Ég hef verið fastur gestur á tónlistarborði einu sem heitir Perpetual Motion (sem er að finna á http://www.mindcage.com/wwwboard/wwwboard.html) í ein 6 ár og þar er mikið af tónlistarspekúlentum sem eru með sínar eigin vefsíður sjálfir þar sem þeir t.d. gagnrýna diska. Einn þeirra er Larry nokkur Daglieri, sem er mikill progressive metal hundur og virkilega fróður maður um allt sem heitir prog…

Ég var að kíkja í gegnum web.archive.org og fann þessa umsögn hans þar á disknum Entropia með Pain of Salvation. Þetta er skrifað í október 1997, eftir að sveitin hafði gefið þennan disk einungis út í Japan (voru ekki komnir með samning annars staðar í heiminum) og var nær gjörsamlega óþekkt. Ja, kannski fyrir utan Perpetual Motion borðið…

En hvað um það, Larry tekst oftast að skrifa umsagnir sem, þó að vera langar, ná að lýsa disk það vel að flestir ef ekki allir sem lesa umsögnina, ættu að geta dæmt ef að viðkomandi diskur væri eitthvað fyrir þá eða ekki.

Ég er að segja ykkur það að þegar menn hafa lesið nokkrar umsagnir eftir Larry, þá hætta menn alveg að taka mark á gagnrýnendum sem eru óhræddir við að slamma bönd fyrir eitthvað sem tengist tónlistinni ekkert, eins og t.d. hvernig hljómsveitarmenn líta út.

Hér kemur umsögnin…

sjá: http://web.archive.org/web/19971017100227/www.mindcage. com/wwwboard/messages/6719.html

PAIN OF SALVATION / Entropia

Posted by Larry D on October 06, 1997 at 19:48:42:

Here is another one of those creative, unique discs lots of people have been searching for …… It is also a very hard disc to describe, and I am having just as hard a time absorbing this one as I did with Heaven's Cry [Food for Thought Substitute]….. Both are quite different from just being able to compare them to another band, and summarizing it with just a few words ….. discs this intricate deserve much better than that ………

Hailing from Sweden I believe, they have that “heavy crunch” that seems to emanate from Swedish prog bands ….. someone must have the distinct “crunch” bottled up there and sell it to bands, for this band is no exception to the famous “crunch” …. however, the crunch doesn't stop there ….. taking from many other styles, and combining them all into one, they have come up with yet another interesting disc that boggles the mind at times………


The style-

I can't describe this style very easily ….. so, I have the disc playing as I write to try to bring a play by play sound to give the best idea of what they are all about ….. they are definitely a prog metal band, there is no doubt that this is metal, and there is no doubt that this is prog ….. but, they take some thrash, some funk, some prog rock (?), throw in some soft, acoustic passages, create a concept that I still can't figure out, and the disc is made…..
Right at the opener, it is THRASH ….. don't run out yet, I checked the counter, and it lasts for about 2 minutes until it kicks into some “normal” prog metal, stopping here and there to get soft, tell a bit of the story, and then kick back into the brutality of the story at high gear ……. 5 minutes into the first song now, I hear some atmospheric keyboards, with some neat melodic prog metal …… 4 of the 5 members sing on this disc, so there are harmonies abound …… and sometimes, there are 2-3 singers singing different lines, making it sound like harmonies, but maintaining separate lines … I believe this is essential to the story ……. it's a concept disc, so I can't really say that each song stands on its own, but as I watch each track move along, the tone of the disc changes, apparently going into another section of the story ……. I can't begin to tell you what this story is all about yet, because the CD insert is a small BOOK ……. this is a LONG disc, clocking it at around 75 minutes ….. track 4 starts out with some funk bass guitar, and then goes into a sort of “groovy” line …… its almost like a jazzy feel, which lasts for about a minute then goes back to the heavy crunch….. as I said, this disc is all over the place, it is quite hard to follow musically, never mind lyrically …… people who want to be soaked with confusion, look no further, your disc is here …… if you have the tolerance for many different musical styles thrown into your prog, grab a hold of this, and then lock yourself away for a few weeks and try to keep up with this one …… it's fun, but its hard as well ……


The band -

A 5-piece outfit ….. drums, bass, 2 guitars, and keyboards …. everyone sings except the keyboard player, with one of the guitarists doing most of the leads …… no single instrument stands out here, its not a contest, its a story ….. but clearly, the guitars are doing most of the work on the disc, and they also have the toughest assignment, because their leads are built right into the melodies, making this one tough to try to play aling with if you are a musician ……. there are no “normal” chord riffs, per se, but the sings plod along alternating between acoustic guitar, electric guitar, with the leads being built into the melodies and choruses … the keyboards are used mainly as a background for the guitars, and one interesting thing to note about the duals, they almost never play the same thing … they are always doing something different, creating a huge sound, and this is exactly how Heavens Cry achieves their sound also …… an interesting approach ……. there is nothing normal about the style they use to achieve their sound …….


The production -

Raw, and way in your face … there isn't an ounce of reverb to be found anywhere on this disc except for the vocals during the soft passages, which enhance the dark, gloomy feel to this disc ….. the recording itself is great ……. everything is right out front, and each is heard clearly…… its like, “what you hear is what you get” type approach, nothing fancy here in the effects dept … these guys want to tell a story, and want it to sound as natural as possible ….. the acoustic guitars are especially clean and crisp, and haunting as the vocals switch to the soft mode …… the drums are just a bit dull, but this is actually adds to the dark feel of the disc ….. a clean, crisp sound just won't do justice here ……


The singer -

This is where I have my biggest problem, personally …… I would have to compare him to many people to give an accurate description, because of his diverse style …… at times, he can be very aggressive, almost brutal …. some of the thrashier parts, he sounds like a growly singer maybe like Matt Barlowe when he yells….. at other times, he sounds like a softer version of any number of singers out there in the low to mid range area …….no one comes to mind when I hear him ……… he yells, he sings softly, he almost cries at times, he sometimes even sounds like an industrial style singer at times …. Tool, Primus, and others of this sort come to mind briefly listening to him …. this can be intersting for some, this can be very annoying to others depending on your tolerance ….. to pin him down to just one singer is useless, as he uses so many voices to bring the story across …… I would have to say that personally, he is very good for maybe 3/4 of the disc, and then irritating and downright brutal for the other equal shares of the disc …… to some, he will be good all the way through, its just a personal taste, however, do not look for an operatic singer here …. this guy wants to bring this story to you any way he can, and , depending on the part of the story dtermines which voice he will use …… interesting at the very least……


The lyrics -

Get out your thinking caps again, this is another one of those “Psych 101 required” discs ….. I stil haven't gotten to the story line yet, but lots of time it appears to be a son having dialogue with his father, and you can hear the difference in voice when the two are interacting…..
The lyrics are on about 12 pages of a small booklet …. and get out your magnifying glasses too as there are so many words here, they had to shrink them down to get them all onto the page ……
Very intelligent thoughts at work here folks, check this passage out:

Death is but a dream
So what need to be revealed
Death is but a dream of a life that never was
What need to be remembered
What need to be understood

In the midt of fear we find that
Death is the realm of time …..

Prepare for some serious mind probing ……..


The comments -

Once again, I cannot honestly say to everyone to go out and buy this one at all costs, because the disc is so diverse, different and heavy, it may not be for everyone …….
It is not a very pretty disc, melodically speaking, although in some parts it is quite riveting when they tone it down ……. the slow, acoustical passages are dreamy, but overall this is a DARK, dreary disc ….. it is not Doom, it doesn't have the slightest hint of slowing down and plodding along, rather they use a start, stop, start approach to keep you guessing at what they are going to to next ………
I myself am having a tough time absorbing it, I still don't know what to make of this thing, and I'll bet that it takes quite awhile before I actually begin to see the light, if I can stick it out long enough ….. which makes this disc even more interesting, beacause it will keep you busy for weeks and weeks …….
Once again, if you are looking for something “different”, pick this up, and then come back and say you understand the concept and the music of this disc … this is one way to prove one's intelligence, because this disc really taxes the mind and the senses ….. prepare, and beware …….. the Pain is only beginning ……..

Larry