concept (not to anyone's taste, least mine) and dark lyrics upon the traditional odd sounding keyboards and the overdose of double pedal.

But that's minor concerns. The tracks are powerful and the prog roots of Vynce show in the odd yet beautiful track 'the Old man in the park'.

Otherwise it is symphonic metal at its best with a wonderful new voice that screams to be heard.

Lay done your Nightwish and try Whyzdom for a while, you won't regret it.

http://www.whyzdom.com/

Mortar Grind

Just finished playing the new EP from Pain of Salvation, Linoleum.
What to say... If you don't know this group you might as well try this EP which is a good introduction to the weird and everchanging world of Pain of Salvation.
Even with a change in the rythmic section, PoS starts to drift mainly into a metal prog rock 70ies because of the main man, Daniel Gildenlow.
Very much in the spirit of last album, Scarsick, these new tracks are good to great songs, catchy and such.
4 new tracks , a special humoristic track and a bonus cover of yellow raven, we have a taste for more of the coming new album Road Salt.
Much more than a lot of their so different albums, this EP is really a goodway to discover the world of PoS. Best track is definitly I'm Gone.
And as always the great voice of Daniel working its magic into our ears.