One Hour By The Concrete Lake - Pain Of Salvation

...termed as progressive metal - one minute heavy the next soft with some strange time signatures and rythmic experimentation. The name 'Pain of Salvation' is meant to reflect the notion of 'balance' and, surprisingly, each piece of work released by this Swedish group is a concept album. Previous examples of the topics covered are war and its effect on the family and the brilliant 'Be' which is about the true nature of God and existence.

...daily ration of water - one poor gallon. And so he did - singing while doing it!'

'Black Hills' sings of the rites laughingly 'given back' to the american indians and the injustice they feel as the highest courts say that they do indeed own the 'Hills' yet will not return them to their rightful owners.

As the story concludes we begin to understand the dilemma faced by the munitions worker in that no matter how he tries ... more

Pain of Salvation are a band not easily categorised. They play what is generally termed as progressive metal - one minute heavy the next soft with some strange time signatures and rythmic experimentation. The name 'Pain of Salvation' is meant to reflect the notion of 'balance' and, surprisingly, each piece of work released by this Swedish group is a concept album. Previous examples of the topics covered are war and its effect on the family and the brilliant 'Be' which is about the true nature of God and existence.

The main force behind the band is vocalist/composer/guitarist Daniel Gildenlow who in 1984 created a group called 'Reality' at the age of 11. In '87 the group qualified to participate in the Swedish annual music contest 'Rock-SM' where they were the youngest group ever to be awarded entry and Gildenlow won the prize for 'Best Vocalist'.

'One Hour by the Concrete Lake', released in July of 1998, focuses on the environment and the indigenous peoples disposition amongst other things. The story is that of a man who works in a munitions factory who begins to have doubts about the morality of his job and as his New Years resolution vows to travel the World and see the consequences of his occupation.

The story ends when the main character discovers that it is impossible to break free of the 'machine' that controls his life because, outside of the 'machine', there are just more machines.

Track Listing

1 - Spirit of the Land
2 - Inside
3 - The Big Machine
4 - New Years Eve
5 - Handful of Nothing
6 - Water
7 - Home
8 - Black Hills
9 - Pilgrim
10 - Shore Serenity
11 - Inside Out

Track 1 'Spirit of the Land' is a simple piece lasting just under a minute played primarily on keyboard (very Enigma-ish) that leads gently into 'Inside' a distinctly progressive song with plenty of keyboards and percussive guitar playing which has the spoken words -

'Since 1990 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 Big Machine' tells of the mans workplace and of his doubts about the morality of such an occupation. The song, which at times is a gentle , melancholic piece, is really a heavy track with plenty of harsh guitar sounds and stabbed vocals which try and match the subject matter in their power.

'On these grey walls,
lovely pictures of the weapons we produce.
But not their actions...'

As the man realisies his work can only be the harbringer of pain he vows to witness the destruction he has been a part of and on New Years Eve resolves to set out on a journey that will open his eyes to the consequences of his actions and the bearing his life and work has on other parts of the globe.

'Handful of Nothing' has a back-drop of a trainlike drumbeat and guitar that at times are frantic in their pulsing rhythm which seems to increase the further the lyric speaks of the mans feelings to what he is witnessing.

'I left my life to ease my pain
But I cannot find that cleansing rain...
Look around, soon there'll be but ruins to be found'

Track 6, 'Water', begins with a harsh guitar sound before falling back into an almost sublime peace which in turn gives way to a harder, heavier sound prodominantly guitar with some brilliant solo work. It is lyrics of such power alongside some really impressive musical ability that really set these out from the usual herd of sycophants who try and put emotion to sound.

'I met this man wearing a worn old flyers cap. Every day he had to dig 10 feet down for his daily ration of water - one poor gallon. And so he did - singing while doing it!'

'Black Hills' sings of the rites laughingly 'given back' to the american indians and the injustice they feel as the highest courts say that they do indeed own the 'Hills' yet will not return them to their rightful owners.

As the story concludes we begin to understand the dilemma faced by the munitions worker in that no matter how he tries to escape the 'machine' he is and will always be part of some other 'machine'. In the end he implores that we all become aware of our actions and witness the consequences of them as we stand sixty minutes by the concrete lake and see for ourselves the destruction we can and are creating as a people.

'I swear there's someone inside
Fighting to get outside
Just give it all an hour
By the Concrete lake!'

Pain of Salvation have more to say than most bands ever will with some truly remarkable playing to back them up. They are not the easiest band to warm to with their erratic timing and disjointed rhythms but given the chance they can amaze you with their depth of feeling and passion.

The 'concrete lake' refers to Lake Karachay in the former USSR where so much nuclear waste was dumped that if you were to stand by its shores for sixty minutes you would die of radiation poisoning within two weeks. The lake was eventually filled in with concrete but, in order for the radiation levels to fall to a reasonable level, it would have to remain that way for tens of thousands of years. After ten years however the concrete cracked and split.

The album, by the way, lasts for one hour.

Also posted on Dooyoo. 

...less