Pain Of Salvation - "BE" review
| Band: | Pain Of Salvation |
| Album: | "BE" |
| Style: | Progressive metal |
| Release date: | October 12, 2004 |
| Guest review by: | Spyroid |
01. Animae Partus ("I Am")
02. Deus Nova
03. Imago (Homines Partus)
04. Pluvius Aestivus
05. Lilium Cruentus (Deus Nova)
06. Nauticus (Drifting)
07. Dea Pecuniae
1 - Mr. Money
2 - Permanere
3 - I Raise My Glass
08. Vocari Dei
09. Diffidentia (Breaching The Core)
10. Nihil Morari
11. Latericius Valete
12. Omni
13. Iter Impius
14. Martius / Nauticus II
15. Animae Partus II
I don't usually care much about lyrics or concepts at all. A good concept can add a lot to an album - I am a big Ayreon fan, but at the same time most of my favorite bands have pretty left winged opinions, and I consider myself to be a liberal. As long as the music is good I don't really care about lyrics, bands' attitudes, or anything like that. But here's an exception: Be.
This is probably the most pretentious album I've heard. I like a lot of overly cheesy music, but here's some kind of ridiculousness that I can't grip. "Be" is Daniel Gildenlöws' Magnum Opus, he says that he has been working on the concept his whole life. In the booklet there's even a list of around 100 other works (mostly books) that influenced him to write it. All titles are in Latin, the storyline is divided into several parts, and so on. But! This wouldn't be a problem if I could believe it. But to me it almost feels like this is just a plastic image put on to make the album sell better. First of all - I don't get the concept at all, it's to intricate and somehow meaningless. Call me stupid but at least I admit it. And also - who the hell would put a completely stupid "joke" like the one in the beginning of the seventh track on a completely serious album about the creation of humanity? It sure ruins a lot - at least the whole song for me.
The "complexity" of the concept could've been acceptable and even likable from my point of view if all tracks could be rated 9-10/10. There's the main problem, they can't. The first four tracks are really something special, and the sixth and eighth are also really, really good. But that's it. There are many different kinds of music on this album - different kinds of metal, cabaret, Pink Floyd-like instrumentals and folk music that makes me think of "Pirates of the Carribean." Daniel sings really well, with a Swedish accent though, and there are not really any other performance flaws.
All of this sure adds up the performance and originality points. But it doesn't matter how cool and original you are if there are no interesting [i]songs[i]. Most of the album is very bland if you ask me. Probably the best I've heard from Pain of Salvation but too much nu-metal and too boring. There's also a lot of repeated riffs and song structures. That is not okay if you as the creator of the album try to put it up as the peak of your creation. It gets? silly.
As said, the songs I like, I really like, but it's not enough according to how much completely uninteresting material (maybe two thirds of the album) there is on "Be." Daniel Gildenlöw really needs to cut the crap if he wants to catch my interest for real.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 6 |
| Originality: | 9 |
| Production: | 9 |
Written by Spyroid | 10.01.2009
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Guest review by
#~|CoP|~#
#~|CoP|~#
Rating:
9.2
9.2
|
Rating: 9.2 |
Pain Of Salvation have came back with this new "Be" album. And with this new one they are taking progressive music further! This album is a piece of music that was never heard before, the best word to describe it is Origanility. We knew the Swedish band capable of very good music but to bring a concept like this demands a lot of work and imagination. Read more ›› |
Comments
Comments: 22
Visited by: 126 users
| Elio Red Nightmare Posts: 4920  |
My friend, this time you are wrong, this is one of the best concept a human mind can give life to and is one of the very few prog metal albums I can stand recently. The rating shoul be about 8 
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| Spyroid Rosetta Stoned Posts: 1023  |
Written by [user id=17278] on 19.01.2009 at 23:41 6,0 is almost too high, it's 60% which means I really like 9 of the songs, and that's not really true. The musicianship is great although I don't really like Swedish accents, on any singers. And the joke with the couple in the taxi almost ruins the whole album.
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| Spyroid Rosetta Stoned Posts: 1023 |
Written by Elio on 19.01.2009 at 21:49 Well, there isn't so much between 7 and 8? I like many of the songs very much but the concept doesn't add anything for me.
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| Hamird Lieutenant Posts: 2564  |
I can accept that a few tracks come boring after some times, but I think good tracks overcome to a few.. But this album is hard to understand.. Honestly I didn't get anything at the first time of reading the lyrics. I just printed out them, and read them and find them really interesting.
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| addiction Posts: 277  |
I actually like this review! i agree in most of your points! i really like pain of salvation and i think daniel is a telented musician and songwriter but i tend to believe from this 'concept' album and some other things i've read that he is not the smartest dude on the planet....sure he reads a lot and he has his own opinion about things but i think sometimes he thinks too much of his concepts...when he quite clearly shouldn't. and also i couldn't agree more with you about the joke on track 7, completely out of place and actually not funny. the only thing i dont agree with here is that i think that both 'the perfect element part 1' and 'remedy lane' are way better albums that this one, and generally really really good albums!!! although 'iter impius' is probably my fav track of them...anyway i would rate it something between 7 or 8, cos i like the music in many parts but i dont like the concept.
---- alive in the superunknown
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| Spyroid Rosetta Stoned Posts: 1023 |
Written by addiction on 30.01.2009 at 01:39 Thanks for the comment  I don't know at all if he is intelligent or not, but I'm not with him politicaly so that might have to do with why I dislike him and his concepts. I love the production on this album much more than any of their other albums, so that's why I prefer this one. more.
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| addiction Posts: 277 |
Written by Spyroid on 30.01.2009 at 01:50 you're welcome dude. i enjoyed reading the review, although i thought you would actually rate lower cos you concentrated in the things you didn't like and you didn't say much about what you liked. you said the first few tracks are good, but didn't elaborate. to be fair though, i get it why you didn't. if something bugs you, like the concept in this case, its hard not to write about it. now about his intelligence, obviously i dont know for certain either, since i have never talked to the guy...but when someone insists on some views he has and especially on some important and ambiguous matters as the ones he deals with in this album and the reasons why pain of salvation didnt tour america before obama's inauguration....well i am sorry to say but is probably not very smart. one of the most important traits of someone smart is that they keep an open mind to anything! especially when it comes to music!!! so i would expect more from him...anyway thats what i think...as for the production of this album compared to the previous 2, maybe you are right but the songwriting in the previous 2 is much much better. again personal taste here i guess...:)
---- alive in the superunknown
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| Spyroid Rosetta Stoned Posts: 1023 |
Written by addiction on 30.01.2009 at 02:31 I didn't wanted to make the review too long, and you're perfectly right - I really wanted to point out that this is not a good concept album. Maybe I should've thrown in some more sentences about what I like though - as mentioned, there are a couple of tracks which are really great, but I only like about half the album. Still, all tracks up to Imago, Pulvius Aestivus and Vocari Dei are all 10/10 tracks. I guess I have to listen more to his older albums and I'll see if I can start to like them more
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| addiction Posts: 277 |
As i said before i pretty much agree with your criticisms and that's why i didn't mind you not talking about the positives of the album that much. when you hear the previous 2 albums, i'd love to hear what you think of them, so tell me!
---- alive in the superunknown
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| Spyroid Rosetta Stoned Posts: 1023 |
Written by addiction on 01.02.2009 at 20:09 I will! I might even throw in a review, who knows?
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| Rice Kierkegaard Posts: 12  |
Very wrong, my dear... The most beautiful compositions conceptuals and poetry of POS...
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| Spyroid Rosetta Stoned Posts: 1023 |
Written by Rice Kierkegaard on 03.02.2009 at 23:26 No, no and no, I don't agree. Especially, the humour sketch in Mr. Money isn't my description of beautiful poetry. I don't want to get stuck in complaining on that specific piece but it ruins a lot.
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| Rice Kierkegaard Posts: 12 |
Written by Spyroid on 04.02.2009 at 09:26 Sometime the sarcasm, is beautiful....
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| Spyroid Rosetta Stoned Posts: 1023 |
Written by Rice Kierkegaard on 06.02.2009 at 22:32 Well, I wouldn't want to many blowjob references in my concept album about life, the universe and everything.
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| Assassiyoun Posts: 45 |
In the first sentence, you said that generally you don't care about the lyrics while the majority of the review is about the lyrics. "He (Daniel) says that he has been working on the concept his whole life. In the booklet there's even a list of around 100 other works (mostly books) that influenced him to write it. All titles are in Latin, the storyline is divided into several parts, and so on." Ok, it's pretentious and I agree it's probably a plastic image to sell more CD. You said that a concept CAN add to to an album but in this case you note down because you don't like the concept. At least, it's better than lyrics in line of "I will kill you" or "I love Satan" (even if it's funny  ). If the lyrics would have been in another language you don't understand or if Daniel had not been so "pretentious" , would you raise your rating ?You give a 9 at performance, originality and production and the overall is 7. I know that the final rating is not a overall of the four points, but give a seven to an original album with a good performance and production just because you don't like the concept, it's really ridiculous. "Probably the best I've heard from Pain of Salvation but too much nu-metal and too boring". Nu-metal? Don't make me laugh ! It's far away from Nu-Metal. "Here are many different kinds of music on this album - different kinds of metal, cabaret, Pink Floyd-like instrumentals and folk music that makes me think of "Pirates of the Carribean." So cabaret, Pink Floyd, folk and orchestral are Nu-Metal now ? I think you just don't like this album because of the commercial-like aspect. If it is your favorite album of PoS, I don't want to know how you rate the others.
---- "Wer mit Ungeheuern kämpft, mag zusehen, dass er nicht dabei zum Ungeheuer wird. Und wenn du lange in einen Abgrund blickst, blickt der Abgrund auch in dich hinein." - Friedrich Nietzsche
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| Spyroid Rosetta Stoned Posts: 1023 |
Written by Assassiyoun on 12.05.2009 at 09:56 My point is that lyrics/concepts mostly doesn't matter to me - sometimes it adds a lot though. On this album it's impossible to avoid the concept - notice how I wrote <i>usually</i> in the first sentence. It's not the lyrics themselves that bothers me (except from in Mr Money), it's just that the whole concept image over the album feels so unnecesary because it's almost impossible to get anyway. So no, I don't think the language would have any influence. Arguing about the rating again... well, I don't like jazz at all but it's almost impossible to give less than 10 in performance to any jazz album. I would probably hate the first ever hiphop album, but of course it would deserve a 10 in originality. My Chemical Romance latest album probably had a insanely expensive and awesome production, but it would probably not like the album at all. "Be", and the music of PoS is very original, the musicians are great and the production is of course not bad at all. But since I don't like the concept, <b>AND</b> 9 of the 15 songs, I think a seven is a pretty resonable rating. Please read thoroughly. There are a lot of different kinds of music on this album. Some of this songs I like, in example the folkish songs. There are ALSO songs with what I consider nu metal influenced riffs/vocals - Diffidentia and Nihil Morari. They actually remind me a lot of Slipknot (not the songs in whole but the vocals and guitars). There's also a couple of totally pointless short tracks at the end. And the blowjob joke takes away one whole point by itself. This is my favourite album by PoS because it contains my favourite songs by them, has the best variety and is the most interesting. None of the other albums are bad at all. I agree that my opinions clash with Daniels and that might cause me to like that bands less, but so? That's a part of my reviewing. I don't think this album is commercial at all, the "fake-concept-image" might be something to make the album sell better, but it's not directly directed towards the masses. Sorry for the long answer but apparently you need a lot of words not to misunderstand. Which you did, totally.
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| Assassiyoun Posts: 45 |
The answer satisfied me. It's just that your review in general is subject to misunderstanding and interpretation. BEcause you talk a lot about your opinion we can argue a lot about that. I respect your opinion, no matter the reasons. It's just that sometimes (I have the impression) you contradict yourself and your review is almost all about the concept. Although it's an important part of this album, there is something else. If you don't like the concept I understand, it is hard to digest. 'tis probably normal that I misunderstood you because I don't have the same opinion about the concept. 'tis not genius but I don't understand why it's bothering you so much... P.S. You said "much of the album is nu-metal" and this is not true. Yes, I read thoroughfully
---- "Wer mit Ungeheuern kämpft, mag zusehen, dass er nicht dabei zum Ungeheuer wird. Und wenn du lange in einen Abgrund blickst, blickt der Abgrund auch in dich hinein." - Friedrich Nietzsche
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| Spyroid Rosetta Stoned Posts: 1023 |
Written by Assassiyoun on 14.05.2009 at 23:23 Well, this is maybe the album where the concept is the biggest part of the total impression - out of any album. Therefore I felt it was quite important to evaulate. I have nothing against the concept, but it's too big and I don't understand it at all. It just feels unrealistic that he worked on it for his whole life, and the list of 100 + (?) books/movies that influenced him just makes it even more unbelievable. The music though - the good tracks I mentioned are incredible. But there's also a big part of the album that I don't find interersting at all. 2 songs with nu metal influences may not seem much, but it's a lot to me since I believe he could left those songs out and made a much better album. And once again I have to mention - the blowjob joke. It totally destroys the atmosphere the first tracks built up, and I almost never wants to keep listening when I reach it. What where you thinking Daniel?!?! xP
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| Fat & Sassy! Elite Posts: 3857  |
Oddly enough, I don't think Daniel really wants the listener to take this album TOO seriously. Given the lame blowjob joke and the little girl's dialogue at the end of the album: "There's room for all God's creatures, right next to the mashed potatoes". In other words, I'm sure Daniel realized how fucking pretentious the concept and some of the tracks are and would rather have the listener focus on just enjoying the music for what it is... Which would be a very solid piece of music. At least that's how I interpreted it. ;P
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| Uirapuru Liver Failure Posts: 2955  |
I find it quite boring, except for some nice passages (like Dea Pecuniae and Martius/Nauticus II), but overall I agree more with this review's rating than #~|CoP|~#'s. But not because of the theme or the ''pretentioness''... only because the music almost did not please so much.
----  ---- member of the true crusade against old school heavy metal, early 80s thrash, NWOBHM, traditional doom, first and second wave black metal, old school death metal, US power metal, 70s prog rock and atmospheric doomsludgestoner. o/
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| qlacs "The Quaker" Posts: 1547  |
I also had troubles understanding the concept at first but now after The Perfect Element and Remedy Lane it just seems to make sense that he made a record about life's purpose, the twisted side of evolution, the inhumanity of our age and so on. However in retrospect, getting the concept adds very little, at least for me, to the musical value of the record. Indeed there are quite a few boring songs (4,6,8) and some that just doesn't live up to the high standards PoS have set on the preceding records. A solid 8,5 for me.
---- 
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