Album Review // 2022-01-19

Shadow of Intent

Elegy

Released: 2022-01-14

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There is something entertaining about this band. Maybe it's the way they transport me to a fantasy world with their symphonic elements, or the way a part of a song can hone in on a detail that suddenly jumps out at you (such as a synth line or a fast past vocal), or maybe it is the inhuman sound to the vocals, but every song I heard prior to checking out this album kept my attention. 

Ben, the vocalist of this band, seems to have an extreme dedication. He decided to be a vocalist and he practised his heart out. It is impressive that he practised not one song, but took on whole albums, and encourages others to as well.

The drummer is new since 2020, and new for this album. Whenever there is a change, some diehards are upset. The band is pretty new to me so I don't have any attachment to a specific person, and Bryce is mixing it up nicely. He plays plently of double kick to keep me happy.

The band's name is taken from a spacecraft from the Halo video games. Apparently, this game has been a big part of their lives and it does sounds kinda cool as a band name.

I wondered what picture this album was going to paint, as I had heard they weren't going to do a Halo theme for this album. Elegy seems well-named considering the dire circumstances in this tale. Lamenting for the dead. It makes sense to me.

Artwork

This artwork leaves you with a feeling of dread. It speaks to a world full of death, and the people that are laying the casualties to rest. Maybe it wouldn't be so chilling if we hadn't experienced genocide, war, and terrorism. But this isn't necessarily fiction. I feel like it does a good job presenting this bleak landscape from the ravens in the trees, the use of the colour and the solemn body language of the people. 

Mood

I envision a dark sky and a Sith Lord entering the scene. The story nature makes you feel the villainous plot coming to be. There is an epic quality with an edge of danger. Sometimes it feels like there is a need for strength to stand against. Can't help but think of people in horrific situations in history pulling together and using what little energy they had to live another day. I always wondered how many of the survivors of camps during the Holocaust survived. Amazing will to live, drive to live another day! I think this is bleak, but the epic quality makes it feel like there is an ounce of hope.

Vocals

The vocals are a standout for me because Ben does so much with them. He quickly moves from one style to another. Some people truly do too much with their voice but his variance keeps me interested. My favourite is the deepest growl (not pig squeal, lol).

Chris' vocals aren't too shabby, either. Though I wouldn't want a whole album dedicated to this style, I find myself humming along and remembering his parts. The chanty nature makes it feel like a group of people that are hanging in there and keeping each other breathing another breath.

Music

Again, I feel like the music is very engaging. Something feels epic about the use of synth mixed with the pace of the drums. There is quite a bit of variety throughout each song, and quite a bit of difference between songs. These solos don't bore me, and yes there are some breakdowns, but they don't t stay there indefinitely. Nice stuff!

Lyrics

I have to say, this is so wordy, but it works well. It is hard to fathom putting these words together and managing to get such a story across.

Farewell

I think we like to think we would give our life so someone else could be okay. But could we, actually? For our children, YES, but anyone else? What a thought. But in times of genocide, people did sacrifice themselves to save others. Amazing!

But if I do not return
The fight may take a perilous turn
The day may never come where I shall come home
For I'll gladly give my own life
If it means that you will survive

For you, I die
You'll find me in the afterlife
Live out your days with grief out of sight
I am sorry that you'll never find
My body to say your goodbyes

Saurian King

This song seems to be about the terrible ruler who wants to kill. Everyone knows it is coming. It is hard to imagine the terror you would feel if you knew you and your family and friends were wanted to be killed.

Waiting in anticipation
To long persist the coming abyss
Savage conflict is unfurling
Condemning of faith, condemning with hate and death
Violent expulsions
Claiming the lands as their own
A cataclysmic and misanthropic catalyst shall further enrage

Demands for our deaths
Several long nights of terror
The cleansing begins
This is the new beginning
Of our living hell

The Coming Fire

This just makes me think of how a merciless leader gets people to follow them and do terrible things, and in the end, they will be next to be thrown into the flame. It is all about personal gain. It also makes me think of how, in the end, our choices matter. Whether you die on the right or wrong side of things, there has to be some part of you that knows you are doing evil.

Burn for your leaders
Mourn for your futures
Burn for your leaders
Yearn for a savior
Burn for your leaders
Mourn, everlasting mourning for

Of Fury

I think this speaks to rising violence and the fear surrounding it.

Millions of men forged in the fiery depths of hell
Begin to purge the lands
Ad nauseam, they seize their prize
Demanding that hundreds of thousands more must die

They seek to rid them of their existence and reform
For defenders, to fail would mean they disappear
A choice leaves the weight of this force to be dismembered
The combat seems to be everlasting
They all met death

Intensified Genocide

I think this about the fact that people have to go into survival mode during a time where they are being wiped from the earth. It requires unfathomable determination to make it through something like this.

The schism has succumbed to militant decadence
Boundaries perverted, the populous ravenous
Their rights have been compromised
Forced into battle to keep what they own
Plotting the new reign, the parliament ponders
Seizing the motherland after disbandment
Caught in between these brutal objectives
Resorting to violence they're eaten alive

Death

Life of Exile

Living in a place like Canada, though our ideals have been pushed and there are definite lines that have been crossed in the past (and even now), I have been so blessed. I have no idea what it is like to lose everything you ever had and have absolutely no control. I think this song speaks to the devastation and oppression some parts of the world have dealt with, and continue to deal with.

 Again, they've come to tear down our ideals
With prestigious grins, staring down at us
Dispelled from the region only to return thirty cycles past
These wounds recur; is this the day I die?

Forced away, driven into these holes
We leave behind our memories of home

I've lost all that I know
Everything I own was taken away from me

Where Millions Have Come to Die

Makes me think of the lady's story of making it through the Holocaust because she was a maid and help in a household of a Nazi. How terrifying it must have been to see so many killed in front of you, and wonder when it might be your turn. To see your fellow human suffer.

To flee or become yet another casualty
To be shot between the eyes or take a chance to be free
The mother of all battles ends on a blood red mound
The death knell tolls forever loud
The kessel closes, constricting the throats of those spared from starvation, frostbite death and suicide
The morsels standing march to the beyond
With black clouds high above
They march to the unknown

From Ruin ...We Rise

I think this speaks to that bit of hope underneath every determined person still standing.

Newcomers dance and sing
Relieved by the passing of spring
They feel the grace of the sun
Their misfortune has not yet begun
Where the men used to come for their drinks
Where the children would play endlessly
They have taken our everything
They know not what tomorrow shall bring
On the opposite side of the field
A vengeance that shall never yield
Fathers weep for their sons
Their suffering cannot be undone

Blood in the Sands of Time

This is talking about how broken the earth is, the violence, crisis, and devastation of the past. The injury built on injury.

Empires fall, years have progressed and are forsaken
The meek are cast down, the strongest garnering the gains
Sounds of war echo on in solemn spirit
The blind, the sick, the old, the young, even the demons hear it
And as time passes on, these situations
Remain a constant in the name of indemnification
The oozing black heart below the surface is calling outward
And those who dare listen shall be relentlessly pulled under
Worldwide crisis, divinity rehashed
The world you see that surrounds you was built from murder
The cycle of death continues and we push it further

Elegy I: Adapt

How does hate build up so much that we think we are better, that we seek to kill others? It is terrifying to think about - but relevant.

What fate awaits
Those who kill?
Murderous tyrants
Only seek supremacy

Elegy II: Devise

So sad to hear this truth. There are way too many people that treat vulnerable people like garbage and don't have any sense of the job we have to take care of others. The presentation of these lyrics is done in a way that feels like a collective group of people holding on.

So, we sing ourselves to sleep
When the strong overtake the weak
The cities burn, the bridges bend
Now, we lay our heads to rest
So, we sing ourselves to sleep
When the strong overtake the weak
The cities burn, the bridges bend
Now, we lay our heads to rest

Elegy III: Overcome

What did the villain tell his family? Where and how did he find justification?

From ancient ages to modern times
These untold atrocities have amassed
Permeating the ground, the soil soaks their blood
Nevertheless, this headlong struggle for supremacy
Persists throughout our violent history

Victorious, now, the victor sings
And rewrites the cold facts of history
To present their greatness to their offspring
This process cycles continuously

Playlist Picks

I will add The Coming Fire to my playlist. This song is good at creating an atmosphere. I can see the horrendous leader walking out, commanding troops of people. The backing vocal comes to create the spirit of hope. The ending music feels hopeful. The changes are just right throughout.

I'll also add Elegy III: Devise, as I like the pace in this one, and the way they bring in the synth interaction. The solo doesn't feel like a solo, but cohesively fits.