I became a fan a few years ago with this concept album / live 'rock opera' concert (DVD). Now, after my spiritual 'awakening' I watched it again and it is even more thrilling now. For me it's a metaphysical musical masterpiece.
To appreciate it, it should be watched in one piece (link below), imo. It's what concept albums are actually for. So maybe reserve some time (73 min) if you want to experience it.
It's also quite a musical (ad)venture, although I'm certain it's not everybody's cup of tea. It's not just art/progressive rock (metal) - that's how they started out. This one is different as there's a whole bunch of genres mixed and intermingled in this. Back then in 2004, when they published it they lost a lot of old 'die-hard' conservative progmetal fans because of this, but also gained new ones, such as me.
As I see it, it's about the mystic concept of God (All That Is, Primordial Consciousness) becoming Man Ego(s) to experience itself.
Opening Lyrics (first three songs / all credits to: Daniel Gildenlöw):From Wikipedia:
BE attempts to explore the many facets of human existence. It begins with the narration of Animae, someone or something who/that has existed for as long as he/she/it can remember and contemplates the nature of his/her/its existence and then begins a journey of understanding with the words: "I will call myself GOD and I will spend the rest of forever trying to figure out who I am".[6] The story continues from there. The characters that appear and disappear throughout the story are as follows:
- Animae: Animae is the album's representation of God, or a Godhead.
- Nauticus: Nauticus is the name of a fictional space probe that is, according to the album, the most intelligent space probe ever to be created. In reference to the marine 'neighborhood', Nauticus 'drifts' throughout space, searching for answers to save Earth from itself.
- Imago: Imago is the image of humanity in its most natural form. Combined, Imago is the reflection of Animae.
- Dea Pecuniae: Dea Pecuniae can be seen as a feminine version of Mr. Money, and the Eve of humanity's dark side. In a way, she represents sin.
- Mr. Money: Mr. Money is the main character of the story; a man with the most wealth on Earth, who spends most of it on cryogenics in order to fulfill his wish - to be frozen, and not to be awakened until he is made immortal. He represents the darker side of humanity, being the Adam for Dea Pecuniae."
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01. Animae Partus ("I am")
I am
I am
I am
I was not
then I came to be
I cannot remember NOT being
But I may have traveled far
very far
to get here
Maybe I was formed in this silent darkness
From this silent darkness
BY this silent darkness
To become is just like falling asleep
You never know exactly when it happens
The transition
The magic
And you think, if you could only recall that exact moment
Of crossing the line
Then you would understand everything
You would see it all
Perhaps I was always
Forever here…
And I just forgot
I imagine Eternity would have that effect
Would cause a certain amount of drifting
Like omnipresence would demand omniabsence
Somehow I seem to have this predestined hunger for knowledge
A talent for seeing patterns and finding correlations
But I lack context
Who I am?
In the back of my awareness I find words
I will call myself…
GOD
And I will spend the rest of forever
Trying to figure out who I am
02. Deus Nova (Fabricatio)
10,000 BC - 1 Million people
9,500 BC - 2 Million people
9,000 BC - 3 Million people
8,500 BC - 4 Million people
8,000 through 5,000 BC - 5 Million people
4,500 BC - 6 Million people
4,000 BC - 7 Million people
3,500 BC - 10 Million people
3,000 BC - 14 Million people
2,500 BC - 20 Million people
2,000 BC - 27 Million people
1,500 BC - 38 Million people
1,000 BC - 50 Million people
500 BC - 100 Million people
Year 1 AD - 170 Million people
500 AD - 190 Million people
1,000 AD - 254 Million people
1,500 AD - 425 Million people
Year 2,000 AD - 6,080 Million people
Trying to understand the system of Life
Trying to understand myself
I created the world to be an image of myself, of my mind
All of these thoughts, all of these doubts and hopes
Inside
I took out to form a new breed
A new way to be
And now I am many, so many
So much larger than ever I were
Yet, at the same time
So much smaller and more vulnerable
They all carry shards of the whole
Together they become me
I see them interact, develop
I see them take different sides
As were they different minds
Believers of different ways, and different gods
I think they will teach me something
03. Imago (Homines Partus)
Spring came with awakening, came with innocense and joy
Spring came with fascination and desire to deploy
Summer came with restlessness and curiousity
Summer came with longing for the things we could not be
Take me to the forest, take me to the trees
Take me anywhere as long as you take me
Take me to the ocean, take me to the sea
Take me to the Breathe and BE
Autumn came with knowledge, came with ego came with pride
Autumn came with shamefulness for the things we could not hide
Winter came with anger and a bitter taste of fate
Winter came with fear for the things we could not escape
Take me to the forest, take me to the trees
Take me anywhere as long as you take me
Take me to the ocean, take me to the sea
Take me to the Breathe and BE
Teach me of the forest, teach me of the trees
Teach me anything as long as you teach me
Teach me of the ocean, teach me of the sea
Teach me of the Breathe and BE
See me! I am the one creation
Hear me! I am all the love that came from Animae
Know me! I am the incarnation
Fear me! I am all the power held by Animae
Me!
Give me of the forest, give me of the trees
Give me anything as long as it’s for me
Give me of the ocean, give me of the sea
Give me of the Breathe and BE
Give me all the forests, give me all the trees
Give me everything as long as it’s for free
Give me all the oceans, give me all the seas
Give me all the breathing BE
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further info and sources:
http://painofsalvation.com/be/narration.htm
http://painofsalvation.com/be/lyrics.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BE_%28P...ation_album%29
http://www.painofsalvation.com/be/sources.htm
Some notes on the literature
Some of the above books are good, some are bad - but all tell us something about the topics I've been dealing with. In other words, some of the books might indeed proclaim the diametrical opposite to what I believe myself, but, as I said to myself when I entered a course on ionizing radiation physics - "Know your enemy!" Others might not be more than OK or, in my opinion, might fail to draw all the available and suggested conclusions, but still contain several crucial points of theory that happen to be very interesting, like Hecht's and Quinn's books. For what it's worth, I highly recommend Carl Sagan, Lars Gustafsson, Douglas Adams, Desmond Morris, Bill Bryson and Kurt Vonnegut (well, that's an odd handful for you). Have fun!
- D. Gildenlöw
Full concert (performed before recording the album):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO-lbBZbX24
For me, this work is a true inspiration. Most of all, I love the "Message To God" (Vocari Dei) song a lot. Pretty out of the ordinary if you ask me:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO-lbBZbX24#t=32m44s
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