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This album was probably over a year in the making, and I sat on what was essentially a finished project for months. I set a standard for myself after "Visitors" and felt like these songs weren't up to snuff. Thankfully with the help of loads of people, I was able to bring them up to what I considered "good" and now I can safely say I'm quite proud of it. Some parts are a little overindulgent, but that's prog!
I'm glad I can finally talk about this! The problem with releasing instrumental stuff is that without explicit lyrics, all the listener has to go off of to determine what a song is "about" is the title and the music itself or the atmosphere it builds. Side A is more or less a suite of songs that play out the creation story (mainly the Christian creation story, but it ends with the Babylonian flood myth "Atrahasis". Life, in particular, was a lot of fun because I decided to make it an overture and include motifs from the rest of the songs (or most of them). You can hear themes from "Dursey", "The Snake", and "Atrahasis". I love writing reprises, it's so much fun to try to work little winks and nods back into another song. "In the Garden" is very much an early Genesis/Anthony Philips inspired tune-- both sections. "The Snake" started out as a bit of King Crimson pastiche, but a LOT of "Godbluff"-era Van der Graaf Generator influence worked its way in along the (multiple) different iterations of the song.
Side B is a bit more varied, and looser in concept, Since the first side is sort of about the "original sin" and fall of man and all that, I was thinking about the cyclical nature of humans across history (particularly the bad). "Heretic at the Stake" was directed towards religious zealotry and the story of Joan of Arc in particular. "End of the Flower Wars" was about the arrival of the Spanish in South America that brought about the end of the ritual wars (introducing a new threat). "Gilded Age" is about the greed of industry in western civilizations in the 19th century. Pretty simple.
"Dursey" (originally titled "The Massacre at Dursey") is about the massacre of a group of (I think) 300 Gaelic Irish during the Nine Years' War. The group, comprised primarily of civilians, were taking refuge on Dursey Island at the time and were beseiged by a group of English soldiers. Pretty grim, but I found the story very powerful and wanted to reflect it in the music. I think the parts I laid out tell it well enough; the harpsichord bit sort of playing with the Tudor identity, the, to quote a friend: to quote a friend: "mournful" Ulleiann pipes and marching drums, etc. I love telling stories through music, and Yarn of Ages is probably the best example I've got so far (in my opinion).
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