BE

I admit, maybe listening to it very abstractly during bus trips or short periods of free time at home was not a very good idea. Therefore, my first reaction to the album was "What the hell!? Can PoS truly have made an album THIS bad!?".

Then, I finally got to listen to it, from the start to the end, inlay card in hand, and ultimate silence surrounding me as I heard "I am!" for the first time.

My analysis;

Instrumentally (and in the musical bounds);

The reason why, most probably, the enitre BE was played live was in Eskilstuna, was because of the immense orchestration. With "orchestration" I mean the classical music introduced to folkloric types of songs, or even used with the songs that pursue the metal style.

As for the band's usage of instruments, Daniel Gildenlöw pretty much has taken over the writing process. As usual, there are quite a few melodies repeated through various songs (similar to "Morning on Earth"/"Recoincilation", "Her Voices"/"Song for the Innocent", "Chain Sling / Beyond the Pale") for example, "Deus Nova"s main melody that carries out the population count is heard again, this time, with more additions to the keyboards, in "Nihil Morari". Ultimately, "Imago"s melody is returned at the end of "Martius / Nauticus II". There are quite a few catchy melodies that can get stuck in your head.

The music also contains quite a few folkloric elements, as the other PoS albums, but that comes along as a plus.

The only minus of the music is two songs; "Pluis Aestivius" for one. Daniel's 'interpretation' of the X-Files melody is quite amazing, and with extra instruments, it is interesting... in the beginning. After a while, it gets pretty much repetetive and boring. The second minus is "Nauticus". While the infamous "car scene" at the end of it brings your attention, the song is incredibly and unnecessarily slow.

Lyrically (and within the boundaries of the creational sawdust);

PoS had always carried quite simple lyrics that had great impact on the listener; mostly because of the intimate themes it contained. Lyrically, "BE" is not any different, though there are quite different themes and expressions that usually deal with the more realistic side of things; (though it adds to the story in an extreme level) the population count in "Deus Nova", "Nihil Morari", "Latericus Valete", the (fake) interviews that are heard in "Nihil Morari", "Omni", the spoken passages in "Nihil Morari", Mr.Money's speech in "Dea Pecuniae"... However, there are quite emotional songs that lyrically deal with those as well, "Lilium Cruentus", "Iter Impius", "Diffidentia", "Imago", "Martius/ Nauticus II". So far, the most complex lyrical content I have encountered rests with "Lilium Cruentus". Furthermore, though musically it may not be something I am very fond of, "Vocari Dei" attempts to(and to a certail level, manages to) display all of our visions towards God, and how we look at him; if we could speak to him, what we would say.

As for the story, it's intriguing, but not as much as Daniel claims it to be in his ending notes within the inlay card. The concept revolves around the existence of God, and how Man is associated with it; it also flirts with the concept of self-consciousness and the outcome of it. Daniel used "Mr.Money", a filthy rich asshole that invests all he has into cyrogenics; to be frozen and not to be waken up until he is made immortal. As the population of mankind increases ("The Year 2, 050 AD - 9, 104 Million people"), accordingly with the message of this album, mankind eventually breaks down nature with greed and it's everlasting desire to exploit for profit. Gradually, the population starts to decrease, ("Year 2, 060 AD - 1.2 Million people") and in the end, leaves Mr. Money alone ("Year 2, 070 AD - 1 person"?) in the face of a wasteland. That is when Mr.Money claims himself to be "all", "BE", "omni", "everything", "everywhere". And the end returns to the beginning; for the album starts with the first words, "I am!" and ends with the first words, "I am!". Though there is also a simple sentence left after the silence, "There's room for all God's creatures; right next to the mashed potatoes.".

And let us come to my conclusion after all that was mentioned above; this album is not easy to grasp or even like at first. For dedicated "metal" fans, this would either prove to be a complete waste of money, or a nudge to explore other genres more. For the less dedicated "metal" fans and fans of prog genre, this album is an excellent addition. For those who listen to and are fond of "music", this album is an excellent start at the wide world of prog music, or even many others as well. If you are fond of music, just a bit, this album is a great piece to broaden your horizons.

If you would just like to explore the deep waters of "This wierd band that everyone's talking about!" (or, Pain of Salvation for short), this album would be a suitable place to start your journey.

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