One Hour by the Concrete Lake
Encyclopedia
One Hour by the Concrete Lake is Pain of Salvation
's second studio album. It is a concept album
focusing on the issues of nuclear power and waste, displacement of indigenous peoples, the firearm industry, and human discovery.
in July 1998. It was later released in Europe
in January 1999 on InsideOut, in the USA
in November 1999 on InsideOut America and in South America
in November 1999 on Hellion.
. A number of facts are given in the album booklet, with a list of sources provided at the end. The chronological order of songs is the same as the track order (as opposed to Entropia) and a number of the events and places are real. For example, the Black Hills
in North America
and Lake Karachay
in the former USSR. The sound is generally darker and more subdued than Entropia
, with a harsh, industrial feel to the guitar tones.
Daniel Gildenlöw
has personally, though reluctantly, stated that Concrete Lake is his least favorite Pain of Salvation
album.
In the second chapter, he travels around the world to many different places and sees what effects his weapons are actually having. He remembers being told that the weapons he helped to make would save human lives and preserve the peace, yet all he sees are weapons being used by people to kill other people—which is their designed purpose. Furthermore, he finds native people (specifically, Native American Indians
) struggling to reclaim their sacred land from the colonizing white man, who have also taken uranium
from the ground and dumped radioactive waste into the local rivers.
In the third chapter, he arrives at shores of Lake Karachay
(in Kyshtym
in the former USSR). There, so much nuclear waste had been dumped over the past fifty years that if one stood by the shore for one hour, the exposure to radiation would be such that death from physical injuries would inevitably occur within two weeks. Concrete blocks have been placed in the lake, falling to the bottom to help compress sediments down and prevent them from shifting. Still it would take tens of thousands of years for the deleterious effects of the radiation to subside. Unfortunately, after ten years, the concrete had already begun to crack and split open. The water in the lake has been decreasing steadily over the years and will eventually leave a dry lake bed. In addition, the lake connects to many underground rivers that go out to sea.
The man's quest to leave the machine ends as he realizes that it is impossible for anyone to truly leave the machine. Outside one machine there are merely more machines. However, he also realizes that the "machine" is only made of its "wheels," so the only thing he can do is choose which machine he wants to be part of and take some responsibility for its direction.
The album ends with the idea that anyone could easily come to understand the significance and immorality of the issues raised in the album; it would only require them to stand for one hour by the concrete lake.
Part of the Machine:
Spirit of Man:
Karachay:
Note: These are the reported track lengths on the CD casing, however, in reality the length vary a bit, most notably Inside Out, which goes for an extra 6 minutes (Pilgrim Reprise). This increases the total album playing time to ~60:00, linking the album length to the album title.
The Japanese edition of this album contains two bonus tracks after Inside Out, named "Beyond the Mirror" and "Timeweaver's Tale". The South American edition contains only "Beyond the Mirror".
All of the album's lyrics were written by Daniel Gildenlöw.
Other:
Pain of Salvation
Pain of Salvation is a Swedish progressive rock band featuring Daniel Gildenlöw, who is the lyricist, chief composer, guitarist, and lead vocalist. Their sound is characterised by powerful, accentuated guitar work, broad vocal range, abrupt switching between heavy and calm passages, intense...
's second studio album. It is a concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
focusing on the issues of nuclear power and waste, displacement of indigenous peoples, the firearm industry, and human discovery.
Release history
One Hour by the Concrete Lake was first released by Avalon Records in JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in July 1998. It was later released in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
in January 1999 on InsideOut, in the USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in November 1999 on InsideOut America and in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
in November 1999 on Hellion.
Overview
One Hour by the Concrete Lake takes a more thorough and factual approach to its concept than its predecessor, EntropiaEntropia (album)
Entropia is Pain of Salvation's first studio album. It is a concept album concerning the story of a family in a fictional society that is torn apart by a war. The title is a portmanteau of Entropy , and Utopia...
. A number of facts are given in the album booklet, with a list of sources provided at the end. The chronological order of songs is the same as the track order (as opposed to Entropia) and a number of the events and places are real. For example, the Black Hills
Black Hills
The Black Hills are a small, isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, USA. Set off from the main body of the Rocky Mountains, the region is something of a geological anomaly—accurately described as an "island of...
in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Lake Karachay
Lake Karachay
Lake Karachay , sometimes spelled Karachai, is a small lake in the southern Ural mountains in western Russia. Starting in 1951 the Soviet Union used Karachay as a dumping site for radioactive waste from Mayak, the nearby nuclear waste storage and reprocessing facility, located near the town of...
in the former USSR. The sound is generally darker and more subdued than Entropia
Entropia (album)
Entropia is Pain of Salvation's first studio album. It is a concept album concerning the story of a family in a fictional society that is torn apart by a war. The title is a portmanteau of Entropy , and Utopia...
, with a harsh, industrial feel to the guitar tones.
Daniel Gildenlöw
Daniel Gildenlöw
Daniel Gildenlöw is a Swedish musician and songwriter. He is best known as a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist for Pain of Salvation, a Swedish progressive metal band. In the band, he is the main songwriter, lead guitar player, and the mastermind behind each album's concept...
has personally, though reluctantly, stated that Concrete Lake is his least favorite Pain of Salvation
Pain of Salvation
Pain of Salvation is a Swedish progressive rock band featuring Daniel Gildenlöw, who is the lyricist, chief composer, guitarist, and lead vocalist. Their sound is characterised by powerful, accentuated guitar work, broad vocal range, abrupt switching between heavy and calm passages, intense...
album.
Concept
One Hour by the Concrete Lake follows the fictional tale of a man that works in the weapons industry. He begins to have doubts about the morality of his occupation, and realizes that he is just part of a big "machine" that controls his life. He makes a New Year's resolution to discover what consequences his life and his work have on other parts of the world, and decides to break free of the machine.In the second chapter, he travels around the world to many different places and sees what effects his weapons are actually having. He remembers being told that the weapons he helped to make would save human lives and preserve the peace, yet all he sees are weapons being used by people to kill other people—which is their designed purpose. Furthermore, he finds native people (specifically, Native American Indians
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
) struggling to reclaim their sacred land from the colonizing white man, who have also taken uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
from the ground and dumped radioactive waste into the local rivers.
In the third chapter, he arrives at shores of Lake Karachay
Lake Karachay
Lake Karachay , sometimes spelled Karachai, is a small lake in the southern Ural mountains in western Russia. Starting in 1951 the Soviet Union used Karachay as a dumping site for radioactive waste from Mayak, the nearby nuclear waste storage and reprocessing facility, located near the town of...
(in Kyshtym
Kyshtym
Kyshtym is a town in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located on the eastern slopes of the South Ural Mountains northwest of Chelyabinsk, near the town of Ozyorsk. Population: 36,000 .-History:...
in the former USSR). There, so much nuclear waste had been dumped over the past fifty years that if one stood by the shore for one hour, the exposure to radiation would be such that death from physical injuries would inevitably occur within two weeks. Concrete blocks have been placed in the lake, falling to the bottom to help compress sediments down and prevent them from shifting. Still it would take tens of thousands of years for the deleterious effects of the radiation to subside. Unfortunately, after ten years, the concrete had already begun to crack and split open. The water in the lake has been decreasing steadily over the years and will eventually leave a dry lake bed. In addition, the lake connects to many underground rivers that go out to sea.
The man's quest to leave the machine ends as he realizes that it is impossible for anyone to truly leave the machine. Outside one machine there are merely more machines. However, he also realizes that the "machine" is only made of its "wheels," so the only thing he can do is choose which machine he wants to be part of and take some responsibility for its direction.
The album ends with the idea that anyone could easily come to understand the significance and immorality of the issues raised in the album; it would only require them to stand for one hour by the concrete lake.
Track listing
- 1. Spirit of the Land (Music: D. Gildenlöw) 0:43
Part of the Machine:
- 2. Inside (D.Gildenlöw/D.Magdic/K.Gildenlöw/F.Hermansson) 6:12
- 3. The Big Machine (D.Gildenlöw/D.Magdic) 4:21
- 4. New Year’s Eve (D.Gildenlöw) 5:37
Spirit of Man:
- 5. Handful of Nothing (D.Gildenlöw) 5:39
- 6. Water (D.Gildenlöw/D.Magdic) 5:05
- 7. Home (D.Gildenlöw) 5:44
Karachay:
- 8. Black Hills (D.Gildenlöw) 6:32
- 9. Pilgrim (D.Gildenlöw) 3:17
- 10. Shore Serenity (D.Gildenlöw) 3:13
- 11. Inside Out (D.Gildenlöw/D.Magdic/F.Hermansson) 6:37
Note: These are the reported track lengths on the CD casing, however, in reality the length vary a bit, most notably Inside Out, which goes for an extra 6 minutes (Pilgrim Reprise). This increases the total album playing time to ~60:00, linking the album length to the album title.
The Japanese edition of this album contains two bonus tracks after Inside Out, named "Beyond the Mirror" and "Timeweaver's Tale". The South American edition contains only "Beyond the Mirror".
All of the album's lyrics were written by Daniel Gildenlöw.
Personnel
Band:- Daniel GildenlöwDaniel GildenlöwDaniel Gildenlöw is a Swedish musician and songwriter. He is best known as a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist for Pain of Salvation, a Swedish progressive metal band. In the band, he is the main songwriter, lead guitar player, and the mastermind behind each album's concept...
- lead vocals, guitar - Fredrik HermanssonFredrik HermanssonFredrik Hermansson is a Swedish musician. He is currently a keyboardist and backing vocalist in the Swedish progressive metal band Pain of Salvation. He also works as a free-lance piano player and composer...
- keyboards and samplers - Johan HallgrenJohan HallgrenJohan Hallgren is a Swedish musician. He is a guitarist and backing vocalist in the Swedish progressive metal band Pain of Salvation....
- guitar, vocals - Johan LangellJohan LangellJohan Langell is a Swedish musician. He is best known as the former drummer of the Swedish progressive metal band Pain of Salvation.-Pain of Salvation:*Hereafter *Entropia...
- drums and percussion, vocals - Kristoffer GildenlöwKristoffer GildenlöwKristoffer Gildenlöw is a Swedish musician and songwriter. He is best known for his work as bass guitarist in the band Pain of Salvation, a band started by his older brother Daniel Gildenlöw...
- bass, vocals
Other:
- Pain of SalvationPain of SalvationPain of Salvation is a Swedish progressive rock band featuring Daniel Gildenlöw, who is the lyricist, chief composer, guitarist, and lead vocalist. Their sound is characterised by powerful, accentuated guitar work, broad vocal range, abrupt switching between heavy and calm passages, intense...
- producer, mastering - Ander "Theo" Theander - producer, engineering
- Jonas ReingoldJonas ReingoldJonas Reingold is a bass guitar player from Malmö, Sweden. He started to play bass in 1986 when he subbed for a friend in the local famous act WIRE. The band was happy with his performance and offered him the spot...
- engineering - Mats Olsson - mastering
- Frasse Franzen - photos
- Patrik Larsson/Peel Production - cover art
- Katarina Åhlén - cello