Colors in Grey
It paints a picture of someone who refuses to see the nuance in life, choosing instead to live in a self-imposed monochrome reality. The aggression in the delivery mirrors the frustration of dealing with someone whose false pride and "black and white" worldview blinds them to the truth.
This song was one of the first ones where we added some sweep picking over the melodic breakdown to add some texture to the sound (and totally not to fanboy Born of Osiris)
False Ideals
The inspiration behind the song title led to the creative process and narrative decisions made. As Viktor was going through struggles in his personal life, he began to re-evaluate certain postulates he held dearly to be the absolute truth. This led to the name of the song - “False Ideals”. Strong melodicism of the piece led the band to agree that it would make a strong single for the album. The video was not initially intended to be narrative in nature, but the filming location and abundance of ideas we could take from the lyrics inspired us to elevate it from just a band playthrough to what it turned out to be.
The decision was made late in the pre-production stage - about 2 weeks before the actual filming. Some visuals were inspired from the TV show “Yellowjackets”. The inspiration for the ritual itself and the overall visual style was inspired by the history and accounts of pagan rituals, as well as the current occult movements. The song’s emotions are translated narratively, through the story of a person metaphorically taking a glimpse at what their life would have been, had they stayed on their original track.
Hold On
This track is about finding that motivation when life drags you down. It’s easy to get lost in the grind, but you have to fight for the people and the things you love. It’s basically a reminder to ourselves to stay consistent and not let our dreams fade away just because things get heavy.
This song had a good amount of pop-punk influence in its composition and we added metal bits to that “pop-punk” skeleton later.
Insomniac
This is about those nights where you just toss and turn and can’t shut your brain off. You check the clock, and it’s 3 AM, and the anxiety just builds because you know you’re going to be wrecked the next day. It feels like a monster hanging over you, which is why we actually used Cthulhu imagery in the music video to represent that heavy, inescapable feeling.
For rhythm guitars this is one of the more challenging songs to play on the album due to constant downpicking and some string skipping in harmonized guitar parts
Misunderstood
This song is about the frustration of having good intentions but still looking like the villain. It’s that desperate feeling of wanting to clear the air and tell someone, "I’m not trying to hurt you, I’m just bad at explaining myself," before it’s too late.
Speaking of songs that are hard to play - this one takes the cake. Constant downpicking leaves our forearms burning every time we play it.
Searching For An Answer
The lyrics were inspired by the coronavirus lockdown and its impact on people. You could see them as a study of prolonged isolation on a mass scale, exploring how it might affect a society unprepared for such an event. Anxiety, fear, and uncertainty about the future formed the foundation for the withered, dead world we aimed to portray in the video.
The video included us travelling to a different state hundreds of miles away with all of our expensive equipment, hoping for the best of luck with the weather, neighboring campers, and another million small things that needed to go right. We want people to appreciate the cinematic development in our video production, since we believe we’ve set a new bar for ourselves with our visual storytelling.
Set Adrift
This song covers intrusive thoughts, insecurity, and feeling like you aren’t enough for the person you love. It compares that anxiety to treading water in the ocean - you’re just trying to keep your head above the surface and hoping the current doesn't take you away.
Probably one of the strongest melodical works on the album with many small details that make it absolutely beautiful.
The Masks We Wear
We all put on a front to get through the day, hiding our trauma or drama just to function. This song is about wanting to finally drop that act. It asks the question: if I show you who I really am—scars and all—will you still stick around? It’s about craving that one safe place where you don't have to perform for anyone.
This was our first experiment with writing songs on 7 string guitars and experimenting with lower tunings - this one is in Drop G#