ONE HOUR BY THE CONCRETE LAKE

This is an often overlooked album of Pain of Salvation. It is a bit segmented and many of the songs end abruptly, this could be why. It also seems more experimental then any of their later works, though their previous album, "Entropia" may have been more experimental. I think these two have been experiments to establish what they truely want to do. And the results of these experiments have been "The Perfect Element Part I," "Remedy Lane," and "BE." I think in these later albums they know more about what they're doing and know what they want. But these are no reasons to discount "Entropia" or in this case, "Concrete Lake." "Concrete Lake" has many great parts in it, and as a whole, is a pretty good idea. I personally think the songs are less fragmented, and PoS has tryed to make some more solid songs. The songs are still quite heavy in this album, but their are many acoustic passages and folk like parts. My two favorite songs on the album are "Inside" and "Home." These two songs have a great deal of energy and emotion. They have made some very dramatic parts that work well and they continue some of these ideas in later albums. The story is well constucted. It is about a man trying to get out of the machine that is life and society. The ending isn't nearly as dramatic as "The Perfect Element," but it serves it's purpose. It gives good insite onto many of the problem in the world that we can solve. And intends to prove that just one person can make a difference even in a large world. I gave it a four since it is an excellent effort by Pain of Salvation, but definately not their best. It shows how they have evoled and has much experiment in song structures and styles, but it is more concise than "Entropia," both are great albums and should not be ignored simply because their later works may be masterpieces.