In 2010 Pain of Salvation, best known for their progressive stylings and vocalist who wishes he could talk rhythmically like Mike Patton, released a record that blew me away and shook their fanbase: Road Salt One.  It was shocking mainly because it was a largely not tech-geek-progressive and it was very 70s rock influenced. This left some long-time fans peeved, at best. They wanted something different. Well, Road Salt Two is definitely not that something different. It is stubbornly more of the same and it may have lost a bit of its luster with a year to sit on it.

Road Salt Two is yet again a dirty 70s rock influenced record without a metal riff to show for the 51 minutes of music that are contained within. It starts out with the “Road Salt Theme” (which, actually, doesn’t appear to be thematically in context with the first disc) and drops right into blues-based rock riffing in “Softly She Cries.” While a tad banal at first, it gently transfers back into the “Road Salt Theme” so smoothly that the inattentive may straight up miss the development. This exemplifies the writing on this album, actually. As I pointed out in reference to Road Salt One, Gildenlöw takes the most hackneyed, clichéd and overdone genre in the entire world (blues rock) and adds a personal twist to it that makes it not only enjoyable but deep and fascinating. “Conditioned” works like this as well. It starts out like a fucking Lenny Kravitz song and then morphs into something sinister and/or melancholy.

The record also has its more “downy frowny” parts like third track “Healing Now” or “1979,” which borders on nostalgic crap but has its own naïve charm. “Through the Distance” is reminiscent of “Sisters” in tone and vocal performance, but it doesn’t have the same emotional poignancy. These tracks work to build the valleys in the grittier, more progressive landscape that is this second Road Salt installment and they work well in that. The peaks, then, are “Eleven,” “The Deeper Cut,” “Mortar Grind” and the 8 minute and 43 second “The Physics of Gridlock” which is a particularly excellent song. These show off a more progressive Pain of Salvation than we saw on Road Salt One. On these tracks the rhythm section performs admirably and really convincingly, making for some fantastic, driving and yet subtle music.

What finally makes this album a great record is that the songwriting is top-notch and the feel is spot on. Gildenlöw’s vocals steal the show again, but unfortunately the entire album doesn’t live up to what I see as the best track “To the Shoreline,” which should be the marquee track from this album (and should be their 2011 Melodifestivalen entry). It’s a faster track with a flute part that sounds like something that comes straight off of Camel‘s Snow Goose. The track is only 3 minutes long, but it’s just a tremendous piece of writing that I have listened to probably 300 times since I got the record. Unfortunately, that means that the rest of the record pales in comparison, and that kind of sets it back.

The other major critique that I had of this record was that the “characters” if you will, sound like case studies from someone’s book on personality disorders. Really? She feels empty inside? Like a black hole? Has she been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, by any chance? Her unpredictable mood swings definitely seem like they fit the criteria. And the main dude sounds like he has a hell of a Jesus complex, out saving the ladies left and right. While this was definitely there on the last record, it didn’t feel as hackneyed. On 2 we’re forced to sit through three songs where Daniel rhymes “cry,” “die” and “why” in a number of different constellations and it comes off as a bit uninspired at best.

Even if it’s a lyrical bust, musically Road Salt Two is a smashing success, even with all the caveats. I understand that it can’t be easy to do a project like this and I think others who have tried to do similar things have also probably looked back on them and felt like they didn’t come off as well as they could have (Opeth, and Guns ‘N’ Roses both come to mind). And really, it’s tough for me to listen to both records all the way through in a single sitting. But on its own, Road Salt Two is an enjoyable disc from a talented group who has now definitely lured me in. I’ll be checking out whatever they do next and hoping it will be as great as this is.

Related posts:

1. Pain of Salvation – Road Salt pt. 1 – Ivory – Review
2. Pain of Salvation – The Second Death of Pain of Salvation
3. Wuthering Heights – Salt Review

Progressive music is a vast category filled with all sorts of various constellations of bands from Dream Theater to Symphony X to Rush to Opeth to Death to Pink Floyd to Pain of Salvation to Coheed & Cambria (arguably) and so forth. It can be very difficult to keep all that shit in order and, frankly, to find good progressive bands because it’s such a huge category. Despite the fact that progressive music should be the biggest, best and most original music in the world it suffers from some serious problems. The first is a tendency towards living in the past (för svenskar: bakåtsträvande) and the second is unoriginality, oddly enough. So finding a progressive band that is excellent, modern and original is still a hard thing to do. But you’ll never guess who has some angry (but good) news!

Leprous hails from Norway (and seconds as Ihsahn‘s live backup band, apparently), and they have made a fantastic impression upon fans of progressive music everywhere. Their first record Tall Poppy Syndrome hit in 2009 and they have made their mark both with that record and their live show around the world. Now they’re back in 2011, signed to InsideOut and putting out the record Bilateral which is one of the coolest and most original records I’ve heard this year. Coming in at 58 minutes long, Bilateral is a journey through sometimes groove-tinged basslines, nerdy polyrhythm, diverse songwriting, poppy choruses and melodies and a smooth but varied vocal approach from singer/keyboardist Einar Solberg.

Leprous really sounds like a mix of the best progressive metal bands around today. The vocals are reminiscent of Riverside‘s fantastic singer, though Einar isn’t nearly as modern rock. But while he pulls off the melancholy in tracks like “Forced Entry,” he also has a very cool flare for the almost oriental sounding melodies that come through in the aforementioned track as well as most memorably in the track “Thorn”. There are moments where the songwriting and style reminds me a lot of more recent Pain of Salvation, as well, blending in what feels like classic rock elements techy time signatures (like on “Painful Detours”), but never wandering into the kind of djent territory of never developing a melody while playing a polyrhythm. One can even hear an Opeth kind of vibe on some tracks where the lead guitar floats above the other parts with simple melodies that stick in your head. Finally, there’s a bit of a funk vibe that actually reminds me of Faith No More with a bass heavy kind of approach that works spectacularly well.

But of course if you blend all of this together it doesn’t sound like any one of those bands really, instead it is a blending of excellently written, addictive tracks that ooze charisma and technical prowess. Leprous jumps through the Burning Hoop o’ Progressive Doom in that they are able to blend both the technical and interesting with smart melodic writing. Even though the record is an hour long, the listener doesn’t really want to hop off until the end. Though, personally, I find that an hour long record tends to be sort of inconvenient from a lifestyle point of view and I found that I really didn’t listen to the last two tracks as many times as the ealier tracks. This is not because they’re bad tracks (they’re really great tracks), but the whole thing is a bit much to chomp down in a single go. I’d like to know how this record would sound if they’d had to edit it down to 45 minutes.

Still, there’s very little negative that I can say about this album. The choices are great, the melodies are fantastic and the writing is as intelligent as the best among the progressive scene since the 1990s. Leprous is a band with a bright future if they can keep up this kind of output. So buy this album (despite the bad art) and see them live (and buy a shirt). This is definitely August’s Record o’ the Month.

Related posts:

1. Angry Metal Guy’s Top 10(ish) of 2011
2. Above Symmetry – Ripples Review
3. Three – Revisions Review

It’s impossible and incorrect to review Ghost or Deconstruction as entirely antonymous albums. Even if they were released years apart, they exist in the same milieu as the other Devin Townsend Project releases, Ki and Addicted. But being released on the same day, these works are more than just musical siblings; they are twins and therefore share a deeper accord, recontextualizing each other. Ghost is definitely the lunar half. While Deconstruction is all white-hot, blistering intensity, bright and complicated, demented and noisy, and as over-caffeinated as the hottest day of the year at a carnival, Ghost is a deserted beach at twilight. Rather than a roiling explosion of energy, Ghost is careful and measured, gathering strength. It’s sweet, dark and deceptively strong. There is something about the pronounced plucking of the strings on “Heart Baby” that breaks me. This is an album that gently but inexorably gets around your defences and demands you listen to the last few, soft, unscarred parts of your heart. There are also numbers that ebb and flow, swelling into immense crescendos, like “Dark Matters” and “Texada” (which also happens to feature some of the loveliest flute playing I’ve heard on a metal album, courtesy of Kat Epple). Sometimes the emotion is as cute and pert as a sparrow, other times it’s as overwhelming and crashing as a tidal wave, but it always comes through as genuine and that’s the key to this album’s success. Where Deconstruction is a tribute to the shambling, noisy, mechanical monster or the urban, man-made world, Ghost is everything wet and green, alive and vibrant, the elemental strength and delicacy of the natural world.

Related posts:

1. Devin Townsend Project – Deconstruction Review
2. 3 – The Ghost You Gave to Me Review
3. Ghost Brigade – Until Fear No Longer Defines Us

Thinking of Devin Townsend as a musician no longer works. While his command of his instruments is awe-inspiring, to confine him only as such would be a disservice. With Deconstruction, Devin Townsend has ascended to the level of mad scientist; he’ll be aiming an interplanetary weapon at us next. Released simultaneously with Ghost, Deconstruction is part of the four-album the Devin Townsend Project cycle, which also includes the vibrant, poppy Addicted and the much softer (but still complex) Ki. Like much of Townsend’s oeuvre, Deconstruction is a concept album; it loosely follows the journey of a man who descends into hell. There, he meets the devil, who offers him a cheeseburger that contains all the secrets of the universe. Like any devilish generosity, it’s a cruel joke: the man is a vegetarian and cannot partake of the cheeseburger epiphany. Does that sound ridiculous? Of course it is, but this is a project from the man who brought us a rock opera about a megalomaniacal alien willing to wage interstellar war over a cup of coffee. In that context, it feels perfectly reasonable.

What is this monstrosity like musically? It doesn’t get more complicated than this. The album features a full vocal choir, two drummers (Ryan Van Poederooyan and Dirk Verbeuren), and a veritable pantheon of guest vocal talent. Paul Kuhr’s work on “Praise the Lowered” is particularly excellent, as are Joe Duplantier’s vocals on “Sumeria.” There are ten guest vocalists in total and it’s a genuine triumph of mixing that none of them are lost. Each voice stands out, is strong and distinct, adding something to each track. This album is immense, complex and bursting at the seams with layers and guest talent. But the greatest strength of Deconstruction is not its complexity, but its clarity. All of the elements feel necessary. No performance or effect could be cut without losing something and that strikes me as amazing. Deconstruction isn’t going to be for everybody — multiple careful listens in, I am still finding things, still analyzing the album and picking it apart. It’s a demented puzzle box, sometimes as violent and frenetic as Strapping Young Lad, sometimes as tender and plaintive as Ki. I keep returning to “The Planet of the Apes” — something in that song’s particularly manic riffs and drumming keeps drawing me back. This is an album that will reward long-term relationships. I would love to review Deconstruction again in six months.

Related posts:

1. Devin Townsend Project – Ghost Review
2. Angry Metal Guy’s Playlist 6/21 – 6/27
3. Angry Metal Guy’s Playlist 6/28 – 7/04

Progressive metal isn’t an easy place to be. Let’s face it, much of the world of progressive metal is a tussle between an old guard of old fans (the Neanderthals of Metal) who really like bands that sound like Dream Theater, Queensryche, and so forth, and then there’s kind of everyone else. It’s disparate, difficult to define and often pretentious as hell with little logic as to what is in fashion with which group. This is the natural outcome of genrefication, in my opinion, and part of that is a question of where a band can actually progress to. You’re either not heavy enough or you’re too heavy and you never please anyone. Few bands ever really manage to fall outside of these well-worn ruts in the road, but there are some fantastic bands in those ruts—Above Symmetry is one of those bands.

Above Symmetry (formerly Aspera) is not like much of the progressive metal that’s coming from Norway (which is where they’re from incidentally), but instead they sound a lot like Symphony X. This will not be the last time I say that—because Above Symmetry sounds like Symphony X. Like, almost exactly like Symphony X. The music is great, heavy and riffy. The band is tight, with great keyboards and a lead guitarist that is just a hell of a player. The guitars and keyboards work together really well and are balanced out by a very excellent rhythm section. Like Symphony X, the writing is intelligent with excellent transitions, good dynamic movements, beautiful choruses and solid hooks litter every song. The choruses are amazingly catchy and will definitely get stuck in your head, and yet the arrangements of the songs are still progressive enough to make you feel nice and superior to your buddies who listen to non-prog bands. On top of all of that the record is beautifully produced—done by the marvelous Jens Bogren (Opeth, Ihsahn, Symphony X, etc.)—everything is neatly organized, tight as hell and the tone is really fantastic.

OK, so what are the problems? Well, I suspect that you probably already sense an issue. When the band’s bio says that the band “quotes bands like Pagan’s Mind, Pain of Salvation, and Symphony X” it’s actually a really nice way of saying “Above Symmetry sounds like progressive metal, you know, progressive metal like you’ve heard before.” And while this is good in some ways, it feels comfortable, it also draws the listener back from the tracks thinking “Huh, don’t I know that riff?” Another major weakness is the vocalist. Unlike many progressive bands, singer Atle Pettersen isn’t a straight up bad vocalist. Instead, he’s a poseur. His performance on the record is spotty because he is at his roots a talented, choir boy singer who is trying his hardest to sound rock ‘n roll. Something his voice doesn’t have—and something that makes him a unique voice in my opinion. In a genre overrun with Rob Halford, Bruce Dickenson and Geoff Tate wannabes, Pettersen has a clean, clear voice that is strong and recognizable without needing to fake balls. Unfortunately, for whatever reason he has decided that in order to be a rock vocalist he has to have a wail and it makes him sound weak and silly, not tough and strong like he intends.

Another interesting point, which drops this record down a bit for me, is that the lyrics are not good. The Steve Harris School of Lyrics Writing is apparently still open in Scandinavia and whoever is writing the lyrics for Above Symmetry has taken all his notes directly from these guys. There is no subtlety, hardly any poetry and nothing remotely new or interesting in them. Lyrics in metal tend to range between the unfortunately bad and the passable, rarely ever being good, and for Above Symmetry, a reading list of good poets and lyricists might be in order. To be frank, I can understand why so many power and progressive metal bands have begun writing thematically (stories, concept records, etc.) because this record which seems a bit more personal, is really just filled with rock clichés.

In the end, however, Ripples indicates what I see to be a bright future for this band of Norwegian youngsters. This is their debut record and they make a really good show of it with catchy tunes, smartly written tracks and they’re tight, tight, tight. One hopes that they begin developing some personality, working on convincing their vocalist that he isn’t Russel Allen and keeps fighting on. These guys have a bright future ahead of them if they can keep it together.

[Disclaimer: This record is a re-issue of Aspera - Ripples, but the band has changed their name. I like these guys enough to re-post this so that people know that it's coming out, but it's the same record, so I just re-issued my review.]

Related posts:

1. Aspera – Ripples Review
2. Scar Symmetry – The Unseen Empire Review
3. Scar Symmetry – Dark Matter Dimensions Review

Unitopia is a bunch of Aussie proggers who are doing something that isn’t even remotely hip in 2010: and they’re super good at it. This record, Artificial, is the band’s third album and it is an amazing blend of the classic prog bands while feeling pretty unique—and just being a darn good performance in general. Channeling some of my favorite acts of all time, including Genesis and The Beatles, Unitopia have really built a record that flows beautifully and is worth your time if you’re a prog fan. The biggest complaint I’ve got is that the lyrics can feel pretty cheesy at times; still, take ‘em or leave ‘em, this record is better than bad, and I’d say it’s better than good, too. Worth a listen and probably your hard earned cash—so long as you’re not entirely turned off by porn sax.

Highlight: “Rule of 3′s”

Related posts:

1. Things You Might Have Missed 2010: Entrails – Tales From the Morgue
2. Things You Might Have Missed 2010: Vex – Thanatopsis
3. Things You Might Have Missed 2010: SIG:AR:TYR – Godsaga

Arjen Lucassen, I may have misjudged you. You see, Mr. Lucassen and his projects tend to invoke very different reactions depending on which segment of the Angry Metal demographic one asks. To some, his celebrity studded prog-rock and metal projects with Ayreon and Star One are overblown, self-indulgent, pretentious and worthy of scorn and ruthless mockery (I’ve heard “Gayreon” tossed around more than a little). Others will tell you the man is a musical genius and crafts some of the most adventurous progressive metal out there today. Yours truly was firmly rooted in the former camp (as is AMG, admit it!!)  but I’ll concede that parts of Star One’s first album Space Metal ended up being a guilty pleasure despite the cheesy and lightweight “sci-fi metal” concept and sound [Whereas, I reviewed it back in the day on Unchain the Underground and thought it was self-indulgent shit. - AMG].  Well, I’m mighty shocked at the direction Mr. Lucassen has opted to take album number two, Victims of the Modern Age. This is a far FAR heavier, more metallic album, taking the basic foundation of Star One and toughening it up in every way. This is so metallic and straight forward that it sounds nothing like any of Mr. Lucassen’s other works.  

After a short intro, “Digital Rain” sets the mood with heavy, crunching guitars alongside keyboards and dueling vocals by the amazing Russell Allen (Symphony X, Avantasia) and Damian Wilson (Threshold, Headspace). While the typical Ayreon keyboard fetish is firmly in place, the heavy guitars keep them from making things sound too cheesy and the result sounds a lot like Anubis Gate or the heavier Threshold material. The best part is, the song smokes and is a rare example of prog-metal that goes heavy enough on the metal to appeal to those outside of the Dream Theater fanboy circles.

Happily, all eight tracks maintain this heavy, guitar driven approach and the overall mood is very dark, somber and serious (no songs about whales in space this time).  Mr. Lucassen has written some excellent songs and allowed vocal masters like Allen, Wilson and also Floor Jansen (ReVamp, After Forever) and Dan Swanö (Edge of Sanity, Bloodbath) to ply their skills in a way that makes every song resonate with power and metallic grace. While all the above perform excellently, Allen steals the show time and time again with his epic, powerhouse pipes. This guy could sing a Dr. Seuss book and sound tough as nails and deadly serious. His presence regularly elevates this material to an even higher level. Even further removing Victims of the Modern Age from the standard Lucassen style, Dan Swanö brings his excellent death metal gurgle to several tracks with great effect (title track and “Human See, Human Do”).

Everything works here from the musicianship to production and every song is a real success. Although there’s enough technical wankery to please prog fans, every song is direct, immediate and accessible. That’s quite a songwriting accomplishment. This is a relatively short album at eight songs and just over fifty minutes but there is a second CD included in the “special edition” release which contains five extra tracks. Sadly, the bonus CD was not available in time for review (apparently it features additional vocalists including Tony Martin).

In a time when even Metal God Rob Halford forgot to keep things metal, Victims is a very pleasant surprise and really made me reassess my opinion of Mr. Lucassen’s abilities.  If you’ve written off Ayreon and Star One as indulgent and pompous fluff like I did, do yourself a favor and check this out anyway. This shouldn’t be missed and these guys are a guilty pleasure no more. Way to go Arjen. Now go metal up Ayreon too! [I concur. - AMG]

Related posts:

1. Guilt Machine – On This Perfect Day
2. In This Moment – A Star-Crossed Wasteland Review
3. Arch/Matheos – Sympathetic Resonance Review

A wise and Angry Metal Guy once said (earlier this week) that “retro is the new new” and the trends in the angry metal world are surely proving those prophetic words true. We are up to our collective arses in retro thrash, retro power and retro retro. While new is always great, even the “new” new can be mighty fine as with the latest release from Sahg and this wicked mother, Return to Zero from Sweden’s own Spiritual Beggars. This is the seventh full length from Michael Amott’s long running side project and respite from the melodic death metal world and although it’s as retro as retro gets, this is one slamming, jamming slab of heavy stoner/doom rock n roll!

Return to Zero is an album that gazes lovingly into the 70s, but that backward gaze is through the prism of the 70s and early 80s doom metal and hard rock. This proves to be a winning formula here and I can say without hesitation, what they are doing here is a case study for why retro has a valid place in the metal landscape.

Starting out with the very appropriately titled “Lost in Yesterday,” Amott and company deliver a masterful homage to the combined works of Black Sabbath and Trouble mixed with the rock sensibilities of Deep Purple, Rainbow and Uriah Heap. The result is pure quality and one catchy rock-fest after another. The riffing and solo work of Mr. Amott is impressive, thoughtful and emotional and when paired with the stellar vocal work displayed by Apollo Papathanasio (Firewind) and the tasteful keyboards of Per Wiberg, you get some really memorable material. As much as I admired some of the early works of Amott and company, this material is simply superior. Maybe it’s the vocals of Apollo that pushed the standard higher or maybe it’s just extra inspired writing. Whatever the cause, be thankful for the result!

From the opening, through the catchy and pseudo stadium rock roar of “Star Born,” to the Grand Magus-esque “Chaos of Rebirth” and the pure metal anthem majesty of “We Are Free”, the hits just keep coming fast and furious. Just when you’re realizing something pretty special is going on, along comes “Spirit of the Wind” to utterly impress and blow you away. This track is very different, slow and moody and oozes with emotion and somber, haunting power. You have to hear it to get what I mean. If nothing else, give this track a listen.

Across the length of Return to Zero, there are a multitude of memorable musical moments that will make even the casual music fan take notice. The way Amott’s guitar plays off the keyboards of Wiberg, the way Apollo changes his delivery to suit the mood and feeling of each track and the way the song structures draw you in and convey strong feelings, you can’t help but be impressed. Did I mention the widespread use of the Hammond organ? Yeah, it’s there and it is glorious!

There are no bad songs on Return to Zero although the first eight are the real winners. The last few are still very solid but can’t match the top-notch power showcased earlier and that caused a slight reduction in rating.  It’s also important to note that this isn’t a super heavy album. It won’t make you want to throw anvils around your bedroom or fight the neighbors pitbull.  It’s hard and heavy, just not crushingly so and melody is the goal in most songs.

The new new may be quite old and sometimes that just blows. However, sometimes retro is just as good the second time around and this is surely the case with Return to Zero. Don’t be scared to relive the past. Find this, crank it and get all retrofied!

Related posts:

1. Demonic Resurrection – The Return to Darkness Review
2. Necronomicon – The Return of the Witch Review
3. Grand Magus – Hammer of the North Review

One would assume that an Angry Metal Guy wouldn’t be handing out high scores willy nilly, something I seriously try to avoid doing. But apparently 2010 is a year filled with really fantastic albums by bands doing the things that, as a reviewer, and more specifically, as a music-lover, I have trouble not totally falling for. Pain of Salvation has never been a band that I personally fell for. Scarsick, the band’s 2007 release, was a record that I had issues with and I’ve had some personal gripes about Daniel Gildenlöw’s vocals on the older material (specifically his wannabe Mike Patton rappy/talky vocals). But, that said, Pain of Salvation has long been the darling of the progressive rock and metal scene, with legions of fans who love their technical prowess and pop sensibility.

Road Salt, then, stands to be a great disappointment for a large number of fans who are looking for neo-progressive sensibilities. This is simply not the same band that put out The Perfect  Element (Part I). There is nothing on this record that should outright appeal to metal heads and fans of tech music. But there’s something else, and something that in my opinion places this album on a different plane than 99% of albums released this year, an emotional depth, beauty, fragility and, lastly, dirtiness that makes this album a fantastic journey and easily my favorite Pain of Salvation to date.

Road Salt is still a prog record, however, it’s just way more a 70s rock influenced album that places the band into the same arena as bands like Porcupine Tree, Anathema, Guilt Machine and their ilk. And when I say “70s rock influenced”, let me be totally clear: this is an album that is built to sound like it was recorded on analogue equipment in a room with brown shag carpeting, made by bearded men in bell bottoms who’d smoked a little bit too much hash. The guitar tone screams Hendrix, the vocal harmonies mimic the soul harmonies of folk musicians like Kris Kristofferson and the moog organ is something that you’ve heard a million times while digging through your dad’s record collection. Hell, even the build at the end of the first track “No Way”, sounds like it came off a Trettioåriga Kriget record. And there’s nary a technical wank solo to be found on this album. No, instead the album is based a lot around blues rock—a thing that this Angry Metal Guy hates with a total passion.

But from the opening notes of this album, I was moved emotionally in a way that I think no record has done almost ever. Gildenlöw’s vocal performance is perfect—it is emotionally evocative, huge and sweeping and amazing. His emotional performance reshapes good (or excellent) music into something that is epic and transformative. By bringing his prog and non-blues rock influenced sensibilities to the entire genre and then placing his vocal perfection over songs like “She Likes to Hide”, “Sisters”, “Linoleum” and probably the most evocative of  all the tracks on the album “Road Salt”, Gildenlöw and Pain of Salvation create a sound all their own in what is easily the most overdone genre in the history of mankind. Turning the sounds of 60s and 70s rock and blues into something unique in 2010 is a magical feat, honestly. I have trouble wrapping my mind around how it was done.

In the end, this is an album that should make your heart ache. There is a sadness that really permeates the album. And in an era when hard rock and metal is so incredibly impersonal, when every other record is faux hate and anger or clichéd nonsense, it is beyond refreshing to have band produce material that is so emotionally poignant and beautiful. On top of that, of course, is the fantastic production of this album, mixed with the superb quality of musicians involved in the whole production and you have the formula for what is easily one of the best albums of the year—and one of the best albums I have heard in a really, really long time.

Related posts:

1. Pain of Salvation – Road Salt Two [Ebony] Review
2. Pain of Salvation – The Second Death of Pain of Salvation
3. Pain of Salvation in Melodifestivalen?

The name Kaipa might or might not strike a bell for you, depending on where you’re from and how old you are. The band technically been around for a very long time, as they were a part of the Swedish prog scene which in some ways really differentiated itself from what non-Swedes think of when they think of prog. While prog from England, the US or Canada was often times very much about technical expertise, drug induced trips of fancy or philosophically complex ideas and theses, Swedish prog was a very lefty, ideologically communist movement. It’s not something that this Angry Metal Guy has been particularly well-informed about, so instead we called Angry Swedish Prog Correspondent to inform us about this whole fascinating phenomenon. There’s a lot one can say about it, but let us formulate it like this: Swedish prog was dirty, lefty hippies giving even the most talentless member of their friends group the right to play, despite them not having any talent at all. Kaipa wasn’t like this, on the other hand. Instead, they were much more akin to Yes, Genesis, Rush and other progressive rock bands. As a consequence, they were never quite accepted as part of the Swedish scene, but became more internationally accepted. However, unlike the communal-living types like National Teatern, Kaipa reformed in the early 2000s and has been producing records since with just one original member, Hans Lundin.

Because of the fact that Lundin is the only original member, it means that he’s been able to fill in the band with new members making Kaipa a fantastic, talented group of musicians who are really producing music and playing on the plane that one really expects of excellent prog. This demonstrates itself in the varying styles and places Kaipa takes the listener on this long and winding journey. From the eternally happy sunshine land, for example, of the opening and title track on the record, “In the Wake of Evolution”, to the neo-folk “Folkia’s First Decision”. There are moments that are reminiscent of reggae, 50s Rock n’ Roll and, of course, jazz fusion. Of course, the fact that Per Nilsson (Scar Symmetry) is playing guitar on this record is evident through some very metal guitar solos, as well.

In the Wake of Evolution isn’t just musically varied—Lundin and company take us through an emotional roller coaster sonically and the effect is great. Every track on the album stands out as a dynamic, self-contained cosmos of fascinating ideas and emotional expression. Despite the fact that the songs range between two and half and 17 minutes long, there is definitely a sense of balance and unity between the separate tracks. However, there are a lot of pieces written in major keys and some very, very happy music on this record. This, of course, makes this Angry Metal Guy a little uncomfortable because it’s just so… HAPPY.  But particularly when you hit the later sections of the record that are a bit more orchestrated, the emotional downs stand out as well. I don’t think you can be an aging progger without having a little bit of pent up sadness and anger.

There are very few things to complain about on this album, actually. Sometimes the composition can feel a little forced, but the biggest problem for me personally are the vocals of Aleena Gibson, who has an incredibly sharp voice. Not like she’s not in tune, but instead she just has a very harsh sounding tone. While she has a unique sound and she blends well with Lundin and Lundström in the harmonies, on her own she can be a bit grating after a while. Instead let us end this here by saying that there are very few progressive bands who are composing music that really carries the same feeling of experimentality and curiosity about blending music into a cohesive whole that is at once intellectually stimulating, catchy and engaging. Kaipa embodies this feeling of progressiveness on their new album and I suggest that open-minded fans of progressive music check this out, because it is a fascinating ride.

Related posts:

1. Things You May Have Missed 2010: Unitopia – Artificial
2. Bison B.C. – Dark Ages Review
3. Sigh – Scenes From Hell Review