Chosen by DJ Monk
We have only one selection for you this week, as this is a song, and a video, that needs space to breathe, space to inhabit itself, and you, space to be absorbed, enjoyed, and enveloped…
It’s actually a video which has been out for little more than a week, and slipped through the cracks first time around, but when I finally clicked on the link I just sat there in awe of what I was watching, and listening to, and knew it had to be shared.
Regular readers will know that I am not a fan of cover versions, but this re-interpretation of ‘Fade To Black’ – one of my favourite Metallica songs – is simply breath-taking. It sees Chris Hathcock, the founder of North Carolina prog metallers The Reticent, totally strip the song back to it’s bare essence, taking its original message of the despair that can lead people to suicide and applying it to those suffering from another of the world’s most debilitating, and humiliating, illnesses – Alzheimer’s. It also, in a way, is an extremely poignant and apposite anthem for the times in which we find ourselves.
Hathcock told Über Rock about the background to the song and it’s accompanying, extremely evocative, video:
“The original is a timeless classic, but in listening to it I thought that perhaps the sadness of the words was somewhat attenuated by the catchy and driving riffs. It thematically fell right in line with the overall concept of ‘The Oubliette’ [The Reticent’s forthcoming fifth album], as that blanket of loneliness and despair can fall over the suicidal and Alzheimer’s patients alike.
“I decided to reduce the instrumentation as much as possible to increase that sense of isolation and only used effects to increase the atmosphere. Minimalist and empty sounding like a hospital room. The result hopefully draws more attention to the stark hopelessness in the lyrics. The distance and atmosphere in the track are meant to feel not just isolated, but almost ghostly – as if we are hearing the baleful thoughts of a man void of hope trapped in a hospital bed.”
Until next time, keep ‘er lit, keep ‘er between the hedges and #StayTheFuckHome…
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