reating a viable rock opera is a tricky task, as both narrative and musical elements must be combined so that neither component appears bland or trite. On this two-disc, 28-track package, Jay Gaumer and Bill Hilburn, the duo who comprise Entropia, attempt this feat by trying to establish a vivid futuristic setting--and a surprisingly invigorating plot--for their 90-minute-plus tale.
The year is 2020 A.D., and due to security infractions, corporate giant TexCon has had their lunar facilities seized by the United Nations. As a result, the firm has surreptitiously fashioned an elite military force to lead a psionic assault against the moon's inhabitants. The combatants are recruited from disaffected youngsters who have become addicted to "wire," a highly lethal electronic drug that can be fed directly into the brain. Jonny Trumbo, leader of a popular wirehead punk band, is seduced into joining the company's battle, and after inadvertently killing everyone on the satellite--including his own troops--he is overcome with guilt and
sadness.
Such wanton destruction, combined with his psychic instability, has turned Trumbo into a liability for the corporation. The firm lures him into a cryogenic sleep chamber which they launch into deep space. While dormant, the troubled soldier links up with A.I., TexCon's neural network computer. As the two ultimately merge, the machine inherits the young man's soul, and with a triumphant refrain of "I am alive, I am, I am A.I." their collective sentience melds with the Universe...unless, of course, the entire escapade is just a wire-induced psychotic high.
Trumbo is no Tommy
Industrial takeovers are nothing new, but the idea that a company could snare the soul of an individual elicits
intriguing possibilities. Musically presenting such a scheme is a challenge which Entropia confronts successfully. The resulting aural adventure, which includes both songs and dialogue, is worthwhile.
Along with a supporting cast of about a dozen individuals, the band develops characters and conflicts that are multi-faceted and credible. Trumbo's ideological differences with his father, which are explored in the tunes "Monkey 100" and "Space Case," highlight the friction that occurs between almost all fathers and sons, while cuts like the blissful "My Body Electric" and the East Indian-influenced "Hard Sleep" offer a slightly exotic sound that underscores the wire-induced expanding consciousness of the protagonist. The story is also fleshed out through short narrative passages in the booklet that accompanies the set, along with printed lyrics for all of the compositions.
It's hard not to compare this tale with famous rock operas such as Jesus Christ Superstar or Tommy, but other than a few surface similarities (for example, TexCon drug supplier Ricci Duprov is clearly analogous to The Who's Acid Queen) the narrative is fairly original. Now and again one of the vocalists may offer a stilted or flat performance, and the music of Trumbo's cyberpunk band Mere Anarchy could have used a lot more dissonance and anger, but Entropia nevertheless creates an attractive, easily digestible collection that raises some interesting questions while thoroughly engaging listeners.
