BE

BE. Oh man...this was an interesting one. Starting with TPE, then Remedy Lane, I loved PoS. Everything about them, their emotion, great musicianship, interesting and new songs, great lyrics, it was all good. But people seemed to tell me to stay away from BE. Why? It was way different, got tangled up by the concept, they said. And I believe they were right.

Be has an exceptional concept revolving aorund population growth, god, the evolution and greed of man, the apocalypse, and a man named Mr. Money who cryogenically freezes himself to awaken in the future where everything is supposed to be perfect. Sound complicated? Good, because it is. It's very hard to swallow the first time you listen to it, which is why I'm reviewing this now when I got the album about two months ago. The concept itself is very good. The lyrics are great, the execution...well, good, but unfortunately, the execution of the concept is so good that the band kinda forgot about music. Yup, they forgot everythign about what made the mso great except for their concepts. Music takes priority over everything. Skill, concepts, lyrics, it doesn't matter if your music sucks. It's not that this music sucks, it's just that there's so little actual music to speak of that it just ends up feeling like the music sucks. I'm gonna be stealing the times and front labels from Gatot up there, so sorry and thanks. Let's break it down:

Animae Partus ("I am") (1:48)

Well, this beginning track doesn't contain any music really, just a bunch of creepy noises and a narrative talking about the existence of god. So...huh? Well, as an introduction, it works prett ywell, so long as no other song sounds like it.

Deus Nova (Fabricatio) (3:18)

Starts out with osme interesting orchestra work, then goes heavy. All throughout the song is a countdown (or countup, really) of human population growth, and how exponentially it grows, how rapidly. The unmbers are slightly disturbing to hear, but I never listen to this track. Nothing that interesting after the first couple listens. Ends with another narrative. Gah...please let that buy another kind of song that doesn't pop up too much.

Imago (Homines Partus) (5:11)

Oh, YES! Here's the creativity and instrumentals and singing I wanted! Finally! This track is kinda Blind Guardian-esque, sounds kinda folky. And that's the point, is it's about the creation and original freedom of man. Daniel plays the...banjo, I think...quite well, and adds great feeling to this track. Good lyrics that progress, great emotional singing, everything I could want. Keep it up, PoS! Please?

Pluvius Aestivus (Of Summer Rain [Homines Fabula Initium]) (5:00)

Well, this is odd. PoS making this kinda track...I never thought I'd hear it. It's a stirring piano and violin/orchestra composition that's nice if you're listening to this album in a dark room, totally into the music. Otherwise, useless. Pretty, but hat's it. Sorry. I liked it when I did totally focus on the music, but since I haven't been able to squeeze any enjoyment outta it.

Lilium Cruentus (Deus Nova) (On the Loss of Innocence) (5:28)

Good, good track! Basically like old PoS with an orchestra, which is excellent. I really love this track, it's got a great chorus, great heavy parts, equally as good soft parts, and talks about something quite serious. Awesome song, but will it get better?

Nauticus (drifting) (4:58)

Nope. Sorry, but this is another waste of time. It explores a sort of western/spiritual style that PoS hasn't ever touched before. It's four minutes of slow, non-changing spiritual singing about the lord and praying. Only reason you'd ever listen to this song is to get the full story, which is unfortunately the only reason you'd listen to many songs on this album.

Dea Pecuniae (10:10)

Like Gatot said, this is kinda blues-y with interesting lyrics and good singing. It kinda meanders along for 10 minutes though, and doesn't really do anything, just slightly builds on the original theme. No real excitement, emotion, nothing, just story and good male/female vocals and a good ending.

Vocari Dei (Sordes Aetas - Mess Age) (3:50)

"Awww..." SHUT UP. Useless song again. It's supposed to be moving, showing you how people pray and pray to god but nobody answers. It's OK for the story, but past that, useless. There's no good music here, just some light acoustic strumming and piano work. It's nice, but do I want to listen to it over other songs? Not unless I feel like listening to the whole album.

Diffidentia (Breaching the Core) (Exitus - Drifting II) (7:37) Hey, is this a good song? It starts promising enough, but it never chnages from the original riffs really, besides the "Help me, I'm starting to fade" section. It's better than the earlier stuff besides tracks 3 and 5 though.

Nihil Morari (Homines Fabula Finis) (6:22) Pretty good song, I like this one too. It starts with a good bass or whatever that is, I don't know my string instruments. The vocals here are EXCELLENT, and for awhile it's pretty good, but then it goes into the Deus Nova theme with narration and some singing too. It's layered very well and for once the concept doesn't limit things, and the music and concept intertwine seamlessly. Good job, PoS! It ends in a very powerful way, with the orchestra doing a great job. Bravo!

Latericius Valete (2:28)

I liike this song only because it builds so well to the "2060 AD..." part, and it actually does kinda take your breath away, which is why this album is best listened to all at the same time right in a row.

Omni (Permanere?) (2:37)

One word: useless plot filler. "We need you Nauticus!". Ok, where's the music! So far, I've heard way more plot concept stuff than good music!

Iter Impius (Martigena, Son of Mars) (Obitus Diutinus) (6:21)

Ahh...good song. It starts just good at best, but the chorus is excellent and very powerful, and the section at 4:05 is just breathtaking. Good ending again, and very powerful story about Mr. Money. Not much else to say, this is good like track 5 is good.

Martius/Nauticus II (6:41)

This begans with a weird twanging acoustic guitar speeding up with power riffs coming in, then the wole band busts out into the dramatic sorta march-tempo music. It's pretty good, but not amazing. It then goes into the Imago theme, which is always good, with mixed up lyrics. I like it, it's a good song, but it doesn't give us that much new material.

Animae Partus II (4:09)

Just like track 1. 1 minute of somewhat scary and jumpy noises and three noises of silence followed by a really creepy noise and a stupid child's narrative.

Blah. I wanted to like this album, I did, but to be honest, there's just not enough good music to like it.

Soft sections: 5/10 Heavy sections: 9/10 Lasting Appeal: 6/10 Musicianship: 9/10 Creativity/Originality: 10/10 (no question here) Animae Partus: 6/10 (because it's an introduction) Deus Nova: 6/10 Imago: 10/10 Pluvious Aestivus: 5/10 (it's pretty and nice once.) Lilium Cruentus: 10/10 Nauticus: 3/10 Dea Pecuniae: 5/10 (Why did the longest song have to be so drawn out and boring?) Vocari Dei: 5/10 Diffidentia: 7/10 Nihil Morari: 9/10 Latericius Valete: 8/10 Omni: 2/10 (There's no music here. Filler. I don't care if it has to do with the story) Iter Impius: 9/10 Martius/Nauticus II: 8/10 Animae Partus II: 6/10 (same as track 1)

5 + 9 + 6 + 9 + 10 + 6 + 6 + 10 + 5 + 10 + 3 + 5 + 5 + 7 + 9 + 8 + 2 + 9 + 8 + 6 = 138 138/200 = .69 = 69/100 = 34/50 = 3.4/5 Final rating: 3 stars out of 5. Stick to making prog metal, please, PoS.

I'd like to add something. After months and months of listening to this very occassionally, I've decided that this album is a BEAUTIFUL work of art. However, the art has absolutely destroyed the music PoS is so good at making. So, I do not change my rating. As a collection of songs, this album is a 2/5. As an album, it's a 4/5. As a concept, it's a 5/5. As good music it's a 2/5. You want a stirring concept that may cause you to think quite a bit more than usual? Get this. You want amazing music? Don't get this. It's just art, not great music. If that makes any sense.

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