BE

So after PoS had released 3 near perfect albums and one album I had considered flawless, my expectations were high. Not in my wildest dreams, however, did I imagine that PoS could create an album better than The Perfect Element. Somehow, they did it. What they made, BE, is the greatest album ever recorded.

The story is outlined nicely by the previous poster, but it must be noted how in depth the story actually gets. If you think Scenes From a Memory was complicated you wont want to bother figuring everything out in this story. The fact that the story is so amazing, flows so nicely, and is expressed so well through the music is one of the main reasons BE is so powerful. From the anti-climatic spoken voices of "I Am" to the soaring chorus of "Iter Impius", I've never seen lyrics fit music so absolutely beautifully.

What PoS have done here musically, is mixed a million styles, yet somehow maknig them sound coherant. The very folky and upbeat "Imago" moves almost unnoticably into the absolutely amazing keyboard piece "Pluvius Aestivus" followed by the western sounding "Lilium Cruentas". What isn't so amazing is that they use so many styles, it's how they use so many styles that all sound so natural and in place. This is true progressive. This is what progressive is all about.

One complaint I've heard quite a bit is that there is too much spoken word, which I just dont understand. Just skipping the first and last tracks, which are 100% spoken word leaves maybe 2-3 minutes of spoken word on the rest of the 70 minutes of music. This point is also helpful to point out to everyone that if your out for soaring progressive riffs and crazy keyboard and guitar solos, sorry but this isn't your disc. This is true much moreso of this disc than even the rest of PoS' discography, which is also very minimalistic. And if your looking for a disc full of metal, again, sorry. This CD is mostly rock, with tastes of metal all around (Diffidentia etc.)

If you are wondering "Hmmm this album sounds like I may enjoy it, what songs should I check out to see?" DO NOT get individual songs from this disc. This is easily one of the most necessary-to-listen-all-the-way-through albums I've ever heard. Although the songs all have their own identities, and songs like "Diffidentia", "Iter Impius", and "Dae Pecuniae" could still stand alone as some of the best songs ever written, it's just best that they be listened to together in context (Especially songs with the Deus Nova reprises etc.)

If for some reason you are a fan of PoS, progressive rock, progressive metal, or just music in general and haven't listened to BE, I feel like everyone in the world should give it 2-3 listens. It may not be for everyone, so if you dont like it dont force yourself, but almost everyone I know who gave it a few solid listens was amazed with this album, it's truly the masterpiece of the year, and very possibly the greatest album ever made.