Remedy Lane

Infobox Album | Name = Remedy Lane
Type = studio
Artist = Pain of Salvation


Released = February, 2002
Recorded = Roasting House Recording Studio; Malmö, Sweden, fall 2001
Genre = Progressive metal
Length = 68:12
Label = InsideOut Music
Producer = Daniel Gildenlöw and Anders "Theo" Theander
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:5lkxiklabb29 link]
Last album = "The Perfect Element, part I"
(2000)
This album = "Remedy Lane"
(2002)
Next album = "12:5"
(2004)

"Remedy Lane" is the fourth album by Swedish progressive metal band Pain of Salvation, released in Spring 2002. It is a concept album focusing on the search of a man to discover himself. It deals with topics such as love, loss, lust, sex and understanding. A portion of the album is autobiographical in nature, and is written by guitarist and vocalist Daniel Gildenlöw. The liner notes that come with the CD are filled with extra material (e.g. poems and photos) related to the concept, and also contain date markings to assist the dedicated listener (and reader) to piece together the album chronologically.

Outline

While both "Remedy Lane" and "One Hour by the Concrete Lake" (Pain of Salvation's second studio album) are about a main character searching for truth and himself, "Remedy Lane" is a more personal tale and the listener is exposed to a wider variety of emotions. The album's production is similar to that of its predecessor, "The Perfect Element, part I"; it is also quite a dark album, though there are some moments of happiness or devotion. Gildenlöw has said that the inspiration for "Remedy Lane" was an era of his life in which he wished to learn what freedom was.

Analysis

About Remedy Lane, by Daniel Gildenlow (posted on the Remedy Lane forum)

"This concept is the most personal I have made, it is about a crisis in a relationship, the sometimes fine line between love and sex and the role of our past when it comes to interaction with other people. The whole concept takes place during a few days in Hungary, from where the songs take us to different locations and situations with clues to the causes of this crisis. The album is divided into three chapters, Pain Of Salvation fans will recognize this pattern by now I presume."

01. Of Two Beginnings:This is the opening track of the album and is a kind of introduction, the track is somewhere between an intro and a real song and contains several different styles and elements. The set is a hotel room in Hungary, present time. It is the beginning of this album, and contains the beginning of a chain of thought, the end of a mindless journey, the conclusion to a question that is yet not clear to the listener and the beginning of a child's relation to love and sex.

Chapter I

02. Ending Theme:This is one of the simpler songs on the album, but of course with subtlety and finesse. We are entering the story a few days earlier, on the arrival in Budapest. Someone is coming to Budapest to find answers, to meet someone. There is a connection to a situation in Budapest earlier that we will find out about later in the concept. How much of a person's disposition and reality derives from himself or herself? How much is it in relation to the surroundings? There is a meeting, confusion, seeking...

03. Fandango:A picture of two unique persons forming a life together, fighting against norms and patterns that they have inherited from their pasts. At one point in my life I was devastated and asked for some God to give me some answers. I am not a religious man, but I am not non-religious either if you catch my drift. The only thing I know is that I don't know anything. Anyway, I was suddenly filled with a calm and started smiling because it was as if someone had just told me that if I get the answers there is no point in living - life is the tool to get the answers. It was like asking for answers in order to be able to find the exact same answers myself. I wanted to put some of that feeling into this song, since it runs through everybody's life in one way or another.

04. A Trace Of Blood:During the recording of "Entropia" (our first album) me and my wife had a miscarriage and it was very hard on us. It was one of the worst experiences of my life. It was not the loss of a tiny organic something, to me it was the loss of several lives - the child and the life he/she would have had and the lives me and my wife would have had. History took a sharp turn for us that day and I cannot leave it behind altogether. That mix of joy, grief and anger is also found in the music and the lyric of the song I think. A struggle.

05. This Heart of Mine (I Pledge):This is simply a love song that I wrote to my wife, in this concept it represents the belief and the strength in words and rituals, in faith. Some of the themes recur later in the concept to remind us of this vow and how fragile human faith can be sometimes.

Chapter II

06. Undertow:This is one of the darkest songs of the album. It is simple in structure but complex in emotion. We are trying to build a card house starting with apathy, going over a spectra of sadness, yearning, reconciliation and anger, to cross the line of hysteria back into apathy - constantly with the same main message; let me go. It is a blend of monologue and dialog in a shattered relationship. We are now starting to find out why we start off in Budapest.

07. Rope Ends:One night my wife dreamed that someone she knew tried to kill herself. The dream was so vivid she couldn't shake it off and finally she called her friend. It turned out that she had tried to hang herself three times that same night. A few years later I experienced someone trying to hang him/herself and I got there just in time. For a minute I couldn't get him/her down and I started to panic completely before I finally got the sudden insight that I should add my weight to the rope, and it broke. At one point earlier I thought of rushing to the kitchen for a knife to cut it with, but I found that it is impossible to leave the room when someone is hanging from the ceiling.

08. Chain Sling:The dance of love and breaking up, the different turns and pleads.

09. Dryad of the Woods:This is an instrumental piece for my wife that I actually wrote several years ago. Once again, the contrast between the love and the strange situation we find in this concept.

Chapter III

10. Remedy Lane:Another instrumental piece, between an intro and a song going back to several themes from the album in different moods. We are back on Remedy Lane again, with a little more understanding. There is an uneasy pulse running through this track, which captures the restless feeling of the quest of this concept, to find truth, to be free...

11. Waking Every God:...but what is freedom? We are back at the first visit in Hungary, the one slightly described in the beginning of the concept. This is the beginning of the end, or the beginning of another beginning?

12. Second Love:This is actually an old song that I wrote when I was 15 or 16 years old. Since the concept was to have a track about being heartbroken at a young age, I simply thought that this song could be a good idea to bring in, since it was written in that exact position - it is the real thing.

13. Beyond the Pale:And so we are back in that bed, in that hotel room where and when we started off. We have been given clues and glimpses of why we are here, and this song is bringing it all together, revealing the flaws of the human heart and mind, questioning the search for a freedom that does not ask you back how it works for you and the ones around you. Once I thought it would be a terrible thing if we were not enough on our own, if we are only good enough in relation with others, but then again, maybe that's why we are here in the first place? To make each other better, to heal each other's wounds...

The meaning of the album title "Remedy Lane":There is an expression in the English language, to 'take a walk down memory lane' - which means to visit your past or going through a nostalgic trip. In a way, that is what happened in the concept, but with more stress on reconcile with that past and to find remedy for the crisis that the album is about.

This is another step in the development of Pain Of Salvation. One of our trademarks would probably be the seamless blend of deep emotional structures and skillful technical architecture, and that is more present than ever on this album. If you are looking for a band that sounds just like your favorite band, just forget about us. If you are looking for a band that will make you forget about your favorite band, we are here, just walk down Remedy Lane a few times and you will never be the same again...

Daniel Gildenlow

Track listing

:1. Of Two Beginnings 2:24

Chapter I:

:2. Ending Theme 4:59:3. Fandango 5:51:4. A Trace of Blood 8:17:5. This Heart of Mine (I Pledge) 4:01

Chapter II:

:6. Undertow 4:47:7. Rope Ends 7:02:8. Chain Sling 3:58:9. Dryad of the Woods 4:56

Chapter III:

:10. Remedy Lane 2:15:11. Waking Every God 5:19:12. Second Love 4:21:13. Beyond the Pale 9:56

All music by Daniel Gildenlöw, except instrumental part of "Rope Ends" by Daniel Gildenlöw and Fredrik Hermansson.

The Japanese edition of this album also contains a bonus track titled Thorn Clown (7:23) that fits in between "Dryad of the Woods" and "Remedy Lane".

Personnel

Band:
*Daniel Gildenlöw - lead vocals, guitar, concept and lyrics; producer, artwork, photos
*Fredrik Hermansson - keyboards
*Johan Hallgren - guitar, backing vocals
*Johan Langell - drums, backing vocals
*Kristoffer Gildenlöw - bass, backing vocals

Other:
*Pain of Salvation - producer
*Anders "Theo" Theander - producer, engineering
*Pontus Lindmark - engineering
*Jörgen Tannander - editing
*Johanna Iggsten - photography