"Wankerness:
I'm a huge Pain of Salvation fanboy that was let down by BE in a big way, but this one makes that one look like a friggin masterpiece
"
Well actually, who are you to tell it´s not? I think Be is their best album.
here´s a little quote of a review that points out every reason from my view why i think it´s their best work so far.
"Be is a collection of contrasts, which makes it one of the most challenging records you’ll hear this year. It is brilliant, yet some parts are pure cliché. It is philosophical, yet some parts are utterly corny. It is deep, and serious, yet some parts are pompous and melodramatic. Those contrasts are deliberate, of course, but they’ll leave your head spinning.
The contrasts continue: There is excellent progressive metal, and there are down-home biblical blues. There is classical music and there are folk tunes. There are deeply philosophical voiceovers and there’s a silly skit with a boyfriend making puerile and inappropriate requests of his girlfriend while a radio talk show is playing in the background exploring philosophical issues (the contrast, you see!). There are power ballads, symphonic instrumentals, and traditional pieces. There’s a heavy Latin percussion passage, and spoken verses that border on rap. Classical instrumentation is never far from the surface, which contributes an important texture of credibility to the music, and there is a beautiful purely classical track starting with an interesting piano solo that builds into a full orchestral piece. It goes from baroque to blues, from hard rock to symphonic prog, and from gospel to country. And most important of all, thankfully, there are even a few tracks that will recall the band’s brilliant Remedy Lane.
And considering the band’s background it is interesting to note that metal is the style that appears least often.
The record starts with snippets of spoken voices, with a man and a teenage boy separately exploring their very existence. There’s a section that sounds like you’re in the National Security Agency intercepting peoples’ heartfelt prayers to an apparently unresponsive God. (Hi God, it’s me again, from Earth. I know you haven’t returned any of my previous calls, and maybe you’re simply not there – but …
There are radio newscasts, and counts of the world’s population at various times, and there is a thunderstorm.
Even though you’ve heard these types of inserts before, the collection of disparate elements here cannot be absorbed in one sitting. There’s so much going on in this CD that – rightly or wrongly –it is this range of elements that defines this album more than the excellent music itself.
Be is almost impossible to review accurately, and it is a fascinating listen albeit a challenging one. On the one hand, it may lack cohesion – yet on the other hand, there are flashes of genius that make it a must have for any adventurous listener."
musically i believe there has been more time put on this album than in any opeth album, lyricwise even more...
I cannot understand why everyone hates this album, but i guess it´s the contrasts even there. Some people call it a disgrace of prog, and others a masterpiece, wonder why... i hated Be at first, but the more i listened to it, the more i loved it... I´m not saying anything but try REALLY listening to "Be" a few times in a row, i think you will atleast have some inch of respect for this album and it´s huge efforts... so many people just listen to a few songs in it and give up... It´s a difficult album to get used to because it is so huge and because there are so many different music genres put in one album... you can´t honestly call it a shit album, because it does not deserve that in any way...