Prog rock can often be every bit as conservative as any other genre. Which makes Pain Of Salvation an invaluable influence on the modern scene. From prog metal benchmarks like 2002’s Remedy Lane and 2004’s insanely intricate Be to the borderline nu-metal freakouts of Scarsick (2007) and the more recent Road Salt One and Two’s 70s analogue worship, Daniel Gildenlow has never stood still for long.
As a result, In The Passing Light Of Day’s darkly complex songs don’t come as a surprise as such - fans have long learned to expect the unexpected.
But it’s the ferocity and gritty ensemble chemistry on display here that makes this such a startling next step. Superficially closer to the band’s early works than more recent material, the likes of towering 10-minute opener On A Tuesday and the cyclonic sprawl of Full Throttle Tribe are sharp, intelligent, emotionally powerful and unerringly intriguing. Almost everything, in fact, that prog should be.
