Pain of Salvation - BE

[Tim_DJ]

1. Animae Partus
2. Deus Nova
3. Imago
4. Pluvius Aestivus
5. Lilium Cruentus
6. Nauticus
7. Dea Pecuniae
8. Vocari Dei
9. Diffidentia
10. Nihil Morari
11. Latertius Valette
12. Omni
13. Iter Impius
14. Matius/Nauticus II
15. Animae Partus II


Very few progressive rock albums have been awaited with such anticipation. POS's Be has been in the making for nearly a year, and fans have been clammering for it. But the finished product is far from what was to be expected. Be is a concept album that almost completely departs from the POS sound that has made them so popular. It is hard to imagine an album that was more anticipated that fell this far short of expectations.

Part of the problem might be the fact that I am a fan of their last studio album, Remedy Lane (2002). Such a rocking prog album alowed one to think that this band had incredible potential. What a departure from Remedy Lane Be is. First off, only one track on the album has that signature heavy style to it. The rest alternates between symphonic parts, long narration parts, and folk style music.

The album is based around a concept about God. It states that maybe God is just as perplexed about the way things in this world have turned out as we are. Perhaps he has created things the way that they are so that he can learn more about us. This strange topic has resulted in an equally strange album. One often finds a concept piece from an album that gets better with each listen. This was not the case for me when I played Be a second and third time.

Without going into the ins and outs of each song, several tracks do bear mentioning to prove this point. First, the second track on the album has some rocking feel to it. However, as is the case with most of the tracks on the disc, there is an annoying narration in the background, this one detailing the world population at intervals of 1000 years (no, I'm not kidding). The 6th track on the album sounds more of an old spiritual that you might have heard in the the Deep South during the early to mid 1800s. While there is nothing wrong with this sound, it is certainly out of place on a POS album. Track 7 is the long one of the album, coming in at just over 10 minutes. It is, however, not going to please prog rockers and progmetal fans. It has a circus melody sound to it. Finally, track 8 is a tune with soft music in the background. The song is highlighted (if you can say that) by samples of phone calls made to God complaining to him. The music in the background is nice and would have made for a great instrumental. Unfortunately, it is lost in these annoying phone calls.

This album will see good sales at first, as those who have waited so long for it finally get their hands on it. I find it hard to believe, though, that word of mouth will push album sales any further. Listening to Daniel Gildenlow question God and push his concept of who God is and what he is doing in the world today makes listening difficult. It seems to me that there is enough music here to have made a great album. Unfortunately, the direction that the band has taken here manages to ruin much of it. One can only hope that in future releases POS will return to their roots and once again make some of the finest Progressive rock/metal out there.

[pogoowner]

I haven't heard this album yet, but I think this is perhaps the first time I've seen anything negative about it. I must admit, however, that the clips I've heard and the extensive use of sound samples within the songs do not have me at all excited, nor does the concept behind the album. I don't think the lack of heaviness will bother me much, but I was hoping for something more in the vein of TPE or RL.

[ianmitchell]

The reviews I've seen for this album have all been one extreme or the other - they either say it's a brilliant masterpiece or absolutely horrible. I'm sure I'll end up getting it myself and giving it a chance.

[diddy]

Often people do not like albums just because the album isn't what they expected. I think it's a fatal thing when listening to albums: expectations.
Why DON'T like BE just because I expected more Metal? I think the main point is that you LIKE what you're hearing, not looking if it is what you expected. Everyone expected BE to be as powerfull as all the other POS albums...but maybe Daniel/The Band didn't want to copy their own sound over and over again...why should they do what all people expect them to do? Isn't that one point about prog? The free will of musicians? Not thinking about what people will say? Indeed, that's what prog is all about!

I like the new album. It has it's weak elements such as the partly too long samples and the really terrible song "Nauticus" (Oh Lord...). But in general I think that this album is a really good one. One question you have to ask yourself might be: What would be my opinion about the SAME album if it wasn't by POS? I bet some of you would think better of it...maybe even say something like: Oh, listen, it sounds like POS...because the album is STILL typical POS.

Oh and don't forget Daniel's voice He's one of the best singers I know...in general, not only prog...

[Tim_DJ]

Often people do not like albums just because the album isn't what they expected. I think it's a fatal thing when listening to albums: expectations.
Why DON'T like BE just because I expected more Metal? I think the main point is that you LIKE what you're hearing, not looking if it is what you expected. Everyone expected BE to be as powerfull as all the other POS albums...but maybe Daniel/The Band didn't want to copy their own sound over and over again...why should they do what all people expect them to do? Isn't that one point about prog? The free will of musicians? Not thinking about what people will say? Indeed, that's what prog is all about!

I like the new album. It has it's weak elements such as the partly too long samples and the really terrible song "Nauticus" (Oh Lord...). But in general I think that this album is a really good one. One question you have to ask yourself might be: What would be my opinion about the SAME album if it wasn't by POS? I bet some of you would think better of it...maybe even say something like: Oh, listen, it sounds like POS...because the album is STILL typical POS.

Oh and don't forget Daniel's voice He's one of the best singers I know...in general, not only prog...

I can very easily answer that I wouldn't like this album even if it came from Dream Theater. I am all to aware about what prog is all about. Sure, musicians are free to create whatever work they want, but this, after several listens, was not a good one. I listened to it with an open mind and excitement the first time, and tried to get into it again several times later. Not being a huge PoS fan, I really didn't have any expectations. So it wasn't a matter of being dissapointed. It was a matter of me thinking that this just wasn't a good album. I imagine that there was a lot of thought, time, and energy that went into the creation of Be. The end product, however, just wasn't to my liking. Hence the review.

[diddy]

Yes, I never said, or wanted to say that especially YOU judged this way. I read a lot of reviews for this album and that's what I thought while reading them. Many people moan about this album just because it's not what they expected, of course not all people do so...
Everybody has his own opinions and tastes...and that's good, nobody wants it to be different, right?

Hmmm, forgot to log in...

[epifreak]

To be fair, this was the first POS album I heard, so I'm probably rather biased, but I love both this album and Remedy Lane. After hearing Be, I grabbed another album off of a friend (Entropia I think?) Anyway, my immediate thought was "great, another DT clone." I've since changed opinion, but the point is that in this album, POS seems to leave all other usual influences behind, and I think that's a good thing. I look forward to more POS with either sound.