Witch Hunt
I always find it hard to enjoy this song. I respect the excellence of its execution and would be surprised to hear anyone claim it was bad, but the depressing sound and lyrics lead me to respect it without any affection.
At the opening we get chimes, very light, at least as tenuous as the street sounds that opened the previous track. More ominous noises creep in, following quickly by the sounds of an angry, shouting crowd, and then at 0:45 by a really extreme flanger. I'm not sure it has anything to flange, but there it is, doing its thing.
A distorted guitar kicks in around 1:07, followed by a heavily fuzzed chorused bass. They definitely had a mood in mind, and the production sets it very well. The fuzz and time effects, combined with the choice of low notes throughout, create a sense of ponderous inevitability. A mod rarely travels fast, but it takes Chuck Norris to stop one. Musically they went very minimalist here; if you can't learn to play the first verse of this song, put down your instrument.
In the chorus we get more synth but otherwise things stay similar, though the melody builds towards a resolution of sorts. Beating and burning and killing often resolve matters, though rarely satisfactorily.
In the second verse the overall scheme remains the same but we get the embellishments characteristic of the band, especially in the bass and drums. The fill at 3:30 hasn't a patch on "War Paint" but it clearly belongs to this second verse, not the first.
The music works around a little more during the last 45 seconds or so, but never reaches any great musical heights. I suspect even Rush find it difficult to sound depressing while flexing their muscles. I wish I had more to say about this song, but honestly, I just don't want to break it down much more.
At the opening we get chimes, very light, at least as tenuous as the street sounds that opened the previous track. More ominous noises creep in, following quickly by the sounds of an angry, shouting crowd, and then at 0:45 by a really extreme flanger. I'm not sure it has anything to flange, but there it is, doing its thing.
A distorted guitar kicks in around 1:07, followed by a heavily fuzzed chorused bass. They definitely had a mood in mind, and the production sets it very well. The fuzz and time effects, combined with the choice of low notes throughout, create a sense of ponderous inevitability. A mod rarely travels fast, but it takes Chuck Norris to stop one. Musically they went very minimalist here; if you can't learn to play the first verse of this song, put down your instrument.
In the chorus we get more synth but otherwise things stay similar, though the melody builds towards a resolution of sorts. Beating and burning and killing often resolve matters, though rarely satisfactorily.
In the second verse the overall scheme remains the same but we get the embellishments characteristic of the band, especially in the bass and drums. The fill at 3:30 hasn't a patch on "War Paint" but it clearly belongs to this second verse, not the first.
The music works around a little more during the last 45 seconds or so, but never reaches any great musical heights. I suspect even Rush find it difficult to sound depressing while flexing their muscles. I wish I had more to say about this song, but honestly, I just don't want to break it down much more.