Another instrumental, which means lots of guitar wankery and no cookie monster vocals. This one started as an interesting chord progression that slowly evolved over a few weeks, waiting for a time when it could be used.
That time came after I watched the movie Me and You and Everyone We Know an awesome indie film by Miranda July and one of my new favourite films. During the film I’d been inspired to write a poem (I literally paused the film, wrote the poem, and sent it to the intended recipient), and after the film I was still feeling that same vibe of inspiration.
But I had already done the lyrical thing, or something like it, and I’m still wanting to be fuzzy on the details of said poem so I didn’t want to write a song with the same meaning. I had this chord progression that was anxiously awaiting being implemented. Plus the new microphone I had ordered had yet to arrive. Which all added up to doing an instrumental.
To make it more interesting, I had just pulled my first guitar – the plywood pos – out of storage and I decided to use it to record all the guitar parts. The strings were old and rusty. The guitar body is literally a thick slab of plywood. Yet, I’ve always read that a great guitarist sounds great (and pretty much the same as they always do) on lesser equipment, that the tone is all in the hands. That conclusion I’ll leave up to you.
As for the tune itself, it is laid back and melancholy yet simultaneously intense and heart wrenching – just like the film that inspired it. The closest comparison would be Joe Satriani when he gets bluesy. Or maybe Hendrix if I wanted to further toot my own horn.
Anyway the name is drawn from the circumstances of the song. The “Pseudosunburst” refers to the plywood pos. “Exoskeletal” is obvious, but also mysterious and I will leave it in that state. Work it out and I’ll give you a special prize.
Questions, comments, feedback and informing me that you’ve used this tune as intro music on your podcast can be on the comment form or to my email.
Firstly, the title is spelt how it is deliberately. If you know of the “grate” feel free to leave a comment to explain it to the others. Anyway, the song is obviously inspired by the latest bestseller by that exceptional functional alcoholic, anti-theist and general arrogant bastard known as Christopher Hitchens. The song itself is the kind of anti-religious polemic that is rapidly becoming my (and Mr Hitchens’) usual shtick.
The music itself has nice groove to it, and if you listen closely you’ll notice a distinct lack of death growls, or banshee screams. Sure, the verses are that snarl that I probably picked up from classic megadeth. The chorus is proper singing I guess, or at least as close as I can get. As well, this is the last song recorded with the macbook builtin microphone so the vocals should start sounding really good in a fortnight (since we have an instrumental next week).
Anyway, I hope you like it, or hate it – any kind of strong reaction is great. If you do, tell a friend (or enemy), post about my music on your blog, start a protest campaign with the help of your local “family values” group, get my url tattooed on your forehead. Basically do something to spread this to others. At the least you could leave a comment, or send me an email. To do any less is basically stealing, since you are getting these awesome future classic tracks for free.
Lyrics:
Verse 1:
A kind of cancer
Purporting to bring the answer
Virulent and malefic
But concealed in the vivific
Destroying the mind
The sighted now are blind
Imperilment of our kin
The enemy is within
Always it is with us
Its guise regularly adjusts
For adaption to varied times
And to hide its varied crimes
It is not underground
Just take a look around
The infection is everywhere
And you wonder why we despair
Chorus:
God is great, cult of hate
As religion poisons everything
God is not, fucking rot
As religion poisons everything
Verse 2:
Fortunately the truth
Has been found by the sleuth
Of science and history
To make gnosis of mystery
The genesis of evolution
Archaeological contribution
Inquisition by the sceptical
Like cleaning the spectacles
But religion continues to spread
Like a parasite of the head
And we are called intolerant
For our cautionary chant
For we have no magic tricks
To usurp your Sunday fix
All we have are the facts
And sin to help you relax
Don’t let the title fool you, this isn’t some kind of sugar coated optimistic pop song. In fact, it is the most “metal” song that I’ve done so far. The main riff which underlies the prechorus was something I wrote back when working on “Tell Me You Love Me” (chaotimusic #002) but I never utilised it. I was playing around with it, and evolved it into the grooved up version that you hear in the verses.
The lyrics started with a quote from a certain “someone”. She was talking about how the human flesh in anatomy class makes her hungry. Of course, cannibalism is a nice brutal metal song topic, and so I just expanded on that idea, mixed in some clichéd demonic spirituality and some sesquipedalian vocabulary and had a nice set of verses and a chorus.
With the bridge I wanted a nice piano part to contrast the metal, and so came up with some nice chords (arpeggiated of course). The lyrics went with the idea that the protagonist had been lured into this lifestyle by a beguiling female type. Plus I was able to use the big scary c-word.
The result is a song that has a very modern Cradle of Filth kind of style, heavy riffage, scary vocals, keyboards, murder, sex and blasphemy. Classic metal.
Lyrics:
Verse 1:
Off the map
Unknown place
But not empty space
Here there be dragons
Long Journey
Through the mist
Explorers persist
Curious impulse
Do not see
But they hear
Something that draws near
Circle the wagons
While they sleep
In the night
An absurd plight
They cannot repulse
Prechorus:
Striking from the darkness with desire to eat
Your muscular anatomy is our favourite meat
We laugh at sobbing cries to your mythical lord
Because we cannot be killed by the gun or the sword
Chorus:
Happy in the valley of the shadow of death
Our quotidian craving is your buffet bloodbath
Anthropophagious feasting, our immortal deal
And your wretched fate to be our meal
Verse 2:
Human flesh
Sates our lust
In ways that disgust
Multiple cravings
To fulfill
Coital need
As well as to feed
Utilised remains
Nothing left
At the scene
Desolate ravine
Butchered like lemmings
Once again
Men will come
Victims to succumb
Evil stalks these plains
Bridge:
I was cursed by the hearse of diabolical cunt
With a thirst for the worst kind of hominid hunt
The whole of my soul was taken by a hex
On a stroll with a goal of blasphemous sex
A succulent chance event in a dark valley
At a convent of dissent and debauchery
Who knew that a screw with a reprobate nun
Was taboo and askew to leave my soul undone
She was a fiend it would seem an infernal succubus
With a scheme and a dream to beguile me thus
A consort for support in her timeless torment
I was sort, could not thwart, her wicked intent
This started as a self-challenge. My songs were getting increasing complex and long and I wanted to see what I could do with some restrictions. So, I decided to cover an old folk tune – 3 chords, simple vocal melody.
I first heard this song in the movie “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”, although my interpretation is slightly different. I like it because the lyrics are very “emo” (even before my tweaks). Of course those tweaks should be obvious and were made to imply that the song is being sung by some kind of demon – which fits the overall style of my way of “singing”. Said demon may also actually want revenge on his “own true lover” rather than be pining for a reunion.
Of course, the music gets heavier as it goes along and there is lots of lead guitar action….
Lyrics:
I am a man of constant sorrow,
I’ve seen trouble all my days;
I bid farewell to old Gehenna,
The hell where I was born and raised.
For six (six six) long years I’ve been in trouble,
No pleasure here on earth I found,
For in this world I’m cursed to ramble,
I have no friends to help me now.
It’s fare you well, my own true lover,
I never expect to see you again;
For I’m bound to die on that railroad,
Perhaps I’ll die upon this train.
You may bury me in some deep valley
For many years where I may lay (til I rise again),
Then you may learn to love another
While I am sleeping in this grave.
Maybe your friends think I’m just a stranger,
My face you never see no more,
But there is one promise that is given,
I’ll taste you on the bloody shores.
