Editor's Note: Be was originally a live performance performed by Pain of Salvation in the fall of 2002. The performance was also filmed, and a DVD is expected soon as well. This is not a live version. It is a studio recording. On with the review...

Pain of Salvation is an interesting breed of band. In the past, they have wowed fans with their ability for intense technical playing and emotional expression. Touching subjects about war, science, love, hate, sadness, and pretty much every other emotion in the book. Pain of Salvation write the most human songs I have ever heard. However, being a progressive band, it is inevitable that a band of its stature would change its sound, or atleast experiment a little. Enter Pain of Salvation's newest release, Be.

People who have listened to Pain of Salvation fall into two categories; those who hate them, and those who absolutely love them. I fall in the latter, ofcourse. Despite the black and white nature of their fanbase, there is one quality of PoS's sound that, whether fan or not, ALL must deal with. That being the fact that PoS is arguably one of the hardest bands to get into. And Be does little to counter that. Infact, I found myself in a position of having to readjust to what I was listening to just to figure out whether I enjoyed it or not. However, once I properly listened to the music along with the lyrics, my opinion changed from mediocre, to incredible. This is the ONLY way to listen to this cd! The lyrics are some of the best I've read in a long time!! This does not come as a surprise considering this is PoS we're talking about. But the lyrics are this cd's saving grace! Without them, this would be a small collection of full-length songs surrounded by numerous unnecessary filler tracks.

The cd starts out very interestingly. Voices are heard discussing among themselves as if they were one in the same. The questions, "Who are we?" "When did we cease to be and become again?" are asked, but not answered. What I got out of the first track was a theory I had formed in my head long ago. That we are all shards of a broken mirror, we all began as one(god), and for some reason we decided to split. In this cd, it is suggested that god decided to split for the thirst for knowledge and self understanding.

The second track is another filler track with spoken dialogue over guitars. The dialogue consists of Gildenlow going through the years that mankind existed and explaining how many people existed during each year. The population ofcourse increasing to enormous amounts as he nears the present time. The tension in the music also follows suit, and increases respectively. Finally, the third track begins...

"Imago" opens with tribal drums and wind instruments. Soon, typical PoS guitar and Gildenlow's familiar voice pleases the ears. "Imago" immediately hooked me with its catchy chorus and beautiful lyrics that depict the human transition from discovery to knowledge to power. Afterwards, there is an amazing and beautiful piano interlude until track five, "Lilium Cruentus", begins. This is the most PoS sounding song on the album. Heavy guitars and Faith No More style singing encapsulate this track. This is a great song too, and so far the album does not disappoint.

The next song is in complete contrast to the previous songs. Its a filler track consisting of very deep choir like vocals with soft lead guitar playing in the background. The end of this track is when I started doubting this cd. A short, and very badly scripted act, consisting of two people in a car is presented as a prelude for the next song. They talk amongst themselves, and we are forced to listen to a man's pathetic attempt to get the girl to "give him head." This wasn't something I'd expect from an intelligent band such as PoS, but they put this in for a reason, and while I do understand the statement being made, I think a better example could have been used. It's not that I'm offended by this. Not at all. In all honesty, if it wasn't for the horrible acting and poorly chosen words, this may have made a better impact. Instead, we are turned off by the cheesy dialogue, which is really unfortunate because the mood of the cd was steadily intensifying with intrigue.

Moving along to track 7, "Dea Pecuniae". This is another odd track for PoS. While not entirely bad, its definately different from the usual material we're used to from Gildenlow. Its very jazz influenced with a R&B feel to it. The song tells the story of the man from the previous track and his road to success and fortune. Its lyrics portray man's sick desire for material things. Despite the experimental nature of the song itself, its lyrics still shine, and it also contains some impressive vocals courtesy of Gildenlow.

The next song is yet another filler track consisting of multiple recordings of different people conversing with and about god. The feelings of doubt, thankfulness, pain, confusion, and joy of faith are conveyed through this track. While I refuse to guess PoS's stand on faith, I highly doubt this track's purpose was to show the band's love for god or other evangelistic purposes. Rather, I'm guessing it is used to portray man's natural need for a diety and/or reasons for life's consequences.

"Diffidentia" is the cd's 9th track. Its one of the more heavier songs on the album. It's also one of my least favorite. There isn't much to this song that will keep a listener returning. It does not feel like a complete song, and could just as well have been yet another filler track for the album. On the brighter side, "Diffedentia" has fantastic lyrics!! Its a song about god regretting what he created, and his creation, "humans"(which is god in itself), are starting to lose themselves and are frantically and unconsciously trying to become god. Thus they deny god in order to become him. God sees his faults and has learned only one thing:

"Searching for yourself is like looking for the house you stand in How could you possibly find it? It’s everywhere It’s all you know And there are no other points of reference"

Track 10 is next, and were back to our old PoS again! "Nihil Morari" is one of the highlights of the cd. It contains some great melodies, which coincidently were also found underlying track 2. This song, unfortunately, is also one of the only tracks on this cd to show off PoS's talent as technical musicians. Its heavy, and contains the usual chaotic feel found in past PoS songs. There is something in this song that reminds me of "Stress" from Entropia.

The following track is another filler track. I won't dicuss this one much since it contains only soft guitar and Gildenlow speaking line similar to those in track 2 regarding population growth. The track after that is, guess what. Yes, another filler. This time we are treated to the already cliched news broadcasts regarding random tragic events. Towards the end we hear Gildenlow singing a short but decent piece as the song slowly fades out.

"Iter Impius" is my absolute favorite song on this cd. Its emotional and very well written. There's nothing technically impressive about this song. But it's lyrics and melody overshadow technique with ease. When you hear songs like this, they take you away. Its a surreal feeling that only the perfect blend of art and emotion can produce. The song is basically about the man from an earlier track. You know, the man-whore? Anyway, in this song he realizes his mistakes. Not unlike god did in track 9. He sees the pain that material items can only give. All the things he once ruled over now have no meaning once there is nothing left. He is alone now, but he does not let that break him. Instead, he stands above it and desires only to learn from his mistakes and move on.

Track 14 is not the last track on the album, but it is the last song. "Martius/Nauticus II" consists of two parts. Which are respectively named "Martius" and "Nauticus II." The song starts off with an eerie guitar part and dramatically builds as snares and ochestral sounds enter. Gildenlow sings beautifully once again as well. As the first part ends, it suddenly breaks off as the bass guitar plays a familiar part from "Imago" earlier on the cd. After the drums die, a guitar plays a fast tempo piece and the same humming from "Imago" returns and the chorus from the same song follows. Only the lyrics have changed from the thirst for knowledge to the realization that knowledge was not needed... we knew everything all along. Or atleast everything we needed to know was right before our eyes the whole time. I believe this song takes place after man has returned to that one being. The song trails off with Gildenlow ad libbing, then ending with the lyrics, "I am all the breathing 'BE'. " Tribal drums follow and end on one solid "boom".

The final track ends with the same child heard in the first track simply saying, "I AM." As if to say that what was once is once again. A full circle.