Entropia is Pain of Salvation's first studio album. It is a concept album about ***. The title is a hybrid of Entropy (from thermodynamics, the measure of disorder present in a system), and Utopia (the ideal society).

Release History

Entropia was first released by the Japanese company Marquee on their Avalon label in August 1997. Following favourable reviews and positive fan reactions in the progressive rock/metal world, Marquee decided to bring Daniel over to Tokyo a week in October 1997 to promote the album. While in Tokyo, Daniel featured in various TV and radio shows, did interviews for the Japanese metal press, and performed in selected record stores. Around this time, purchasing albums through online record stores was commonplace, and fans from around the world began to do so with Entropia.

It was subsequently released in Romania (1998 on Rocris Discs), in Europe (September 1999 on InsideOut Music), in South America (September 1999 on Hellion), and in the USA (2000 on InsideOut America). This elaborate release history is indicitive of a band's first album and the fact that they do not have a long-term contract with a major record label. As a result, the albumis released a number of times on a number of different labels in a number of countries, as demostrated with Pain of Salvation.

Overview

Entropia is perhaps best described as a groovy blend of progressive metal, with an original concept attacked from an original angle.

Analysis

(needs writing...)

• Effect of war on family
• Father leaves family to fight in war (to protect family)
• Death of son -> Man's conflict with God
• Move to West Entropia (swears to protect loved ones)
• Hostile new life
• Death of wife -> Man's conflict with God
• Comes to terms with guilt for failing to protect loved ones

• Chronological order of songs (the "time markers" that were to supposedly allow the chronological ordering of songs possible were somehow omitted from the final booklet production)

Track listing

1. ! (foreword)

Chapter I:

2. Welcome to Entropia

3. Winning a War

4. People Passing By

5. Oblivion Ocean

Chapter II:

6. Stress

7. Revival

8. Void of Her

9. To the End

Chapter III:

10. Circles

11. Nightmist

12. Plains of Dawn

13. Leaving Entropia (epilogue)

The Japanese version of Entropia has a bonus track after To the End titled Never Learn to Fly.

All music by Daniel Gildenlöw except 1, 4 (part II), 6, 7 & 9 by Daniel Gildenlöw and Daniel Magdic.

Personnel

Band:

• Daniel Gildenlöw - lead vocals, guitar
• Fredrik Hermansson - keyboards
• Daniel Magdic - guitar, vocals
• Johan Langell - drums, vocals
• Kristoffer Gildenlöw - bass, vocals

Other:

• Pain of Salvation - producer, mastering
• Ander "Theo" Theander - producer, engineering
• Anders Hansson - engineering