Who are Pain Of Salvation?
Pain of Salvation is a Swedish metal band with Daniel Gildenlow as main composer and lyrics writer. Daniel is mainly behind the concept of every Pain of Salvation album.
One Hour by the concrete lake is their second album, released in 1998 in Asia and Daniel’s least favorite album. One Hour by the Concrete lake is about the weapons industry, war, nuclear waste, water, nature and sacred lands of the Natives.
The title “One Hour by the Concrete Lake” is inspired from lake Karachay in the former USSR where nuclear waste was disposed in huge amounts to the point that the lake was so infected. It was deicided that the lake would be all covered with cement to decrease the nuclear radiation coming from it. Few years later the concrete cracked and nuclear emission measured was far higher than any point on earth. It is thought that standing for one hour next to the lake will cause death few days later.
If you have recently seen the movie Avatar, it has alot of common topics with this album, starting from the use of weapons to the invasion of other’s lands for the “gold” in it.
Such topics are never found in any other music; in the history of pop music there was few tracks touching this subject, one of them is “Earth Song” by Micheal Jakson.
The Album contains 11 tracks and here is my description of the album music:
1. Spirit of the Land 0:43
Just a keyboard digital chorus that sets you in the mood/ links to the next track.
2. Inside 6:12
Starts with a beautiful rythm on drum cymbals, then the keyboard comes in with a repetitive melody and the drums and finally guitars follow. After few seconds this intro ends and the beat slows down, a keyboard effect is added and the vocals of Daniel appear. This track has a very weird composition and amazing lyrics. Every word is backed by the right music and giving it the right intensity it deserves. At 3:43, Daniel recites few facts about the past “Since 1990 (to 1998)there have been 93 wars in 70 states all around the world, with 5.5 million people dead. 75% of these people were civilians, 1 million of them were children.” The music reflects sadness in this part and the vocals of Daniel are so perfect after that where sadness then anger is reflected. I rate it 9/10.
3. The Big Machine 4:21
Starts with very simple guitar lines and Daniel screaming “Cry”. Alot of digital effects are used in this track, especially for the vocals, chorus and bass guitar. This track is mainly progressive rock. The ending is beautiful with the repetition of ” What if we loose control ?”and in the end “What if we stop” … I say words of conscience. I rate it 7/10.
4. New Year’s Eve 5:37
Weird, simple and beautiful guitar intro. Moves suddenly into an agressive style and then back to some calm status. Keys are always in the background sustaining the weird mood. Very creative drum lines and then comes a pure prog section of confusion. I rate it 6/10
5. Handful of Nothing 5:39
This track starts with a complex progressive drum intro; filled with simple guitar parts, moves to a weird complex pattern and keeps switching between the two. You would say thats boring but its never the same thing with Pain of Salvation as every part comes on its time following the whole mood of the lyrics and the great screams of Daniel. Of course like always lyrics are amazing, and in this track Daniel keeps repeating this amazing verse:
“If we eat more well’s get a hand full of nothing
We’ll be swallowing dirt
If we push more we’ll get a fist full of enough
We’ll’s be swallowing Blood”
I rate it 8/10
6. Water 5:05
I think this is one of this album’s greatest tracks especially in the way the music flows and the message is “fed” into your mind! Water is for the chosen, water is for the few … Keyboard effects play a major parts in the music and add just enough ambience to what the music requires. The track has a subtile aggressive mood that you dont always feel it; moves from anger to some strange calm with the accoustic part at the end as the final call the final hope! People wake up!
It ends with the emotional sentence it started with, sang with the softest voice Daniel can sing with ”I’ve always loved the sound of rain”.
I rate it 9/10
7. Home 5:44
Home is again something else … with a unique drum recording settings youll notice alot of effects in drums through out the track . Guitars seem to play a small pasrt in the music and its the bassist job to show of f a bit ! Not in technical abilities which is noticable elswhere but in the composition itself mainly the simplicity.Solo is amazing after it there is a short accoustic part and then the electric distortion is fueled again !Long outro with great varying parts such a prog composition … If one grasps the musical creativity put in this track he could take it and make 200 pop track from it.
Lyrics are about the Indian tribes in the American Black Hills and yes the famous track “Black Hills” follows home and continues the story .
I rate it 9/10
8. Black Hills 6:32
His Majesty! “Black Hills”! Surely the best track on this album. So much infinite nonearthial martial creativity in every second of this track! Amazing vocals at the start!
Talks about the American invaders stealing the lands of the American natives after they are done of most of it they move to the holy grounds… Ok it’s political! Still you can’t disagree with anything!
I rate it 10/10
9. Pilgrim 3:17
This track is set aside from all other tracks. It’s the only calm ballad one with soft voice from start to end and simple guitar chords.
Still there is nothing from the usual that one hears; it’s a listener-friendly creativity! Seem somehow a folk track in the instrumentals added or a movie soundtrack …
I rate it 6/10
10. Shore Serenity 3:13
What amazes me most is the guitar sound, close to clean accoustic but not so deep and thick. With added layers in mastering that are clear sometimes. They have their own way of mixing accoustic clean and distorted in progressive music. They are not Opeth: there is no growl in any of their albums yet … and there is not much common in the music but still I compare them to Opeth in the achivements they did. Making music in such a creative beautifull way in few years when others kept trying for years to come up with an interresting track.
I rate it 6/10
11. Inside Out 6:37
I will leave this track for you to comment on ! I rate it 7/10
I recommend you read the lyrics after listening to the album if you havent heard it yet … here are the lyrics:
http://www.darklyrics.com/lyrics/painofsalvation/onehourbytheconcretelake.html#1
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2:59 am
Great review, though I definetly wouldn’t rate the songs like the reviewer did. I didn’t enjoy Home or Black Hills all that much. Handful of Nothing and Inside are the ones that I find truly perfect, though I love Water and Inside Out too.