SAMPLES OF BE!!! There have been many great concept albums, with Pink Floyd's "The Wall', Dream Theater's "Scenes From A Memory", and Opeth's "Still Life" among the best of them. They all have intricate plotlines that move along with the music and tell an engaging story of a person/people. Pain of Salvation, with their new epic concept album, "BE", is more than poised to join this group. The album revolves around the concept of the creation of the human race and its progression through history until its demise. The first track, "Animae Partus", introduces "God" who decides to create man in his own image, hungry for knowledge. "Deus Nova" starts off with strings, meandering woodwinds, and a chromatic piano pulse. (The album boasts an accompaniment by a 9-piece orchestra. What is special is that they don't just back-up the band, they carry the melody at times, and play a vital role on the album.) After that is the chugging, odd meter guitar riffs we all know and love from Pain of Salvation. This is an intense 3-minute instrumental, in the background stating the population from 9500 BC to 2000 AD, and the issue of exponential population growth and its impact on the planet.... After another short statement from "God", the music really kicks in. Programmed drum beats sound like ancient tribal music following an acoustic melody thats one of the main themes on the album. The song "Imago" is a quirky 6/8 piece thats a mix of tribal music, Celtic folk music, with some rock influences. Vocalist/Guitarist/Songwriter Daniel Gildenlow shines on this song, sporting a unique baritone contrasting his usually more varied range. This song shifts to thunder, then to the haunting instrumental "Pluvius Aestivus", starting with flowing piano and light pizzicato strings, it leads to an amazing climax with the whole orchestra providing a lush layer of sound for Hermansson's piano lead. The piano sounds a lot like classical composers such as Beethoven and Mozart, and almost as amazing. "Lillium Cruentus" is a song that more closely resembles POS's "normal material". Some wah-like spacey guitar sounds accompanies some complex drum patterns and amazing vocals by Gildenlow. The chorus kicks into a heavy duty riff, soaring vocals and beautiful melodies. One of the best tracks on the album. "Nauticus" is a breathtaking rendition of what a black slave's blues would be, with Daniel playing a lamenting soul asking if God would "hear our prayer". "Dea Pecuniae" is an epic 10 minute track in the vein of Pink Floyd, introducing Mr. Money as an arrogant, rich, self-serving (insert bad name here) that is the epitome of the materialistic culture the world has become. He salutes "all you poor b*stards who suck it up and pay my debts" and muses "I could have bought a 3rd world country with the riches that I spent". It is a triumphant song after much introspectiveness, and while some may find it misplaced I think its a perfect depiction of what is going on now, endless optimism while our Earth suffers.... "Vocari Dae" is a 4-minute track featuring samples that address God. Some question god, some thank him, some pour out their hearts, some apologize, a very inspiring and heart-bending song for me. The band left an answering machine for people to call and leave random messages to God, and the one they reflect most is the "questioning of God", which is brought into more light on the next track "Differentia (Breaching the Core)". A blazingly heavy track, Daniel acts as the humans who begin to angrily denounce God and affirm their devotion to money. As the song ends and mellows out God realizes "I'm fading". "Nihil Morari" turns into a frenetic song after a quiet beginning, as man realizes that the Earth is dying. There are new clips of disasters such as droughts, nuclear explosions, tidal waves, power outages, as the population in 2050 climbs to a staggering 9 billion. Strings turn to a very sad track "Latericius Valete", with somber oboe melodies and acoustic lines. Year 2060 AD: 1.2 million people... "Omni" is a very powerful church organ piece with Daniel Gildenlow singing as if from intense grief, a very haunting track if listened to in the right mood. Now we come to the centrepiece of the album, the power ballad "Iter Impius". In this song Mr. Money is the only one left on Earth...and suddenly to him money is nothing to him as he is "all alone on my bloodstained throne". The song starts with breathtaking piano and a vocal performance by Daniel G. that ranks among the best of all time. As strings accompany him in the third verse, its almost too much to take. It builds to a powerful chorus and solo and the intensity continues towards its amazing ending, just spectacular. Track 14 is "Martius Nauticus II", which twists all of the albums themes and with them the song is truly amazing. God appears again as the age of man passes and its a very triumphant conclusion as time goes on...pronouncing at the end simply, "I Am". I recommend anyone with an open mind to check out this album. I would rate this as one of my favourite albums of all time. Its truly revoluntionary and mixes metal with basically every genre possible, so that it is just MUSIC, and amazing music at that.
I've loved every Pain of Salvation song I've heard, and hopefully I'll pick up this album this season.
Its WAY different then their usual sound, but I still love it. Actually, in some POS stuff I found that they where kind of sounded complex for the sake of being complex. Not so here! Overall, this album songwise has some really amazing melodies and I think overall its a much catchier and deeper album than they have ever done. Check out the sound samples they aren't a really good portrayal of how the songs actually turn out as they need to be listened to as a whole song, but check them out for the sound they have on this album! B)