- Country: Sweden
- Style: Progressive metal
- Label: InsideOut Music
- Release date: 13 January 2017
A hospital bed is the anchor of this record, and you feel it from the first minutes. In 2014 Daniel Gildenlöw came close to dying from an infection, and In the Passing Light of Day is what he made of that experience: an album about mortality that never wallows, and that has more fight in it than anything Pain of Salvation had released in years.
“On a Tuesday” sets the tone with detuned, lurching riffs that sound almost like a heavier band wearing the Pain of Salvation name, before Gildenlöw’s voice cracks open into one of his most naked performances. “Tongue of God” and “Meaningless” keep the guitars thick and modern, and the latter has one of the strongest choruses on the record. “Silent Gold” is the breather, quiet and fragile, while “Full Throttle Tribe” takes its time building into something almost tribal.
Not everything hits as hard. “Reasons” is a bit stiff next to the songs around it, and the middle of the album sags slightly. But the closing title track earns every one of its many minutes, starting as a hushed, intimate piece and growing into a huge, cathartic finale that ranks with the best things Gildenlöw has written. Daniel Bergstrand’s production keeps it all heavy without burying the emotion. A raw, brave and genuinely moving record.
Best tracks:
On a Tuesday
Meaningless
The Taming of a Beast
The Passing Light of Day
Author’s rating: 9.1/10
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