Pain of
Salvation
'Entropia'
Pain of Salvation "Entropia" (1999)
To say that the world of
progressive metal (amongst others) was left dumbfounded by the
mouth-watering quality of the 2000 release 'The Perfect Element'
by Swedish outfit Pain of Salvation would be an understatement.
The effortless mix of harsh and light musical colours combined
with (nothing short of) inspired song-writing and musicianship
should have Dream Theatre and friends looking nervously over
collective shoulders… As of yet Pain of Salvation do not
command the popularity of many of their contemporaries but one
feels this will not last for much longer.
'Entropia' released a year previous proceeded the more direct but
equally eye-opening 'An Hour by the Concrete Lake' and comes
across as a logical bridge between that and 'Element' seeing
chief song-writer and lead vocalist Daniel Gildenlow expanding
both the size and complexity of his repertoire.
In fact the first thing to say is that this album is in many ways
more progressive than the symphonic splendour of 'Element'
although it does suffer occasionally by delivering some rather
over-complex instrumental work and prog metal clichés which are
normally (and thankfully) devoid from their work. This aside 'Entropia'
is another fantastic release from the most talented song-writer
in progressive metal today.
The album is presented in 3 engaging chapters which again sees
Gildenlow exploring some dark and complex lyrical and thematic
subject matters - the title being a play on 'Entropy' (unusual,
complex) and Utopia.
The music is a heady mix of crunching metal and growling vocals
with some simply sublime melodic passages accompanied by some
highly subtle vocal styling which aptly demonstrates Gildenlow's
extraordinary range.
The album opens with '!' and a blistering wash of heavy riffing
and rhythm work which soon develops into a wonderfully catchy
chorus and includes some excellent instrumental themes. The
enigmatic drum led sound-montage of 'Welcome to Entopia' then
leads into the glorious 6 minutes of 'Winning a War' that blends
some delicious heavy and melodic themes together with consummate
ease. Once more the vocal performance is nothing short of
miraculous and demonstrates how it is possible to have range
without needing to emulate the operatic styling which plagues the
genre like a virus.
'People Passing by'. is maybe the finest moment on 'Entropia'. A
surprisingly funky but context rich bass line introduces 8min+ of
pure prog metal splendour. Again thundering riffs clash heads
with rich melodies without ever losing the cohesive thread and
the instrumental breaks are inspired but never flashy. The second
half of the track seems some highly effective anthem-like vocal
harmonies with some equally symphonic instrumentation.
Just to prove a point more than ever Gildenlow takes the pace and
mood right down with 'Oblivion Ocean' to show his class as a song-writer
which is a neatly crafted and mellow conclusion to chapter 1 of
the story.
Chapter 2 is a touch disappointing after the extreme highs of the
albums opening with 'Stress' suffering from being a tad
monotonous and 'Revival' although starting in stylish fashion
drifts into some directionless fast twaddle which has no place
coming from a band this good. Mind you, the excellent 'Void of
her' including a fine organ passage and the complex 'To the end'
wrap up proceedings in tremendous fashion.
Chapter 3 is splendid. 'Nightmist' is very close to claiming the
honour as the albums best track. An eerie neo-classical
introduction flowers into a awe inspiring riff driven symphonic
theme which is interchanged with some fantastic instrumental
breaks and more stupendous vocals. The beautifully crafted 'Plains
of dawn' washes over the listener until concluding with an
enormous and dramatic chord laden gesture before the light shades
of 'Leaving Entropia' drift into silence.
'Entropia' is another dramatic and memorable album from a truly
unique progressive band. It may not have the smooth edges of 'Elements'
or the immediacy of 'Concrete Lake' but what it does have is an
hour of complex, challenging music which both stretches and
massages the senses whilst, like any great progressive album
improves on every listen.
Brilliant.
Gareth J. Long
Pain of Salvation home Page: http://www.algonet.se/~gilden/