I would like to list some of my favorite tracks, and so I will start with City of Caterpillar. Here are the lyrics:
SIX AWAY to the present day. Couldn’t keep you away. All of you. Greetings in shapes of shadows connected to my feet. Under this LENGTHY SKY SLEEPS…all of you. Let the light in keep the door cracked. My faith’s in my chest. It holds this intact.
Although I’m not a huge fan of ambiguous lyrics, I think that a few of the lines really stand out in the song. But that’s not what I really love, since the vocals blend in to the overall feel of the song anyway.
I’m a big fan of ominous intros, and Minute Hour Day Week… has a ton of it. Actually, a lingering, dark guitar riff opens the song, and it continues on past the 4 minute mark. This is such a great lead-up; the pairing of high fingerings with the low notes really strikes a nerve with me. The bass and bass drum kick in, a low staccatic pulse that meshes with the guitars to create a really nervy feeling. Drums kick in with a second meandering guitar, finally increasing the tension and the build, while various electronics (feedbacks and whirs) set the chaotic background. There’s so much going on, but it really hits the suspense – what does that feedback mean, why is everything so dark! The atmosphere is pervading, the wailing guitars in the background signifying the unthinkable. One can barely imagine what this could be leading up to, what with the doomy sea of rhythmic and dying guitar leading us into a place where the drums drop out again and just a cymbal keeps the beat. This is almost more ominous – there was a climb, an ascent, and to have it just drop off into nothing but guitar and feedbacks signals the worst – maybe there is no end to suffering. The guitar keeps its moaning feedback until the rhythm dies off, and a buzzing and background repeating voice of some kind lead us into the actual hardcore portion of the song. We have technically hit a climax; we have turned omens into reality as the vocals begin.
The beat is fast and furious, guitars and vocals blending together into one rolling rhythm. We lose that darkness for a few minutes, where this has become almost neutral in tone. It’s a reflection on the omens that came before. These screamo parts don’t even last that long, only a couple minutes, until we drop into more electronics and whirring and feedback. Reflection turns into sorrow again. There’s a voiceover of a man talking about how businesses are taking over our world, ruining our lives. This is recognition; this is chaos; we are losing the battle to overcome our losses. The fact that the ominous tone was allowed to drop out seems like taking back power, but the feedback takes us back with chimes and beeps. It is the ultimate doom – we can’t escape this pain and dread.
I’m really enthralled with this song – the dread of the guitar speaks to me. I get shivers every time I hear the man speaking at the end. And I think that this is all real, it’s happening right now; what a terrible thing to think, yet it has to be done – and it just fills my emotions with darkness.
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