Entropia

When one hears the term "Progressive Metal", usually the first band that pops into one's mind is Dream Theater, or bands that sound exactly like Dream Theater. Let's face it, the genre is saturated with DT clones, but every now and then a band pops up that is truly progressive, truly - dare I say it - original.

Pain of Salvation is one such band. They've a long track record of outstanding releases, dating back to the very start of their career, with the release of their debut full-length, Entropia. Actually, the Hereafter demo that predated Entropia was awesome as well, and features several tracks rerecorded for this album and the next. More on that in another review, I suppose.

As far as the music of Entropia goes, it's easily the funkiest album Pain of Salvation has ever released, with plenty of awesome funk and jazz influence throughout. Subsequent albums by PoS are mostly devoid of these influences, though it's not really fair to compare their albums, as they're constantly reinventing their style, and as a result constantly proving what it truly means to be Progressive: pushing the very envelope of music and breaking through the boundaries. You want fancy time signatures? Got that right here. You want crazy drum patterns and impossibly technical bass? Got that here, too. The guitar work is splendid as well, with some incredible solos thrown in at just the right moments. Speaking of guitar, this is the only full-length to feature Daniel Magdic, as he would leave before the recording of the band's sophomore release due to commitment issues. Good thing his replacement was even better, IMHO.

Then we get to the vocals. Dear God, the vocals. Daniel Gildenlow gets so much praise, and rightfully so, as he is the most versatile and talented vocalist I have personally ever heard. He is emotional, but not over emotional. His range is incredible, with some majorly awesome screams and fantastic lows. He is the quintessential member of the band, being the main composer, lyricist, guitarist and the mastermind behind the concept of every album. There's just so much to be said about his incredible skills.

The high points of this album? The chorus of Winning A War and Revival, the bass on People Passing By, the awesome Nightmist and totally over-the-top Stress.... yeah, pretty much the whole album is great; even the interludes are quite nice. Oh yeah, make sure you get the Japanese version, as it comes with Never Learn To Fly as a bonus track. Slow number, not the best song of the album, but still nice.

Overall, quite an impressive release. Definitely worth getting for those seeking something refreshing and original, and far outside the scope of your typical Progressive Metal. It's not my favorite Pain of Salvation album, despite the score, but it's still pretty much the best debut album out there where Prog is concerned, and a fantastic inclusion in the Pain of Salvation discography.

There are few musicians who have garnered the absurd amount of praise that has been bestowed upon Daniel Gildenlow. In certain circles of the progressive metal world the man is revered as a god, capable of stitching together musical genres without any visible (audible?) seems. The only other singer who has received this sort of fanboy-ish adulation that comes to mind is Mike Patton. Of course by this point I’m sure Gildenlow is sick to death of the Patton comparisons, but one listen to his debut album, Entropia, and you’ll see that he’s just asking for it.

Much like Patton’s most critically lauded band, Mr. Bungle, Pain of Salvation gleefully sends their listeners through a maelstrom of different moods and musical styles, that is if you replaced Mr. Bungle’s snarky sense of humor with the an overblown sense of purpose akin to Bono. Given that the intentions of the bands are so different (Mr. Bungle wanted to scare the hell out of you, Pain of Salvation wants to save the world) the genres that they run through tend to be quite different (Mr. Bungle play circus music from hell, Pain of Salvation play emotionally fraught progressive metal), but the format remains the same.

Entropia starts off with what is easily the heaviest riff PoS have ever used. ! (Foreword) sums up what you’re going to get with Entropia in six minutes, without a second wasted. From the crushing opening to the swelling and uplifting final chorus you get hit with just about every trick in the book. The song’s softer sections seem to exist only to lure the listener into a false sense of security before the band returns to run them over again with rolling double bass, synchronized guitar runs and Gildenlow’s piercing falsetto shrieks.

What follows this masterful track however is the largest reoccurring problem on this album. Welcome to Entropia and the other shorter interlude tracks all have interesting ideas (well maybe not Welcome to Entropia, programmed beats need something more to really be considered an idea) that are for the most part never developed. The guitar histrionics of Void of Her are cool at first, but after they settle down, you’re basically left with dead air. The same can be said for Circles.

When the ideas are fully developed, they are some of the best that progressive metal has ever had. Gildenlow has an amazing knack for writing bridges. Nearly every song starts of well, but skyrockets in quality once the band gets to break away from the structure of verses and chorus. Unlike other bands such as Dream Theater who have to rely on extended solo sections, Gildenlow is able to string together catchy musical ideas without shattering the song’s inherent direction. One interesting concept that Pain of Salvation experiments with are choral sounding vocal sections, especially during Plains of Dawn or Revival. Gildenlow has never been one for modesty when it comes to his immense vocal talent, but using this type of layering is a path that they shamefully never explored further on later albums.

While Gildenlow’s guitar playing and vocal range are definitely at the center of a lot of the songs, his band mates are no slouches either, and get plenty chances to flex their chops. Daniel’s brother Kristoffer is an astoundingly skilled bass player and shows it on the album’s funkier tracks such as Nightmist or People Passing By. Johan Langell is probably one of progressive metal’s most underrated drummers. He never resorts to flailing wildly on his kit during the more intense sections, and knows when to play simple. The fact that he can even keep time during songs like Stress makes me want to quit playing drums. Fredrik the keyboardist (who looks frighteningly similar to Hansi from Blind Guardian in the liner notes) isn’t as shred happy as the rest of the band, but does a great deal to advance the atmosphere of the album. Sadly some of his parts, such as the one at the end of Winning A War, are marred by the cheesy setting that his instrument is on. Note wise what he’s playing is great, but god do those patches sound dated.

The dated issue is another complaint I have with Entropia. Many times, this album sounds like a tribute to the early 90’s, especially in the aforementioned Winning a War. This unsurprisingly comes from the similarity to another popular Mike Patton project, Faith No More. This is all coming from some one who enjoys Faith No More, but honestly it does sound a bit weird considering the album’s foreword thinking structuring and songwriting.

I mentioned it before, but the amazing songwriting needs to be brought up again, because it’s just that good. Take a gander at To the End for example. The churning odd times build up the perfect amount of tension that’s released during the driving and epic choruses. A similar effect is found on People Passing By, where bubbling funk grooves explode into the pleading and soaring chorus before giving way to one of Gildenlow’s most impressive vocal performances during the bridge. There are however a few missteps, such as the jazz break in the middle of To the End and the drum solo outro of Nightmist, an otherwise fantastic track.

Pain of Salvation’s debut album is certainly impressive, especially considering it is in fact their debut, but not flawless. Daniel Gildenlow shows his songwriting skills are strong even at this early stage, despite wearing some influences on his sleeves. If you’re willing to enter the absurd and topsy-turvy world of Entropia I would highly recommend it, but keep in mind that Pain of Salvation had not reached the height of creative brilliance that they would later on in their career.

Easily one of the best debuts that has ever crossed my ears, Pain of Salvation's Entropia marked the start of what would be a consistent chain of absolutely staggering progressive metal concept albums - and what a magnificent start it was.

Entropia, which is derived from the words "entropy" and "utopia", is a very loose concept in comparison to future albums. While it does, in a way, follow a central story with specific characters, it also acts as a general commentary on war and societal injustice. As such, it is far more open to interpretation and will likely be approached differently by different people.

From a tangible standpoint, the album is divided into four chapters and follows a child, his father, and his mother through a period of war in a land called Entropia. When the father leaves his family to fight in the war, the album looks through the eyes of his son as he aches and bleeds within, longing for his father's return. Sorely missing the love and presence of his dad, the son eventually strays from his once promising path and falls into poverty and disarray... and finally, into the cold embrace of the grave. Broken with the news, the father pleads to God, and swears to take what's left of his family and move away into West Entropia.

Their new life, however, is not all that was expected. West Entropia has its own share of problems. Industry is spinning out of control, technology is pervasive throughout everything, violence and hatred are far closer than ever before, and all of it quickly becomes overbearing. So overbearing, that the man is unable to protect his wife from the dangers of this hostile new world. Upon suffering this second loss, the man has another conflict with God, and eventually arrives at the realization that every ounce of energy he had expended to create order in a given situation had resulted in chaos and despair on a much larger scale, and - finally coming to terms with his inability to protect his loved ones from harm - he commits suicide.

All of this is, as stated previously, only a guiding light within the larger concept which, again, is largely open to interpretation.

Musically, it is very obvious that Pain of Salvation were still trying to decide on a solid direction, as this album features elements of straight ahead metal, funk, jazz, bombastic prog rock, bittersweet balladry, and more. Daniel's voice is raw and slightly underdeveloped, comparatively speaking. You can feel the strain in his voice when he attempts to hit highs and lows that would come effortlessly on future albums, and he indulges himself in 'Yeeeaaaaahhh!'s and 'Waaaaaaahh!'s on here in ways that really never resurface past this album - however, this element of imperfection adds a welcome dimension of added energy and sincerity... and either way, he still has that sense of massive empathy and power that blows away just about any other male vocalist I have heard.

From a structural and song writing point of view, Entropia is all over the place. The band jumps between styles sporadically, moods and dynamics are constantly shifting around in potentially disorienting fashion, and the instrumental work here is easily the flashiest that they've ever done - though nothing near the masturbatory self-indulgences of the typical progressive metal band. Pain of Salvation have become known for always placing the song and concept first, and while it might not be quite as obvious on Entropia as the band were still experimenting with different directions and composing exploratively, it is still quite reasonable. This "New Band Syndrome", as I like to call it, actually works out very well for the band in many ways. The rhythm section of Johan Langell on drums and Kristoffer Gildenlow on bass is at its most frenetic, displaying much more of a jazz-influenced freestyle flow and throwing around some rather "in your face"-type mind-boggling patterns that we never really get to hear on future albums. Daniel Gildenlow's vocals are fascinating and exciting, often coming across like a newborn baby that wants to do absolutely everything at the same time, and do it to the absolute extremes. This was also Pain of Salvation's only album recorded with guitarist Daniel Magdic, and he displays some of the best lead work ever heard on a Pain of Salvation album.

In other words, while Pain of Salvation's future albums would become very serious and dramatic in just about every aspect, Entropia remains an extremely fun experience at surface-level while still retaining a high intelligence factor in the lyrical and conceptual departments. With that, it should also be said that this album might be the hardest Pain of Salvation album to get into because of how all over the place it is - but it's well worth the time to try.

Song-wise, just about everything on here is a trip... though the introductory track, interestingly named "! (Foreword)", is a very propulsive song that immediately kicks off with chugging riffs, pounding drums, and background keyboards, with Daniel alternating between high-pitched wails and angry shouts - and just like that, the song lapses into a pulsing bass line with Daniel singing in an almost narratory manner - "Listen to me now - You! Listen to me now - You! Do my words mean more to hear when I am standing here? On a stage like all your silly idols do!" Drums join the fray, providing cymbal flourishes as Daniel continues - "Open up your eyes - All! Let your walls and grins fall. Would you reach for something new, if the crowds were reaching too? Are you close enough to taste their tears at all?" From here, the song begins to plow through styles and tempo shifts like Mr. Bungle gone mad. Daniel Gildenlow also goes on to give several assuredly over-dramatic performances throughout the course of this song that are simply staggering and might even be considered as some of the greatest he has ever done.

"People Passing By", the longest song on the album at approximately nine minutes, is probably the best thing on here. Slap bass and funky drums launch the song into full throttle, and the dynamics from there on out remain in a state of continuous motion - hopping around from funk, to metal, to mellow segments of arpeggiated clean guitars, back to propulsive funk, and so forth. Around a quarter of the way through, the band enters into an extended instrumental section which goes on for around three minutes. Suddenly, the wall of sound drops out, leaving only Daniel crooning softly over a somber guitar melody, soon backed by a prominent bass line... and at the 7:00 mark we are treated to an explosive solo from guitarist Daniel Magdic that is as emotionally moving as it is technically astounding - without a doubt the most impressive piece of guitar work ever placed on a Pain of Salvation record.

"Oblivion Ocean" consists of nothing but Daniel singing over a clean guitar melody. His voice here is torn, pained, and absolutely forlorn. The last chorus of this song will likely bring tears to your eyes. Very moving and quite beautiful, both musically and lyrically.

"Stress", the most kinetic and energetic thing on here, has been described as King Crimson meets Michael Jackson, and I'm inclined to agree. "To The End" is straight-ahead driving metal that features a really jarring transition into pure jazz that lasts for only a few seconds before dropping out once again into metallic fury. "Void of Her" and "Circles" feature solo guitar and bass pieces, respectively. "Nightmist" is a somber song that unexpectedly drops into pure funk about halfway through, with more tasty slap bass and upbeat drum work, before breaking out into another monster guitar solo from Daniel Magdic and finally exploding into absolutely headbang-worthy metal. "Plains of Dawn" is a pained and mostly tranquil piece that features beautiful vocal harmonies, a gorgeous acoustic guitar solo, and soaring choruses with multiple performances from Daniel Gildenlow that will absolutely take your breath away... the song ends on a rather heavy note, and moves into the epilogue, "Leaving Entropia". This is a reflective, somber duet between Daniel's voice and an acoustic guitar, and does a wonderful job of bringing the album to a close.

With such a diverse musical soundscape, it's very easy to simply get lost in the music and forget all about the underlying groundwork. This is, of course, a very big mistake, because even when Pain of Salvation were throwing musical conventions out the window like a demented Danny Elfman, they still paid a great deal of attention to conceptual considerations. Indeed, the lyricism here is strong, complex, and passionate and needs to be taken in along with everything else... otherwise, the experience will be decidedly incomplete.

Entropia was actually my favorite Pain of Salvation album for quite a while. Though I've since had a change of heart, I will still say that this is an absolutely mammoth accomplishment for a debut album, and should be picked up post-haste by any progressive metal fan who is tired of the same old trite and boring Dream Theater worship and instead would like something that's actually progressive and compelling.

Pain of Salvation are peerless.

There are those few albums in the world, where every song is a fucking piece of art. One such album is Entropia by Pain of Salvation. Released in 1997, this was the band's debut, even though some of these songs were written in early 90's. Thus they had good 6 years to perfect them, compositionally and lyrically. The album was initially released only in Japan, until 1999, when the band found more popularity in the states and Europe after release of their second album.

So how is the music on this album? It encompasses a wide range of styles, flirting with some funk, techno and even jazz, but at the core it always has that prog metal sound. A lot of prog metal bands are Dream Theater monkeys of course, giving the genre a bad rap. And rightfully so, because it is infested with cumshooting wankers at every corner. This band however is its own branch of progressive metal, a branch where emotion plays as big a role as musicianship, and where musicianship does not equal playing fast, but rather interaction between musicians resulting in a good balance of improvisation and composition. There is no doubt that Daniel Gildenlow plays the lead role, with his genius vocals. Amazing range and power, though not quite as convincing and technical as they sound on later albums, yet more energetic and youthful. His guitar playing is also stellar technically and he has his own style. The others are of course very good.

Song-by-song reviews are usually tedious and longwinded, but heck let's do it, as each song deserves its own review:

! (Forward) - Opens the album with a blast. Great verses and an epic chorus. It alternates between heavy riffs and softer parts, with the middle section being very laid back. 10/10

Welcome to Entropia - A short keyboard intro with techno beat. Does the job well. 9/10

Winning a War - One of the bestest songs ever. Mostly laidback grooves and amazing melodies, telling a story about father leaving his son for war. The song probably best shows the range of what Daniel can do with his voice. It has very soft high falsetto, to high pitched screams, to a more raspy baritone register. 10/10

People Passing By - The big epic. It's separated into three parts. The first part is very funk, with some great slap bass and influenced by Faith No More. Also keyboardist Fredrik Hermansson has some nice organ patches, he never takes lead though. The bridge between first movement is very groovy, going into a fast polyrhythmic part reminiscent of 80s King Crimson. The third part is slow and gloomy, but very melodic, with some good solos. The keyboard patch on the outro sounds a bit cheap, but the production is not great on the whole album. 10/10

Oblivion Ocean - Quite a simple ballad, but very effective. Never really goes very far from very far, but hey it's about being stuck in the middle of an ocean. It would fit well on the radio, except it would be better than 100% of the other material. 10/10

Stress - The weirdest song, sounds inspired by Frank Zappa, or perhaps Mr. Bungle, the vocals are certainly very Mike Patton inspired. Someone else singing these falsetto soul-like vocals would automatically send the song to recycle bin, but Daniel pulls it off so well. 9.5/10

Revival - Not as ear catching as the other songs, but with repeated listens it sounds better and better. Commendable is Johan Langell's drum work. If you listen closely to the amazing cymbal work he does, perfectly complementing the song. 9.5/10

Void of Her - Great melodic guitar solo. It is basically the intro to the next song, and features a theme from the first track. Very lovely. 9.5/10

To the End - One of the most powerful and straight metal tracks, has a thrashy riff and epic power metal chorus. There is also a lot of rhythmic pull and clever syncopation, while it still grooves like hell. A jazz guitar solo too. One heavy track. 10/10

Circles - Another "intro to the next track" with bass solo opening. 9.5/10

Nightmist - Now this may just be the best song on the album, if I had a gun to my head. Quite mellow mostly, with soft vocals, reminiscent of some more laidback Queensryche stuff. Powerful chorus. The second verse especially sounds very mystical but also has some serious groove. The bass break is just damn funky and unexpected. Then great solos follow. At 4:33 mark, you can hear a fucking great scream. What is so cool about this song is how they vary each verse, having the same basic melody but slightly different arrangement. Work of art. 10/10

Plains of Dawn - Another long song, and very mellow. It sounds almost like a musical, albeit a good one, which is almost an oxymoron. It's very emotional, with great vocal phrasing, and melodies that will make your heart beat slightly faster. The outro goes heavy, but in my opinion they could have developed it a little more - it's a mellow song for 6 minutes and then the last minute is instrumental riff-part. Oh well. Still it is 10/10

Leaving Entropia (Epilogue) - Soft closing to the album, with just acoustic guitar and voice; it's too soft in fact, you can barely hear it but it's very nice, and the only song I can sing along to. 10/10

Well there you have it. Buy this album if you are in any way interested in the best music ever, along with the rest of their albums of course. There is one slight negative this album has and that is less than perfect production, it was probably done on a tight budget. But only talentless acts need gloss to cover up their music. It's a perfect album and only forshadows what is to come.

Here we have the first album of the now legendary Swedish prog band Pain of Salvation. They already display their technical abilty and versatility on this album. Entropia is a combination of the words: Entropy and Utopia. It is a concept album, though the songs stand on their own aswell.

We start off with Foreword(!) and what a brilliant opener with furious riffs and amazing melodies, immediately apparent are Daniel Gildenlow's amazing and unique vocals. He is not as good as on other albums, since he is still learning but he never fails to impress.

Then we come to Welcome to Entropia, which is just a short interlude, nothing special.

Up next is Winning a War, a tremendously emotional song brilliantly conveyed by Gildenlow. This song is another winner with great melodies and excellent lyrics.

People Passing By starts off with a funky bass riff and then explodes into a blistering riff. With clocking just over 9 minutes, the longest song on the album and without a doubt the best one on here. The best part starts at around 6 minutes into the song, with a slow guitar interlude and then prepare to be blown away by the amazing vocals of Gildenlow and one of the best guitar solos ever.

Oblivion Ocean is a dark ballad, with gloomy vocals from Gildenlow. An excellent track, filled with emotions, anger and hope.

Stress is an odd song, the band really shows their versatility here. With unique melodies and time changes, it takes a few listens to get into this song.

Revival is another winner, one of the best songs on the album. Again amazing melodies and vocals, with a great complementary guitar solo.

Void of her is a terrific short guitar solo, dripping with emotion.

To the End, another song that is different than anything else. It has a power metal feel to it, with an incredibly catchy chorus. This song is simple and straightforward, a nice change from the emotion riddled songs. This gives the listener some time to relax and catch their breath.

Circles is another song, with the same melody as in People Passing By but a bit darker, but still an excellent song.

Nightmist, what a fantastic song. Again a lot of elements of funk can be found here, catchy riffs and an excellent guitar solo. Daniel Gildenlow really shines here, especially his scream after the solo, displaying his amazing vocal range.

Plains of Dawn starts off as an uplifting ballad with a catchy chorus. Then at around 5 minutes into song, there comes this pounding riff followed by a great solo.

Leaving Entropia is a really fitting closer to the album, again it is gloomy but still catchy. It is a short song but nonetheless leaves an impression.

All in all I highly recommend Entropia, it isn't an easy album to get into. It takes a few listens to fully get into it. But it is definately worth it. Highly recommended!

Pain of Salvation is quite a prodigious band: on this, their debut album, they had already developed a voice all their own and were already technically flawless and brimming with emotion. All of these elements make for one of the greatest albums in the history of metal.

Everything about Entropia exudes quality. From the outset you can hear the super-clean production and precise, sufficiently heavy riffing, and when Gildenlow’s versatile and immensely heartfelt vocals kick in you know you are in for quite an experience.

Entropia’s songs all tie together while retaining uniqueness and integrity as stand-alone songs (whether it be the funk elements of “People Passing By” or the power-metal drive of “To the End”). All of the songs progress perfectly with tense introductions, winding midsections, and cathartic climaxes (yet, even with all of the album’s variety, it never loses focus). Each song is meticulously textured with vibrant interplay; vocals, guitar, bass, keyboard, and drums all play equal parts in the music with astonishing results.

Every full-length track of Entropia is an absolutely transcendent listen. Progressive metal has barely ever matched the quality of “Winning a War” or “Nightmist,” their sweeping melodies and complex rhythms enveloping the listener.

Highlights of the album include a mind-boggling breakdown about 5 minutes into “People Passing By,” Gildenlow’s sporadic guttural vocals on “Revival” and others, and the soaring scream of “Nightmist.” There are a few moments where Entropia falters slightly; the shorter transitional “songs” are not quite as strong as the album at large, and “Oblivion Ocean” is kind of repetitive. But these lowlights do little to detract from the quality of Entropia, an absolutely shimmering gem of progressive metal.