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Pain Of Salvation - Be CD (album) cover

BE

Pain Of Salvation

 

Progressive Metal

4.08 | 948 ratings

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Prog Leviathan
Prog Reviewer
4 stars I cannot imagine a more ambitious modern concept album than this existential labyrinth of music from PoS. For starters, it is a big departure from the band's more conventional metal as heard in their previous albums. "BE" is true prog-metal symphony, incorporating orchestral instrumentation and utilizing them smartly to achieve the grand, epic scope of the album's subject matter. Fans will likely be shocked, but I think "Be" will attract more than it will repel, and should be investigated by fans who don't normally listen to "metal". The band has crafted a precise piece of art here.

The lyrical content is straddles a fine line between the uplifting, abstract (such as dancing melodies of "Imago") and some VERY sociological statements about modern living. Daniel has a clear agenda, and it is not disguised in these lyrics. Although his deliveries are of the highest caliber, he comes off as sounding very pretentious (Latin song titles anyone?) and preachy as well.

That being said, the songwriting is of a very different tone and style than before, featuring few (but excellent) hard passages in favor of the textural and atmospheric-- melodies becoming hard to latch on to. There are vast tracts of "empty" space throughout, which feature delicate playing and uncharacteristic singing from the band-- lots of style changes. Regrettably, a heavy amount of voice-overs often spoil the effect of the music, and I regularly skip them to get to the good stuff. The finale of the album, starting with the intensely depressing combo of "Nihil Morari" and "Iter Impius" and ending with the uplifting "Martius/Nautics II".

So, while after many listens I have to say that "Be" is a mixed bag, but the good outweighs the bad, and is creative, emotive, and enjoyable enough for me to recommend this one to those open-minded enough to take on the challenge of its concept.

Songwriting: 4 Instrumental Performances: 3 Lyrics/Vocals: 3 Style/Emotion/Replay: 4

Prog Leviathan | 4/5 |

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