The Process of writing lyrics part two

-By Wilmar-

Writing lyrics has kind of changed as opposed to the old days. When I was in Hexenhammer, I wrote tons of lyrics on various subjects, and the music would be built around that. With Midian and Triplesix, the process of writing lyrics was that the music was written prior to the lyrics, and we tried to match the mood of the song to the content of the lyrics. With The Anointed Word we have a lot of changed territory. First we are straight out of our comfort zone when it comes to writing music. It would only be fair if the lyrics would have been pulled out of the comfort zone as well. So currently I am taking a concept, and to that concept I start to write phrases. In case of the lyrics for Perpetual Machine, I was just collecting phrases that were interesting. In the writing process, nothing else happens, only the collection of ideas, of ways to apply literary figures into the text, like an acrostichon, a metonymia or a metaphore. So for instance we have the line 'General Operating Device'. When you cut that down to the first letter of every word and combine that, you get Him up there... And some of the lines include these little messages.

In case for The Anointed Word, I don't care how long the lyrics are, as long as the message comes across. Since my days with Midian for instance have long passed, also the contents of my lyrics has changed. In between I got a college education, a masters degree and my way of thinking has definitely been changed. Perpetual Machine is in more than one way an attack on religious beliefs. If you read Descartes or Acquinas, you see that they imagine a 'perfect being', and in my opinion there is nothing perfect. Something can come close, and that is a machine. A machine can be repaired, revised, our God will be a computer and our bodies will be adjusted to the perfection of the machine. Of the same branch of thinking is the concept for Organic Singularity, but now in retrospect. If we are thrown back in the way of living of humans about two million years ago, the world would be one weird place, a reality we cannot recognize as a reality, a singularity in fact. The approach for the lyrics of The Dead Are Not Supposed To Speak has been changed from a horror story to a criticism towards psychics. It is a very sceptic song. And thus there are many concepts roaming my mind, that will get the same treatment. Once we have a song that suits the concept, the lyrics will be written.

We could have done this in a videoblog, but then it would be just me sitting around, looking tormented and sometimes ticking a line into a word document. Nothing special there, so we will carry on with the video's next week, when we have the vocal recordings of at least one song ready. That will lead to a new snippet, to a new step in the direction of the realization of the demo by The Anointed Word. Currently I have an idea for a more Industrial/Doom/Drone kinda song, and that will get the proper lyrics as well. No working title yet, but we still got Dreaming The Apocalypse, In Moments Of Morbid Zen and Shapes Of Sins To Come.

Lyrics

To give you an impression of the process of writing the lyrics, maybe we should make a movie out of it, but then you would be staring at Wilmar's head in his left hand while thinking of lines that would suit the lyrical content of the song. Instead you may watch him record vocal tracks next week, which will be tormenting enough for you to view. Instead we will present you the lyrics of the song 'The Dead are not Supposed to Speak'. It might give you a direction in which the lyrics are heading...

Etherial voices, a realm beyond the sky

People wonder where to go after they die

In fear they offer words unto the brave

Who will await the sandy soil of the grave

Some Char-latans with voices in their heads

Offer a window into the realm of the dead

But all comes down to a matter of belief

And people who will gain profit of your grief

CHORUS:

Immortality is what they seek

The eternal void is what they dread

The Dead are not supposed to speak

The Dead are supposed to be… Dead

And even more interesting are the visuals...

To be very thorough in our approach of new music in the Internet Age, we are currently recording the process of the forming of The Anoined Word. Rob for instance found a font-type that really suits our vision of The Anointed Word:

So from now on, this will be our logo. And to make sure that this will be our representation in scripture, it is going to be used nearly everywhere: E-mails, Flyers, Trailers and... Video...

Sound snippets

The first thing people want to hear from a band or a music project is sound. We do have some demo's, that should be considered as 'works in progress'. It's not 'the' demo, it is a blueprint of what will eventually become the demo. Guitars, for instance, are recorded with a preset 'in the box', it's a VST-i layered over the clean guitar sound. The demo will actually be recorded with amplified guitars and with superb and crisp sound quality. So the snippets you are going to hear, is just a lifesign, not the final product. The final product will be our debut album, which will differ greatly from the demo in sound quality...

Are you still following? Guess not. Just click on the play button and hear what will be ahead in the future.
Snippet Dead by Dead Music Factory

Perpetual Machine snippet by Dead Music Factory

The Anointed Word...

The Anointed Word is kind of developed out of the electronic/experimental project DEAD ROMERO, who have recently released their first album online at soundcloud, entitled 'Rite'. Dead Romero consists of Robert van der Mijle, who has his roots in various metal and rock acts like Consolation, Gutwrench, The Untuned and Outpost 13, and Wilmar Taal, also a veteran in metal and rock music. To venture out into electronic music, was a challenge needed, a search for direction, that will culminate into THE ANOINTED WORD.

Careful observants will notice that 'The Anointed Word' is also a track by Dead Romero. Actually, there is the root of all evil. While finishing up principal recordings and mixing for Dead Romero, the need rose for a more guitar driven project. Wilmar started thinking again about forming a band, Rob actually just quit his band Outpost 13... Forces were joint again when Rob suggested to work on a project/band that would combine the machine-like aggression of industrial acts like Godflesh, Ministry, Skin Chamber and mix it with the melodic doom of Candlemass, Cathedral and Count Raven. Still quite a vague direction, but it was something to look at. Thinking about a name for the new project, they were working on this particular track, that still hasn't got a title. It used a sample by evangelist/impostor Peter Popoff, and Popoff spoke about 'The Anointed Word'. Said out loud, it was meant to be the title of the song, but it also had a ring as the name of the new project. And as soon as 'Rite' was finished, both gents sat down to check out some beats Rob still had on his computer... And before we knew it, The Anointed Word was up and running.

The first two tracks have been written. The first one isn't quite as the description above. Yes, it is industrial, yes it is doomy, but it also features other influences like Pink Floyd and King Crimson. The second song is actually a rework of two older tracks by defunct Miskatonic University. Mixed together they actually really fit well, and currently it's the song worked on by The Anointed Word. A third song is in the making, and when that one is finished, a demo will be recorded. This demo will be used to spread the word, secure a recording contract and release a debut album in the near future. After the demo, The Anointed Word will continue writing new songs. The first two have working titles 'Perpetual Machine' and 'The Dead are not Supposed to Speak'. Other working titles currently in the works are 'Dreaming the Apocalypse', 'In Moments of Morbid Zen' and 'Mechanized Singularity'. Lyrically The Anointed Word enters into the world of religious criticism, scepticism and existentialism.

This is the legacy in writing of The Anointed Word...