ENTROPIA

A raw and somewhat choppy debut that is just teeming with creativity. In truth, I think this album is highly underrated and one of the best PoS records to date, second only to The Perfect Element. The album is more rocky, more funky, the vocals are not as developed but less pretentious and less overly sentimental / emotional. Don't get me wrong, Gildenglow still has an extremely emotive voice but this record is less centered on him and showcases the band more than any other record.

Instrumentally this album is unmatched and the bands ability in this record to match complex instrumentals with profound lyrics and thoughtful vocals makes this an extremely deep record. At first listen I put the record aside as 'just a band trying to find themselves', in a way this is true but at the same time, although this doesn't sound like later PoS it certainly isn't carbon cut copies of other progressive metal bands, this is an album that has a unique feel to it that I haven't heard in any other record.

Some parts of the album feel out of place, the bass intro to 'People Passing By' and 'Stress' as a whole but there is also creative, masterful, intelligent music on every single track that, perhaps with some more editing and production time would feel more defined but as is remains raw but powerful... There is no fluff in this record.

I think that's why I like this record more than all PoS records (including The Perfect Element, though I think TPE is a stronger album), it's raw, it's pure, this album is not catering to fans or trying desperately hard to sound like Pain of Salvation. This album didn't set out to out-do any previous album and wow us with how profound and perfect the band can sound, on the contrary this album just seeks to show us some creative and intelligent music, unlike any we have heard before (perhaps... Not quite like any heard since).

The imperfections in the music and the vocals are, in many ways, what sets this album apart from its successors and makes it feel so genuine and brilliant in its own way. It's not perfect but it's wholly original and in a genre that seems to reward bands for sounding a heck of a lot like Dream Theater that means a lot.

4/5 stars.