the barrow downs

2014

This was my sword and sorcery EP, which would have been a fine name for it, but there is also a video game called "Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP," featuring the very cool music of Jim Guthrie, so I figured I should go with something more original. Thus I gave it the very original title of "Tony Cordes." In short order I nicknamed it "Grand Prix Automobile," since the artwork I originally chose for it was a picture of me in my room, guitar in hand and too-cool-for-school expression on face, and a motorcar print on the wall with the words "GRAND PRIX AUTOMOBILE" on it. I eventually opted instead for a negative of the pen and ink drawing I did for “The Barrow Downs” single, and made that the EP’s title.
While The Barrow Downs definitely took a more progressive tack than the Toast EP, I also flirted--and got to first base with--doom metal on the title track. "The Gem of Immortality" is definitely a bit sludgier than what I was used to making, too. I had also, finally, found a drum sample library that I liked, and which didn't break the (very small) bank: Drummix Metal (sadly a dead plugin, now, and not supported by the latest iterations of Cubase). Enjoying a bit of independence since moving out of my parents' house (and it was about time! I was twenty-seven), finally becoming a full-time mechanic, and even getting back into the world of dating, I found myself feeling much more inspired to write music. While "The Gem of Immortality" touches on some ugly stuff (let it be known, though, that my relationship with my own dad is just fine), there's a sense of triumph in here, especially in the latter two tracks.

 
 

  • I am the darkness
    I curse the light
    For depriving me of its radiance
    I am so cold
    Damned be the warmth
    I will never feel again

    "Gone is the light, and dead the sound;
    Foul is the air beneath the ground;
    Cold is the sleep that never will restore
    Till the sun is dark and warms the Earth no more.
    The black wind shall devour the sky,
    While for the lost light gold shall mourn;
    Till the Dark Lord claims his bride:
    The withered land, in death adorned."

    A sickly light glows in this fell cave
    This stupor I feel beckons me towards the grave
    My friends lie beside me, embalmed and in state
    And I hear bitter shades damning us to their fate
    A crawling hand, bereft of its body
    Belonging to a king erased from time's memory
    I smite as it draws near, summoning my courage
    Remembering my voice, I cry for the Eldest

  • You never understood;
    Always criticizing and patronizing...
    You spoke as though you knew
    What, behind my eyes, I was devising.

    My birthright you hold, in trust, for me,
    And I've waited for it, father, patiently!
    Still you withhold it, to my misery;
    You say I need more patience––and responsibility!

    You say it's mine, if for better ways I strive?
    I say you're mocking me; it never will be
    Long as you're alive...

    Now that I've shed your blood,
    With glist'ning eyes, I claim my prize.
    The glimmer of this jewel
    Is mesmerizing... it prophesies:

    Undisputable supremacy;
    None will ever dare to question me.
    With the power in this gem I see,
    I lay claim to immortality!

  • Sometimes I get confused about
    The way my life's been led
    I can't tell if I'm up or down
    When feeling so on edge
    Sometimes my mind's a prison where
    All I can do is think
    And wonder which is reason and
    Which is insanity

    When does it end?
    When can I be myself, again?
    When can I regain control
    And pull myself from this black hole?

    (Rise above!)
    No more wasted time!
    (Rise above!)
    I need to clear my mind
    (Rise above!)
    And leave it all behind
    The doubt and the confusion––Rise above!

    I know there are solutions
    Buried somewhere in my mind
    So I dig through all the lies to
    Find a place where I'm not blind
    Tearing down dead ends that
    I created years ago
    I've resolved to leave behind
    The wind I chased before

    Here's where it ends
    Misery is not my friend
    I'm not gonna take it
    Think it's high time I forsake it

    (Rise above!)
    No more wasted time!
    (Rise above!)
    It's time to clear my mind
    (Rise above!)
    And leave it all behind
    The doubt and the confusion––Rise above

  • I am a paladin
    My heart is pure
    My mind is swift and my
    Blade sharp and sure
    I'm on a holy quest
    And when it's done
    My swift mind will
    Devise a new one

    I crave for justice, and order, and peace
    When I'm done fighting, the violence will cease
    Is my blade bloodied by good blood? Oh, no!
    The blood by which it's bloodied is blood cruel and cold

    For I'm a paladin...

    My foes crave pardon––No, that is a lie
    They crave private places and crave not to die
    Such men are devious, faithless, and shy
    They look at your parts of naught and look not in your eye

    But I'm a paladin...

    My mount craves pasture, and wide open fields
    But he craves most to bear me when my lance I wield
    He is a good steed, with a heart solid gold
    For aiding my perils, he'll never grow old

    For I'm a paladin...