Music

[Review] Pain Of Salvation ‘Road Salt Two’

Published

13 years ago

September 28, 2011

In a recent interview I conducted with Pain of Salvation singer/guitarist/composer Daniel Gildenlow, which will be posted soon, I asked him, “Where has the heaviness gone? Road Salt Two sounds more like a 70’s album with 70’s overdrive rather than distortion.” He replied that he had been very much like me, needing the modern distortion sound to feel that the album was heavy. However, after listening to bands like AC/DC and Black Sabbath again per recommendation, he realized that heaviness is not a sound but rather an attitude. With that in mind, does Road Salt Two work with or does it fall victim to its new sound? Check after the jump.

A lovely stringed introductory track (Road Salt Theme) bleeds into Softly She Cries, the first song of the album. Immediately I noticed the 70’s feel, both in songwriting and in sound. However, this sound was put together with a very modern approach, something very accessible that I latched onto and wanted to hear more of. Gildenlow’s vocals soar and the harmonies are fantastic. The overdriven guitar tones sounds almost like a growling beast, moments away from tearing your throat out.

The production of the album is as varied as you would expect from a Pain of Salvation album. There are heavy tracks with overdrive and an in-your-face sense just as there are more mellow acoustic tracks that utilize mandolins, percussion, and more to create beautiful songs. Wonderfully mixed all around, there is a great deal to appreciate sonically on this album.

To The Shoreline quickly called to mind Ennio Morricone’s The Ecstasy Of Gold while The Deeper Cut is a personal favorite from the album. This album is definitely meant for those who aren’t stuck in the present musically but instead can appreciate music of all times.

The Final Word: It’s taken me several spins to fully appreciate what Pain of Salvation is doing with Road Salt Two. However, I’m glad I took the time to fully appreciate it. The album is a wonderful homage to the sounds of the past with a distinctive nod to the modern crowd.

Related Topics:Album Review Metal Pain of Salvation review Road Salt Two Rock

JonathanBarkan

Managing editor/music guy/social media fella of Bloody-Disgusting

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Music

“He Walks By Night” – Listen to a Brand New John Carpenter Song NOW!

Published

3 weeks ago

April 9, 2024

John Squires

It’s a new day, and you’ve got new John Carpenter to listen to. John Carpenter, Daniel Davies and Cody Carpenter have released the new track He Walks By Night this morning, the second single off their upcoming album Lost Themes IV: Noir, out May 3 on Sacred Bones Records.

Lost Themes IV: Noir is the latest installment in a series that sees Carpenter releasing new music for John Carpenter movies that don’t actually exist. The first Lost Themes was released in 2015, followed by Lost Themes II in 2016 and Lost Themes III: Alive After Death in 2021.

Sacred Bones previews, “It’s been a decade since John Carpenter recorded the material that would become Lost Themes, his debut album of non-film music and the opening salvo in one of Hollywood’s great second acts. Those vibrant, synth-driven songs, made in collaboration with his son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies, kickstarted a musical renaissance for the pioneering composer and director. With Lost Themes IV: Noir, they’ve struck gold again, this time mining the rich history of the film noir genre for inspiration.

“Since the first Lost Themes, John has referred to these compositions as “soundtracks for the movies in your mind.” On the fourth installment in the series, those movies are noirs. Like the film genre they were influenced by, what makes these songs “noirish” is sometimes slippery and hard to define, and not merely reducible to a collection of tropes. The scores for the great American noir pictures were largely orchestral, while the Carpenters and Davies work off a sturdy synth-and-guitar backbone.

“The trio’s free-flowing chemistry means Lost Themes IV: Noir runs like a well-oiled machine—the 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster from Kiss Me Deadly, perhaps, or the 1958 Plymouth Fury from John’s own Christine. It’s a chemistry that’s helped power one of the most productive stretches of John’s creative life, and Noir proves that it’s nowhere near done yielding brilliant results.”

You can pre-save Lost Themes IV: Noir right now! And listen to the new track below…