Scarsick
| Scarsick | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 22 January 2007 | |||
| Genre | Progressive metal[1][2][3] | |||
| Length | 67:52 | |||
| Label | InsideOut Music | |||
| Producer | Pain of Salvation | |||
| Pain of Salvation chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| About.com |   [4] |
| Blabbermouth.net |   [5] |
Scarsick is the sixth studio album by Swedish progressive metal band Pain of Salvation, released on 22 January 2007. It is a concept album focusing on contemporary issues including capitalism, materialism, and consumerism. Scarsick is the last album to feature Johan Langell on drums.
Overview[edit]
According to Daniel Gildenlöw, "Scarsick is much more band oriented and down to the core. Threatening and disturbing".[citation needed]
The liner notes reveal that Scarsick is actually The Perfect Element, part II - "he". The album is divided into two chapters: side A and side B.[6]
Concept[edit]
Scarsick is the second part of a planned, three-piece concept and the follow-up to The Perfect Element, part I. It continues the story of the male character from the latter album. Unlike its predecessor, Scarsick is a politically charged social commentary, and deals with a number of topics, including:
- Frustration (with society in general, and most of the things listed below)
- Consumer culture
- Materialism
- Industrialization
- Capitalism
- Commercialization
- American imperialism
- Conformity
- Idolization of celebrities
- Collectivist nature of religion
- Decline of civilization
Daniel Gildenlow has revealed in interviews that the life of "He" is an allegory for all of mankind; that in him we see the problems of society on an intimate, personal level. Thus as The Perfect Element, part I deals with the subject of dysfunction in a psychological context that deals with the individual, Scarsick deals with them in a sociological sense and explores the relationship between the two. Just as the final song on the first part of the concept ("The Perfect Element") witnesses the falling of "He" on a mental level, the final song on Scarsick ("Enter Rain") sees him fall on a physical level.
Track listing[edit]
Concept, music and lyrics by Daniel Gildenlöw.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Scarsick" | 7:08 |
| 2. | "Spitfall" (Introducing Star/Thus Quote the Craving/Redefining Vomatorium/Man of the Masses/YO) | 7:17 |
| 3. | "Cribcaged" | 5:56 |
| 4. | "America" | 5:05 |
| 5. | "Disco Queen" (Tonight I'll Fall/A Cheap Sellout Drug/A Tighter Groove/My Disco Queen) | 8:22 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Kingdom of Loss" | 6:41 |
| 7. | "Mrs. Modern Mother Mary" | 4:14 |
| 8. | "Idiocracy" | 7:04 |
| 9. | "Flame to the Moth" | 5:58 |
| 10. | "Enter Rain" (Running/Standing/Falling) | 10:03 |
Scarsicker[edit]
The band offered an edited version of the album as a download from their official store in 2008. It also featured two new short tracks. Gildenlöw said on the release,
- I had this idea about making edits where all of the songs would clock in under 5 minutes each. My absolute first idea was to make a radio edit version of the album, where every song would simply be cut at precisely 3:50 or something, except for the track America, in which we instead would add like 10 minutes of commercials after the "We'll be back after this short break!" phrase. But once I was sitting down with the tracks it became sort of a challenge. Some of the songs I prefer in the original version, but some (like Idiocracy and Mrs Modern Mother Mary for instance) really turned out more like I initially intended them to be, and I prefer them. Also, I could use my original idea for an intro to the album - it was scrapped for the official release since I felt it gave away the TPE1 link way too soon. The Slipsync track uses recurring themes, a trademark POS conceptual instrumental passage, and was originally thought as a Japanese bonus track, but then it felt more right on this edited album version, called SCARSICKER.[7]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Nausea" | 0:25 |
| 2. | "Scarsick" | 4:38 |
| 3. | "Spitfall" | 4:56 |
| 4. | "Cribcaged" | 4:26 |
| 5. | "America" | 3:39 |
| 6. | "Disco Queen" | 4:11 |
| 7. | "Kingdom of Loss" | 6:41 |
| 8. | "Mrs. Modern Mother Mary" | 3:52 |
| 9. | "Idiocracy" | 4:52 |
| 10. | "Flame to the Moth" | 4:55 |
| 11. | "Slipsync" | 1:07 |
| 12. | "Enter Rain" | 9:52 |
Personnel[edit]
- Daniel Gildenlöw - lead vocals, guitars, bass guitar, banjos and samplers
- Johan Hallgren - guitars, vocals
- Fredrik Hermansson - keyboards, samplers
- Johan Langell - drums, backing vocals
References[edit]
- ^ "Pain of Salvation - Scarsick".
- ^ "Pain of Salvation – Scarsick".
- ^ "Pain of Salvation: Scarsick Review".
- ^ Bowar, Chad. "Pain Of Salvation - Scarsick". About.com. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
- ^ Alisoglu, Scott. "Pain Of Salvation - Scarsick". Blabbermouth. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
- ^ Pain of salvation Daniel Gildenlow scarsick concept P 2 on YouTube
- ^ ""Release "Scarsicker" by Pain of Salvation - MusicBrainz"".
