Entropia

Entropia

Track Listings

1. Foreword

2. Welcome to Entropia

3. Winning a War

4. People Passing By

5. Oblivion Ocean

6. Stress

7. Revival

8. Void of Her

9. To The End

10. Never Learn to Fly

11. Circles

12. Nightmist

13. Plains of Dawn

14. Leaving Entropia (Epilogue)

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
After the Very Positive Results of their Second Album "One Hour by the Concrete Lake"& a Huge Tour in Europe, Here is Finally the Debut Album. Previously Available Only in Japan. This is the Most Promising Band on Inside Out.

Entropia,Pain of Salvation,Inside Out U.S.,Heavy Metal,Pop,Popular Music,Rock

Average customer rating:

One hell of an amazing masterpiece!

Outstanding!

Different

Not as good as their subsequent efforts.

Flattened beneath waves of awesome...

Entropia
Pain of Salvation
Manufacturer: Inside Out U.S.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music
General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music
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One Hour By The Concrete Lake

The Perfect Element I

12:5

Scarsick

Be

ASIN: B00002MZ50
Release Date: 1999-12-07

Tracks:

Foreword
Welcome to Entropia
Winning a War
People Passing By
Oblivion Ocean
Stress
Revival
Void of Her
To The End
Never Learn to Fly
Circles
Nightmist
Plains of Dawn
Leaving Entropia (Epilogue)

Album Details

After the Very Positive Results of their Second Album "One Hour by the Concrete Lake"& a Huge Tour in Europe, Here is Finally the Debut Album. Previously Available Only in Japan. This is the Most Promising Band on Inside Out.

Customer Reviews:

One hell of an amazing masterpiece!.......2006-08-21

As a debut album, I have only two words to say.
HELL YES!

This is a short review, that says six words.
Amazing vocals, Great songs, Amazing lyrcs.

Enjoy!

Outstanding!.......2006-07-31

ENTROPIA is a wonderful album, and again shows the diversity of Pain of Salvation, one thing it has common with all of their albums, is that they're all completely different. With each successive album by this band they're all independant, and seperate from each other with out rehashing the same songs over and over, something bands like Dream Theater are guilty of. From Entropia to BE they all have something to offer. Entropia is conceptual, aggressive, and heavier than successive albums, which is totally killer. So if you enjoy this band, and you enjoy their work, purchase Entropia, because it's a master work.

Different.......2006-06-14

This is my favorite POS album, mainly due to its raw emotion and adventurous spirit. Is there any type of music not used on this recording? These guys are the Kings of BOMBAST, and that's what is so endearing about them. From whispered passages directly into ear- shattering power chords, all done at breakneck speed! I swear, a screeching guitar solo nearly left a shard from my headphone embedded in the side of my skull! Not for the faint of heart or someone who likes his/ her music predictable or formulaic. Really dig the first track, "Foreword," the emotionally- charged "Oblivion Ocean," and the guitar intro to "Void of Her." The whole disc is good and definitely not boring!

Not as good as their subsequent efforts........2006-02-28

Though I'm sure to piss off alot of POS fans, I just didn't feel this album was as well excecuted as the rest of their efforts. They do have a refreshing sound, which successfully manages to juxtapose several types of musical genres into a metal based blend. However, some of the songs, IMO, just seem too random, such as "Nightmist" and "Plains of Dawn" which features too much choir singing. Daniel has a great voice and only he should sing the verses. Having said that, the music is dead on. Overall it's a great debut album, but not quite a classic. For POS newbies, try One Hour By the Concrete Lake, a nearly perfect album in every regard.

Flattened beneath waves of awesome..........2005-12-24

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.

Average customer rating:

Entropia
Pain of Salvation
Manufacturer: Insideout
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00004TAIB
Release Date: 2000-03-23

Tracks:

! (Foreword)
Welcome To Entropia
Winning A War
People Passing By
Oblivion Ocean
Stress
Revival
Void Of Her
To The End
Never Learn To Fly
Circles
Nightmist
Plains Of Dawn
Leaving Entropia (Epilogue)

Album Details

Japanese Version featuring a Bonus Track: "Never Learn to Fly".

Average customer rating:

Entropia
Entropia
Manufacturer: Six Weeks Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Punk | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0009CTVC2
Release Date: 2003-09-22

Gamer Chick/Anime Girl and Free Project Entropia PC Game

Average customer rating:

Project-Entropia is the best!
Gamer Chick and PE Rule

Gamer Chick/Anime Girl and Free Project Entropia PC Game
DJ Hound Dog & Tina Leiu
Manufacturer: Full Circle
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Dance Pop | Dance & DJ | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Tracks: