Here we go. The first nominee for the Identity Matrix Hall of Fame...
One Hour by the Concrete Lake by Pain of Salvation.
Year: 1998
Genre: Progressive Rock/Metal
Nationality: Swedish
The Review: These reviews are going to be quick and to the point so I don't spend forever on them. First and foremost this album left an impression on me that very few concept albums have before now, thats saying something with my recent obsession with Coheed and Cambria. The prog rock/metal band Pain of Salvation have done something special with this concept album. Talking about the troubles of the weapons industry and a mans journey through the morality behind his occupation. The album is heavy, industrial, and loud. It carries the emotions within the instrumentation more so than the vocals. I saw a lot of Dream Theatre in these guys with the opening track, Inside. The twinkling piano that finds its way into more tracks than the first is a very neat touch that brings more emotion like I said earlier within the instrumentation. The track reminds me of Empire era Queensryche with the vocalization. The lead singer, while not Geoff Tate caliber, is very capable of delivering high powered vocals. A very strong opening leads into three excellent hard hitting tracks, The Big Machine, New Year's Eve, and Handful of Nothing. The latter being my favorite of the three. The combination of industrial tones over the heavy guitars bring out the overall heaviness of the album. The album then hits quite a few similar notes with Water, Home, and Black Hills. It keeps the pace of the album yet failing to add anything new to the mix. But the final three songs kick it out with a bang with Inside Out being a thirteen minute track that combines all of the elements of the album into one hell of a piece. Progressive rock can be daunting at first as a genre, but these gentlemen have made it look quite easy by taking a mix of Dream Theatre, Queensryche, and even some elements of earlier bands like Yes and Genesis to create a very captivating sound. I was overall very engaged while listening to this record. (For the record each album is listened to about 3 times before I write these reviews. One last night, one this morning, and one this afternoon.) Now the album does have quite a few production issues that I have with some tracks. Certain songs attempt the start and stop of guitars at random times to add some more progressiveness to the track. It doesn't work for me and takes away from the song, but this isn't anything to ruin the experience of the songs individually. Overall the album is very engaging, cohesive, and interesting in concept.
One Hour by the Concrete Lake receives an 8.8/10
Standout Tracks: Inside, The Big Machine, Handful of Nothing, Inside Out, New Years Eve
Weaker Tracks: Black Hills, Home, Water (I still liked them though)
Thus it is the first album to enter the Identity Matrix Hall of Fame. Congratulations to both Salvation of Pain (even though they do not care) and congratulations to Chula Vista with recommending the first album into the hall.