The Red Album, Baroness’ first full-length album released in 2007 on the Relapse label. This examination into the album looks at the themes and story of the album as I see and understand it. In summary, the main character opts into a religious community to escape inner demons and struggles. At first, it seems to work but due to an unfortunate event, he slips back into his old ways which trigger unforeseen and ultimately mortal consequences.
First, to set the scene of where and when this album takes place. The album is set in the area of the United States ranging from the southern part of New York down to the Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi areas known as Appalachia. However, culturally Appalachia typically refers to the southern portions of this area (1). This is clued in by the title of track number 9: O’Appalachia. I would argue the region would be around Georgia. The basis for this argument is frequent lyrical references to the tide, which I believe to be the area now known as the Appalachian Regional Port (2). The area around the Regional Port in Georgia makes sense in two ways: first being that the band is from Georgia, second being its main port was historically an important port for commerce. Lastly, the southern area of the United States would also support the themes of rebirth and judgment explored throughout the album.
The when is elusive and only pointed out by theme, and a single choice word, abraid, buried in the album. However, with the artistic strength of John Baizley, I do not believe this choice was made arbitrarily. Abraid is a verb that means to awake, to spring or start, or to shout out. However, it has not been a commonly used word since the periods around 1910 (3). This time frame would match up with the socio-religious expectations and actions explored in the album as well.
Lastly, before delving into the track by track discussion it would be important to talk about the main character of the album. I choose to refrain from using the word hero as it is never morally clear how the listener should consider the character. Based on the lyrics and my interpretation of them I believe the character is a male and is either a troubled wanderer or is a forgotten soldier from some war experiencing what we now call Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Looking back on the period it would seem more likely that this character is a veteran, traveling through Appalachia, looking for an escape from whatever demons might be following him. The most well-known conflict the United States was involved in during the potential time of the album is the Spanish-American War which ended in the year of 1898. While combat claimed the lives of only a few soldiers, both sides of the conflict lost many people to Yellow Fever (Malaria) and Typhoid (4). Again, I think it would make a stronger artistic choice on the part of Baizley to have chosen someone who lived through the hell of war and plague than someone who was wandering around America for more whimsical troubles like “Where do I belong?” There is more thematic gristle to chew on (5).
Track 1. Rays on a Pinion. We are introduced to the setting of a quiet town. The music alludes to a hopeful discovery. Almost like someone is peering down into a valley in the early morning. The feeling of the early morning is especially strong with the chime-like riffs being played around 0:54 to 1:23. It sounds like a vibrant town just waking up, and we are watching people’s routines take shape at 1:24 on through to the start of the vocals. The addition of drums at 1:38 adds to this feeling as they sound very deliberate and foundational. The music ramps up in dramatics straight through to the end of the song.
Lyrically the first two stanzas explore the main character and the town, and the final stanzas fixate on the character and a decision that is made. The first stanza is the character of the story reflecting on himself as he looks down on this vibrant town. The music also takes a darker sound as we get closer to the lyrics, which are presented at the 3:47 marker. “Save your soul, bright with holes.” The character is looking for some form of redemption by clearly saying to himself to save his soul. He indicates to himself and the listener that there are many reasons to pursue this as his soul is bright with holes. This to be interesting wordplay as bright with holes indicates that it is illuminated in addition to not being whole. Perhaps the sight of this town illuminates him with hope. This damaged soul has likely driven this character to wander through the United States looking for something to mend their soul and provide a more concrete way to live. This stanza finishes with the lyrics “Rays on pinion, lay me down.”
A pinion is a noun meaning the flight feathers on a bird's wing, located on the outer wing. It also means “a gear with a small number of teeth designed to mesh with a larger wheel or rack” (6). Both definitions fit into the lyrics. First, it is a direct observation of the character. He has been wandering, a bird with the sun on his wing, unable to settle down or outrun his troubles. But it also infers he believes he might be able to fit into this town he has discovered, to fit into a larger wheel of the community. “Lay me down” is the blind desire of the heart to find a place where he can safely settle down to rest and begin living again. Bringing the two lines together indicates that he believes his travels have finally brought fruit and his journey might be over.
The second stanza appears to be largely autobiographical in regards to the character with some hints about where the town is located and what lifestyle it offers. “Our trust lies in mighty wings, as we thrust ourselves into the drink.” Looking at the character through the lens of this stanza the listener is shown the character only trusts the road, that the mighty wings are his ability to wander the land without nesting in any one community. However, this so-called ability to wander is likely due to an inability to mesh with the community as we are shown that he has a drinking problem. “As we thrust ourselves into the drink,” quite literally means the character is throwing himself into the drink to try to outrun his demons. As mentioned above it is very likely the character is experiencing untreated symptoms of PTSD, or what would have been likely called shell shock.
Next, if the lense of this part of the stanza is turned onto the village the character has discovered it takes on a new meaning. As the album continues on it unearths religious tones and qualities. Being built on this foundation, the community also believes “our trust lies in mighty wings,” but these wings are not flighty freedom but the wings of angels. Angels who protect the town as they tender their land by the sea as shown in: “as we thrust ourselves into the drink.” Drink typically means beverage but according to Merriam-Webster it can also mean “a sizable body of water - used with the [the drink]" (7). What I believe the listener should extrapolate from this section of the song are the community’s values; these values being a strong commitment to Christian principles and hard work. In addition to this, I believe the listener should also pull out a sense of temperance as the two sides of this interpretation exist in pretty stark contrast of each other; one being flight and escape via alcohol and the other being grounded in both land and devotion via hard work.
The stanza finishes up with “pitched boats sail and ploughmen (8) toil, to drift on and work the soil.” Initially, it feels like the character weighing the options presented to him. To continue on his journey uncertain where he will land, feeling much like a boat pitched back and forth on the ocean; or perhaps to settle down and start working in a community. The second half creates the image of the character holding two ideas in his hands and weighing them, “to drift on and work the soil.” After the fact it also appears to be a very literal observation the character has of the town and what life may be like. That boats sail into the nearby port only to drift on by the town shortly after while the community works and plows the soil growing food.
In the third stanza, a decision is made by the character. “Stow your gaze, away these waves.” It feels like the character is telling himself to stow his gaze away from the road and to walk away from the waves of uncertainty and pain. It further goes on to indicate he sees his stained reflection in a moment of clarity and realizes if he does not settle soon he may drown in the booze alone on the road: “stain reflection, may we drown.” What is important to note is there is no real meaningful statement about the town. It is what gives this moment gravitas and indicates this is a final decision. The music gets more visceral as you can hear the guitarists really dig into the strings of their instrument, more raw and raking, as we go further into the character’s decision. Baizley’s voice becomes gruffer and growling as well.
After more brash and raking riffs the tone gets very full and even more serious bringing the listener into the inner dialogue about the decision that was made. “This is our last goodbye, this is our final cry. This separation of bird and bone, is an introduction to tide and lung.” However, there are hints of a confliction of these statements. It starts firm and absolute, “this is our last goodbye.” He and his need to wander are parting ways to start a new chapter in his life. He is waving farewell to answering the call of the road, to the cry of freedom it offers. But it is coupled with a violent image of separating a bird from its bones. Beyond the feathers that grant a bird flight, it is also their hollow bones that allow them to fly. To separate the bone from the bird takes away its ability to fly but also removes the structural foundation of the body. It is a very powerful statement of what the character is letting go; framed in a painful and crippling way. This is where the feelings of conflict are based and acknowledged. But he feels this is the cost of finding a home and finding peace from his troubles: “this separation of bird and bone is an introduction to tide and lung.” The tide is a regular rhythm. It comes in and out every six hours. In the days of old doctors would send people to the coast because they believed in the restorative properties of the sea air. Essentially, in letting go of his freedom he may find what he needs to heal his spirit.
The last stanza echoes the feeling of inner conflict. It is almost like deep down the character does not believe this new life will work, even if he cannot admit it. “We’ve resigned ourselves to soar home, despite these wayward rays.” The key to identifying the conflict in his decision is the usage of soar home. Just one line before the idea of leaving his life is tearing the bird from its bones, but this decision is allowing him to soar home. This does not reconcile, they are not compatible thoughts. This is foreshadowing the repercussions of choosing this new life.
Track 2. The Birthing. The Birthing starts with a repetitive riff with vocals being howled over it up to 1:09. It seems very much like the town folk observing the newcomer and passing judgment about him based on how he looks and very likely smells. 1:10 the riff gets broken up by different little leads and voices with a big pause at 1:21 that is maintained just by the bass and drums. You get the feeling this is a moment of decision and the listener waits with the character as you feel the anticipation climb. The voices during the 1:10 mark feel like voices of elders talking about the character. At 1:33 the riff comes crashing back in with even more aggression. The same broken up voicing from the section at 1:10 repeats but with the new-found aggression leading to another big pause with an even bigger anticipation climb at 1:54. A frenzied drum solo is performed and we move into a new section of the song at 2:16. As the guitars play this country-like section the song comes to what feels like an important part at 2:27. It almost feels like the character is repeatedly experiencing something uncomfortable as there are little pauses from the aggressive guitar leads. The track climbs and climbs, becoming more soaring. Something interesting happens though at the 3:29, the vocals change the tone and instead of being accusatory they feel almost celebrational. As the song moves on into its final sections at 3:39 we hear variations of the same lick over and over in different musical contexts. It seems very much like a montage where the character is slowly learning the ways of the town and being integrated into its culture. The song returns to the riff from the beginning for just a moment as the song closes out at 4:43. Interestingly, it returns to this voicing. It feels like it is something from the subconscious of the character returning to his mind; perhaps a seed of doubt?
This track is full of dual meanings. The track starts with the perspective of a second voice. It is made clear by the first verse the main character is not in a good way. “Holy rake, you piss and shake.” According to the entry in Merriam-Webster, a rake can mean “a dissolute person,” and also “to touch in passing over lightly” (9). Both could apply to this setting. Suffering from untreated PTSD, withdrawal from alcohol, and having been wandering around the United States in the early 1900s would certainly make you appear unkempt, smelly, and possibly someone who holds questionable morals. However, if you think of birthing as a baptism it reframes the stanza. Entering this town, this community, in agreeing to stay and join their lifestyle (which likely was a religious-based one) the character is starting to accept light brushes of religion and generosity or rakes. Honestly, this feeling is likely based out of genuine kindness, in believing that anyone is worth saving if they commit to the discipline. The music is intense, rising, and falling, indicating this moment is difficult and not without effort.
The second stanza is another line with dual meanings. “Comely waif, you knees abraid.” Comely means “pleasurably conforming to notions of good appearance,” or “having a pleasing appearance” (10). A waif is “a person, especially a child, who has no home or friends. [Or] something found, especially a stray animal, whose owner is not known.” But more interestingly it also means “an extremely thin and usually young woman" (11). Applying this term to the main character would indicate he has made it through the process of cleaning up and is at least starting to assimilate into the community because he is starting to conforming to the town’s image. Additionally, he entered the town looking like a stray animal. However, it would also suggest that the main character met a young woman who is opening up to him sexually: “Comely waif, your knees abraid.” Abraid means “to awake,” (12) which turns your knees abraid into your knees awake, or open.
Stanza three is the longest of stanza thus far and has the most to chew on, ending with some wonderful imagery. “Turn your back on the birthing, it’s sweet again.” On one hand, it appears this is quite literal, the main character is turning his back on the birthing of a child (possibly his child born of the Comely Waif). There are aspects in the last stanza that suggest these two characters do give birth. On the other hand, the main character is turning his back on his baptism. It is unclear if this a physical resistance (not actually going through the process) or if it is a spiritual resistance, and only known to him. In the context of the whole album, it is likely a spiritual one. He is realizing he is not a religious person and to say he so makes him live in a lie.
“Keep it tucked in your eye, wet and alive, seaweed insides,” is the ending of this stanza. “Keep it tucked in your eye” feels like it is alluding to holding the truth inside. This supports the suggestion the main character is realizing he is not going to truly fit into the community. The judgment he was subject to as he entered this town has jarred him. This truth, this spiritual rejection will stay hidden, unspoken, tucked behind his eye. This assumption is based on the cultural idea that the window to the soul is one’s eyes paired with the idea of looking into someone’s eyes to see if they’re telling the truth. “Wet and alive, seaweed inside,” is wonderful imagery. This is in reference to the gestation of a child and also the realization of this inner truth. To those unaware of the texture of unharvested seaweed, it is very slippery and wet. It’s almost as slimy as the material coating the scales of fish. It also grows almost exclusively underwater. Baizely is comparing the unseen growth of seaweed to the growth of a child in utero along with the struggle that will inevitably come with living a false life.
The track ends with a reprise of earlier lyrics: “Holy rake, comely waif, birthed blisters, rake.” These words feel like a twisted epitaph. The house is built, one Holy Rake and his Comely Waif suffering from birthed blisters, are starting their life together. This fixation on the word rake and the usage of blisters indicate the main character has not changed. He has not found salvation. He will still wander as an incomplete person, however, he is now anchored to a community both in commitment and with a family. The final stanza leaves the listener sitting next to the hero as he copes with the reality that this life is not his solution and that the birth of a child has blistered, or ruined his spiritual rebirth because he has truly lost his ability to flee out into the world once again.
Track 3. Isak. The track opens with a very muted string being picked in rapid succession with a filter panning up and down (possibly a wah pedal). It feels like the sound of a clock running super face. At 0:18 the drums join in. It provides a pulsing driving beat at 0:25 and the rest of the instruments join at 0:40. Musically it creates the feeling of a hot sun burning down as you work intensely. The main riff starts at 0:54 with the vocals joining in at 1:08. The song changes to a chorus-like riff that feels quite laborious, almost montage like at 1:30. It feels like the listener is watching the workday progress, and the lyrics substantiate this. There appears to be a moment of failure on the character’s part at 1:43 before we go right back to the pummeling verse riff at 1:50. The song returns to the chorus at 2:12. At around 2:27 the song takes a turn into a noisy bridge section with lots of weird noises being produced by the guitars. It is very similar to the section at 1:43 but less disjointed, almost as if the character is starting to get the hang of it. At 2:45 the song changes to a more serious tone as if the character has gotten the hang of it but is realizing he has signed up for very difficult work. The following section at 3:13 is a very busy montage again of rising and falling riffs which could indicate the character’s performance for the rest of the season. The song finishes up with the serious tone of 2:45 and rides it with growing fury until the song concludes.
The listener is now given a name to reference: Isak. This is likely the name of his child. This track exists in two different timelines. Musically it is painting a picture of the main character learning the main trade of the town. It seems probable this trade is farming as Isak makes references to farming (tendering swine, seeds, etc). Lyrically the song takes a dark turn and exists shortly after the track The Birthing. The unfortunate take away is the child passes away. This is supported by the lyrics but also the medical data provided by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. According to the CDC “At the beginning of the 20th century, for every 1000 live births, … approximately 100 infants died before age 1 year” (13). This is about 10% of all births, which is much higher than it is today. Lyrically the listener is shown this reality in the very first stanza: “Isak, hands in the ground, buried traces of sound scream.” The line “hands in the ground” holds two meanings. First that the main character has dug into the ground and lays his child in by hand to bury him. But it also references little Isak’s hands as he is laid into the soil for eternal rest. The closer to this stanza is equally as dark due to the provocative imagery it provides: “buried traces of sound scream.” This refers to the former potential for life, the screams of life from a baby. The only traces left of this now buried child scream inside of the main character’s mind.
The rest of the track focuses on the very specific actions the main character instructs himself through to try to overcome this grief, which is multiplied by trying to maintain the ruse that he is fully participating in this town spiritually. It must be hard to outrun this grief as the main character must work the same land his child is buried in. “Hem in the seeds, water to salt, salt into rain.” It is almost like a mantra: plant the seeds, sweat into the soil (water to salt), and work until it rains. Wash rinse and repeat. The last stanza fasts forwards to the end of the season. The work has been a useless effort to outrun his grief as he begs the memory of his lost child to forgive the swine he has become: “Isak, tender the swine, carry the hare and the barrow home.” The main character reaches the end of the growing season with an empty barrow and a hare which indicates all his work produced very little. It will prove to be a long winter for him.
Track 4. Wailing Wintry Winds. Wailing Wintry Winds starts with what could be described as either the beginning of a snowstorm, while it is still peacefully falling, or the morning after the storm and waking to the blankets of fresh snow. As the song progresses the listener learns it is the beginning of a storm. The drums do an amazing job of ushering in this track as they start very quiet, deep in the mix. As the storm draws closer they grow in volume. The guitars take a more somber tone at 0:32. The intensity grows with the drums into a firecracker drum line at 1:02. It almost feels like the song is marching into a battle. The guitars start howling like ghosts hidden in the wind at 1:20. Possibly the demons and the voice of Isak haunting the main character’s head? Very eerie stuff. The song starts to take more form as the rhythm tightens up at 1:51. The midpoint of the song is a very somber guitar line starting at 2:21. It feels almost foggy and hazy, like a nostalgic drunk feeling. Between the drums and the little-interspersed riffs, the listener is given the feeling of swaying back and forth almost like being on a boat rocking about on the sea. The drums keep growing with intensity until it reaches a screaming peak at 4:00. As Baizley crashes into the song it feels like the main character’s mind has snapped, letting go of all of his anger and lies, as the man screams into the winds. This moment of intense emotional vomit continues with a solo on guitars starting at 4:37. As the tense solo finishes up the music changes to a final fight between him and the Comely Waif that ends in a final scream that fades out into the wind. This fight starts at 5:29 and closes out the song.
Lyrically this point in the album is the downward spiral for the character which is exacerbated by his PTSD. This track’s lyrics are one long stanza so it will be tackled in smaller sections. It appears the lyrics are presented this way because it is a stream of unformed thoughts by the main character as he sinks into an alcoholic stupor as he copes with the flurry of aggression from the Comely Waif over their lack of food for the winter and fall from sobriety. The vocals mirror the darkness of these themes.
“See inside, ‘till you find me blindly.” The song opens up with the main character looking introspectively at himself as he starts his journey to the bottom of a bottle. The assumption that he has started drinking again is based on the statement “find me blindly”, which is how an intoxicated person would look for someone or something; blindly stumbling around the room or area until it is found. The narrative moves into a violent self-depreciation with the next two lines: “Slice the rind, ‘till you see me bleeding.” It is as if he is begging for someone to cut into his skin (or rind) to punish him for not being able to keep his child alive, to cut him until he is bleeding.
The next two lines acknowledge his partner lashing into him as well: “Thousand blades, of an unbeliever.” But it appears that this lashing out is not over the loss of their child but because he has fallen from sobriety. He’s fallen from the beliefs he swore to uphold when he joined this town and took her as a wife. The lyrics work two ways as she feels betrayed knowing he is not a man of faith, but it also reflects the pain he feels as he comes to grips with the fact he has not found peace and may never will.
“Sift the sand, hear the wail of winter winds.” The main character searches deeply for his soul if it still exists. Sifting through all the filth of his existence trying to find a small bit of gold. At this point, it would be okay that it was bright with holes given how low he has fallen. Based on the next song, it seems that hearing the wailing winter winds alludes to him being abandoned by his partner both physically and relationally. He is alone, in winter, in what is left of his home.
Track 5. Cockroach En Fleur. This is a short instrumental acoustic track. En Fleur is French for in bloom, making the title Cockroach In Bloom. In the very beginning, the music feels like watching an insect crawl along the floor. It also feels like the sensation of trying to look around the room while it is spinning during a stupor. The rhythm is in constant flux, feeling like it cannot control where it is trying to go. In another perspective, it almost feels like trying to wake up. At the 0:28 mark, the song switches to a new passage. It is easy going, bluesy country style music. It creates the feeling of throwing open the doors and windows to find that beautiful spring has arrived. The air is fresh and new. The song switches gears again at the 0:59 mark to a more solemn and fragile movement. However, unlike the brutally passionate approaches of Isak and The Birthing, this is bright, clear, and very structured. The temp slowly increases until it reaches the final section of the song at 1:38. The descending then ascending musical passage feels like a deep breath. Perhaps it is one of acceptance, acceptance of what has happened and a new breath to move on with life. This final passage is revisited later in the album.
With no lyrics to work off of, I can only provide my own thoughts on what takes place here in the narrative. In the beginning, it feels like the main character slowly coming out of a spinning lethargic drinking spell. As he gains clarity he sees the cockroaches skittering across the floor eating the rancid scraps all around him. The shutters and doors are closed. As it switches to the country bluesy section of the piece he opens the window to find that winter has melted away. With the banks of the snow gone he can once again see his child’s grave and realizes that he almost joined Isak due to his addiction and lack of food. During the solemn section, he is hit with a wave of memories of guilt and pain. It is a rushing montage of burying his child, the wild fights with Comely Waif, and the bitter cold and hunger he survived. But this time he accepts these events have happened and it is time to return to the wandering ways to find peace somewhere else. This is where the song concludes.
Track 6. Wanderlust. This track starts with a riff that sounds remarkably close to an alarm going off. It is joined with harmony at 0:08 and continues until the next riff takes over at 0:15. The melody rapidly and anxiously searches for where it is going, almost in a frenzy. Anxiousness is the word I would choose. Anxiety switches to anger and conviction as the vocals join in at 1:06. All the cylinders are firing during this part of the song. However, the pace of the search is too fast and the music indicates there is a bit of stumbling from 1:44 to 1:54. At 1:54 the tone switches back to a brief passage similar to the alarm-like riff in the beginning. At 2:05 the distortion is dialed back and it feels like a careful run through the woods trying to remain hidden. This wandering passage continues until a more somber passage is introduced at 2:34. Here the chords ring out a lot more between little quick harmonized passages. It slowly gains more grit and seriousness to borderline anxiety again at 3:25. These various passages feel like a silent but intense search through a very wooded forest as various parties journey through dark shade and patches of light. I believe this is the character sneaking back to town from his home. However, the pace is picked up once again at 3:49 as Baizley comes crashing in with his furious vocals. This moment of aggression ends very suddenly as it hangs on a very somber chord at 4:19.
First, this track has a lot of fun vocabulary words. The first part of the track: “Perambulation, wading, milk the keel through tidal slough at dawn.” Perambulation: “To travel over or through on foot. To make an official inspection of (a boundary) on foot” (14). Pairing this with the title of the song (15) sets the foundation for the direction this song starts to take. “Wading, milk the keel through tidal slough at dawn, on and on.” A keel is a flat blade sticking out of the bottom of a sailboat. Slough is a noun that means either “a place of deep mud or mire,” or “a state of moral degradation or spiritual dejection” (16). With all that in mind, and factoring the previous material some ideas start to take form. The main character is traveling through and trying to break free of the inevitable tide of moral dejection that has been created by falling off the wagon, coping from a dead child, and being left by his wife. The boundary is the town line. It appears likely that while disappearing from town the main character has also continued maintaining his drinking habit. This assumption stems from the imagery of milking the keel, which could also be seen as wetting the keel (getting the boat in the water for travel). In a religious community, falling off of the wagon would be quite immoral and show a lack of integrity. But, in the buzz the character has likely found himself in, he makes an even more dire mistake.
In his immediate travels heading out of town, it appears he has laid down with another woman intimately before leaving town. The phrase milking the keel alludes to a sexual act in addition to traveling. Beyond this line the next section of the song also suggests the main character has procured sexual relations: “grating and lapping at the swollen stinking skins, imitation, mating muscles cut through cords.” This person is an imitation, likely a woman who reminds him of his former wife. This is important as it means the character has committed adultery. The parts about grating, lapping, and mating are clear allusions to sex. The act of adultery, using mating muscles, allows the main character to cut the emotional cord he had to his wife and his past life. The next line suggests he immediately resumes his travels.
“Sated but engorged on mother’s milk and fed as twins, bold defecation, raise the bar and aim for crimson dawn.” Having chosen this new path, the main character starts traveling into the mountains and forest of Appalachia, sated by the woman or women he has just bedded: “sated by engorged on mother’s milk and fed as twins.” It appears he has also stolen enough supplies in the night to last a while and leaves at dawn. This is supported by the phrase “bold defecation, raise the bar and aim for crimson dawn.” The act of stealing the supplies is the bold defecation. To steal from the community you are about to abandon is certainly bold. “Fed as twins” suggests also that his physical hunger is being met in addition to sexual hunger.
It is my belief crimson dawn is both literal and figurative. He is leaving at literal dawn before anyone can see him. But it is also foreshadowing for the rest of the album. This is based on an old sailor’s saying: “red sky and night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning.”
Track 7. Aleph. Aleph is an instrumental track. This track starts very sluggishly, and kind of grimy. Kind of like someone is in a back alley, or an unsavory character is sneaking around (like the main character sneaking out of town). At 1:10 it starts to pick up the pace and dials up the anxiety. It feels like someone starting to look for something, or searching for a missing someone. The feeling continuously grows frantic until it comes to a head at 2:30 and begins to thunder along with fury. The only vocals are fierce yells of anger. In context with the album, it seems the town has caught on to the main character’s acts of adultery and theft and is searching for him as a mob. At 2:51 the song switches back to the main character’s perspective as he becomes aware of the situation and is sneaking through the wooded mountains. The perspective shifts back to the mob’s perspective at 3:18. At 3:39 the main character has shaken the mob for a moment but is tragically caught in a struggle at 4:05.
Track 8. Teeth of a Cogwheel. This track is another instrumental track. It fades in, and it feels like the main character being dragged back into town. The main riff starting at 0:27 is the various voices of judgment from the members of the town, likely the same voices from The Birthing. These judgments are fierce as they are backed by pumping drums, especially at 0:49. Given the times, it is probably a death penalty that is being discussed by the town. The main character interrupts and pleads for his life at 1:05, as the solo starts cutting into the rhythm. The solo is a panic, stumbling melody. Who wouldn’t be panicky in that situation? The criticisms silence him abruptly with more persecution at 1:32. The final verdict, death, is given at 1:54 and the screaming oscillation that concludes the track is the heaviness of his reality as it settles in and slowly slides away into shock.
Track 9. O’Appalachia. As mentioned in the introduction, this is the track cluing the album’s location. The track starts with a popping drum fill and an abrasive harmonized intro. This riff repeats until 0:31. It feels like this section is the embodiment of the bodily reactions to this news. Adrenaline rushing, aching pains in his brain as it ruminates on the situation. At this point, the main riff is introduced and the vocals start. The sound is lean and rough. Baizley’s vocals are very aggressive, almost like he’s screaming to the sky. The song changes gears at 1:10 where it goes into an interlude that is choppy and harmonized. This feels like watching the main character plead with the town to let him go, to forget about him. It moves into a more anxious melody at 1:24 that is meandering and pointed. The pleading turns into screams for mercy, for help. The tempo feels like it is increasing through this section until it returns to a leaner version of the main riff at 1:50. This is also where the vocals join in for the last line of the song and for the last time in the album. At 2:03 the song enters the final section of the song. It feels very ritualistic as it descends into the end.
This song is where the main character reflects on the path that has brought him here and eventually leads to the acceptance of his fate. Like the track Isak, this song also exists in two timelines. The music is the main character’s journey through town to the gallows pole. The lyrics take place at the actual hanging as he is about to be executed. “Raise your voice, this is where the good times went from me.” The main character is challenging the crowd who is observing his execution. He is claiming what he gave up for the community were the good things in his life, and the life it provided him is a hollow truth. “Breath in choruses, this is where the waning sated it me.” The first half of this couplet has the main character still challenging the crowd. In the second half, he is reflecting that there is a part of him that has been fed by his spiral downward. To be specific, his addictions, and whatever demons from his past he was trying to run from. “Stand in valleys, this is where rivers coursed my veins.” Here the voicing completely shifts from challenging the crowd to looking back at memories, seemingly positive memories. Memories of time spent in valleys and around rivers. Acceptance of death has begun only to be confirmed with the last line of the song: “Line the shoreline, this is where my blood will ebb away.” He is being hung at the shore of the ocean, and he realizes that this is where he is going to die. He is moments from death.
Track 10. Grad. The final track of the album is also an instrumental. It also revisits a theme from earlier in the album, the last riff of Cockroach En Fleur. Like that moment in Cockroach En Fleur the main character is accepting what has been and what is to come. It opens with a very quiet, slow swell of music. It feels like being trapped in a moment before something really important like time is almost standing still. The riff starts at 0:45. The tone sounds like it is in a major key. There is lots of space between each repetition of the riff. It feels like someone catching their breath, or about to do something they are anxious about. The rest of the band joins in at 1:31. There are moments with a little noodling around the main riff, moments like 2:02 and 2:17, but it always keeps coming back to this motif. There is a climbing moment that is interesting at 2:55 which creates some pleasant tension. It enters a new section at 3:38 where it starts holding this intensity and explores the space it has created. It also feels like the feeling after jumping off a big cliff into the water where gravity stops holding meaning for a split second and then feeling gravity start pulling down once again. This section climbs in intensity until it abruptly stops at 5:12. A single chord rings out repeatedly until 5:20 where the final riff is performed twice more, but this time stumbling into a single odd note that holds for a moment and is cut dead.
I cannot choose between my two beliefs about what is happening in this song. Perhaps it is both. The first is the character coming to peace as he falls through the gallows floor (hanging was the most common method of execution in the past, making up 61% of all executions from 1608 to 2002) (17). The song is the many moments as he falls until he finally lands at the bottom of the rope at 5:33. These moments are regrets, and memories of good and bad times from his life. My second thought is that he is hanging and the steady repetitions of the riff are symbolizing his pulse and his desire to draw another breath. The pace is growing more and more frantic and deliberate until it comes crashing to an end at 5:12, where the body gives in and the final moment of consciousness fades at 5:33. The first is, I think, a much more literal interpretation as people say your life flashes before your eyes. Each repetition is one of those flashes. However, I feel the second option is much more artistic as it uses the music to truly capture a man’s last physical moments. I suppose that is the beauty of music and art.
The hidden track was not included in the analysis of the album as numerous interviews and sources indicate it was a homage to Led Zeppelin’s Bron-Y-Aur Stomp.
Thank you, and happy listening.
(1) www.arc.gov
(2) http://www.gaports.com/IntermodalRail/AppalachianRegionalPort.aspx
(3) www.webster-dictionary.org
(4) http://www.history.com/news/6-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-spanish-american-war
(5) It is important to note that this exploration of an album does not, in any way, make claims about victims of PTSD or Veterans
(6) https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pinion
(7) https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drink
(8) An old way of spelling plowmen, or people who plow/work soil (dictionary.com/browse/ploughman).
(9) https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rake
(10) https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/comely
(11) https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/waif
(12) http://www.webster-dictionary.org/definition/Abraid
(13) https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4838a2.htm
(14) https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perambulation
(15) “Strong longing for or impulse towards wandering.” https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wanderlust
(16) https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slough
(17) http://deathpenalty.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=004087#V
