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Don't think I've talked about my musical tastes on here, other than a comment or two, but man I love concept albums. Unleash the Archers had sort of been on the periphery of my awareness for a while after hearing The Matriarch and thinking it was a fun sort of tongue-in-cheek song. But eventually I grew curious and delved into the whole album, that being the Apex/Abyss double album, telling the story of this immortal man forced to wake every few millennia and do the bidding of evil conquerors... I don't know, maybe describing this outside of the music will always sound silly, but trust me it's powerful.
Detailed gushing below the break.
The whole album is incredible, but I think the part of it that hits me hardest is the opening and ending of Abyss (the album). It opens with Waking Dream, and the repeated words,
Wandering a waking dream while reaching for the light
As the day falls over into night
Centuries like flowing streams as years go rushing by
Waiting in the dark for afterlife
And all the way at the end of the story, we come to Afterlife. And over the same melody we get the resolution. (@ 2:10)
Out of shadow, out of darkness, welcome to the light
As the day shines boldly over night
Follow me to finally be who you are inside
Open wide, embrace the afterlife
What a way to conclude. Apex ended with the protagonist forced back into endless sleep, his dreams of freedom washed away with the false promises of her, doomed to the service of wicked people for centuries more. And finally here, in Abyss, he is truly free to forge his own destiny. All of it absolutely carried by Brittney Slayes, who is one of the most powerful vocalists I may have ever heard.
I mean, yall, this might not be breaking new ground in storytelling or anything, but any piece of music trying to tell a story needs to hit the right emotional notes. It's got to push your heart buttons in the moment, and UtA completely nailed it. Just a real ten outta ten.
PS: my actual favorite song on the album is Awakening because holy shit what a banger