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So I was thinking about choruses and this happened. Fuck the world for depriving me of Isshi's voice and songwriting, seriously, just fuck it. Rest in peace, baby.
The chorus is supposed to be the best part of the song. It's why it's also called the refrain ("to repeat") and the hook (cause it's catchy, you know). Most music you'll listen to has the verse-chorus-verse structure, with some bridges thrown in for good measure. By design, they're bigger, catchier and more intense than the rest of the song. Although really good songwriters can mix things up by writing songs without a chorus or surprise you with a dramatic fast-verse, slow-chorus structure, it's generally one aspect of songwriting you just don't fuck with unless you really know what you're doing, and even then you do it sparingly. (Although my favorite part of a well-done song is still the bridge, so I don't know how hypocritical that makes the first sentence in this paragraph.)
My favorite choruses have quite a bit in common, despite being from different genres and writers who take vastly different approaches to songwriting. I love drama and bombast in my music, I love choruses that soar and make you feel like you're flying. I love heart-wrenching vocals that are slow like honey and heavy with mood. (If you know what chorus that's from, without using Google, you are awesome.) My stomach does flips of pleasure when vocals jump octaves. But most importantly, a chorus should tie a song together instrumentally and lyrically; it should be the moral at the end of the story that makes it all worth reading. I also enjoy choruses that follow a basic structure but are all slightly different, progressing the story as it goes along.
This song wasn't a single. It wasn't even on a record. It was a B-SIDE. If you can't tell, that fact still makes me mad. This chorus is so impactful. And granted, part of the reason for that is the bridge. The bridge makes you lean in closer in suspense so the chorus can slap you in the face. It's that good. The vocals display my love for jumping octaves and Isshi's falsetto, but don't let that overpower everything else. Put some headphones on, adjust your equalizer, do whatever you can to really listen to what's going on. It's not only technically impressive, but it's clever as well. I don't know that much about drumsets but I'm not entirely sure how Izumi is playing this with only four appendages. The bass, which if you listen closely is so fast it resembles more of a rumble, almost like a stampede. Appreciation for this is heightened by the lyrics, which is about a god of destruction fucking shit up and the earth trembling in fear. You have to imagine that bass sounding like the earth trembling in fear. Shin's guitar chords hold for four beats per measure while Akiya's strum four times per and they both start each with the same chord, progressively getting lower in pitch. Akiya's additional strums are meant to elicit a sense of unease. All of this comes together to create a very doomsday atmosphere.
In conclusion, this song should be taught in schools as the paragon of atmospheric writing that it is. The end.
Here's my bad, out of practice translation where I take artistic privileges so it doesn't sound like shit in English.
Amafurase Tanmaina (I Pray for Rain)
Scorching flames blaze upon us
Hot enough to burn our breath into rotting ashes of death
Casting Earth into a cataclysm
The world gets on their knees and prays in terror...
The God of destruction laughs mockingly
His voice tears through the heavens
Everyone bows before his piercing gaze
The God of destruction dances majestically
Scattering petals from their flowers
Everyone fears that beautiful sight
My eyes fill with tears as I watch children gather the scattered bones
Where have the once proud clouds gone?
The world says their final prayers...
The god of destruction turns, screaming in rage
Everyone welcomes the sudden clap of thunder
The god of destruction descends with a roar and a flash of red
Everyone trembles in fear
The god of destruction looks at the sky
Which calls forth a stream of rain
Everyone clasps their hands, thankful for this mercy
The chorus is supposed to be the best part of the song. It's why it's also called the refrain ("to repeat") and the hook (cause it's catchy, you know). Most music you'll listen to has the verse-chorus-verse structure, with some bridges thrown in for good measure. By design, they're bigger, catchier and more intense than the rest of the song. Although really good songwriters can mix things up by writing songs without a chorus or surprise you with a dramatic fast-verse, slow-chorus structure, it's generally one aspect of songwriting you just don't fuck with unless you really know what you're doing, and even then you do it sparingly. (Although my favorite part of a well-done song is still the bridge, so I don't know how hypocritical that makes the first sentence in this paragraph.)
My favorite choruses have quite a bit in common, despite being from different genres and writers who take vastly different approaches to songwriting. I love drama and bombast in my music, I love choruses that soar and make you feel like you're flying. I love heart-wrenching vocals that are slow like honey and heavy with mood. (If you know what chorus that's from, without using Google, you are awesome.) My stomach does flips of pleasure when vocals jump octaves. But most importantly, a chorus should tie a song together instrumentally and lyrically; it should be the moral at the end of the story that makes it all worth reading. I also enjoy choruses that follow a basic structure but are all slightly different, progressing the story as it goes along.
Click to viewThis song wasn't a single. It wasn't even on a record. It was a B-SIDE. If you can't tell, that fact still makes me mad. This chorus is so impactful. And granted, part of the reason for that is the bridge. The bridge makes you lean in closer in suspense so the chorus can slap you in the face. It's that good. The vocals display my love for jumping octaves and Isshi's falsetto, but don't let that overpower everything else. Put some headphones on, adjust your equalizer, do whatever you can to really listen to what's going on. It's not only technically impressive, but it's clever as well. I don't know that much about drumsets but I'm not entirely sure how Izumi is playing this with only four appendages. The bass, which if you listen closely is so fast it resembles more of a rumble, almost like a stampede. Appreciation for this is heightened by the lyrics, which is about a god of destruction fucking shit up and the earth trembling in fear. You have to imagine that bass sounding like the earth trembling in fear. Shin's guitar chords hold for four beats per measure while Akiya's strum four times per and they both start each with the same chord, progressively getting lower in pitch. Akiya's additional strums are meant to elicit a sense of unease. All of this comes together to create a very doomsday atmosphere.
In conclusion, this song should be taught in schools as the paragon of atmospheric writing that it is. The end.
Here's my bad, out of practice translation where I take artistic privileges so it doesn't sound like shit in English.
Amafurase Tanmaina (I Pray for Rain)
Scorching flames blaze upon us
Hot enough to burn our breath into rotting ashes of death
Casting Earth into a cataclysm
The world gets on their knees and prays in terror...
The God of destruction laughs mockingly
His voice tears through the heavens
Everyone bows before his piercing gaze
The God of destruction dances majestically
Scattering petals from their flowers
Everyone fears that beautiful sight
My eyes fill with tears as I watch children gather the scattered bones
Where have the once proud clouds gone?
The world says their final prayers...
The god of destruction turns, screaming in rage
Everyone welcomes the sudden clap of thunder
The god of destruction descends with a roar and a flash of red
Everyone trembles in fear
The god of destruction looks at the sky
Which calls forth a stream of rain
Everyone clasps their hands, thankful for this mercy