Pain oF salVation

entropia (1997) the swedish prog metal band came out of the gate flying with this debut, a concept album based around the tale of a war-torn family in the fictional world of entropia

(a hybrid of ‘entropy’ and ‘utopia’), taking in such intense themes as parental responsibility, governmental conspiracy and how humans react in extreme situations. the band’s daniel gildenlöw admitted that it took serious concentration to follow: “it’s a very complex concept that’s pretty hard to grasp,” he said. still, hats off for ambition.