Silver Fog... Scarlet Light
Song info: this song is the closest thing to a love story you'll ever see in The Conjured's discography. It's based off a game called Crimson Gray. For a long time, it was under the working title "Scarlet and Silver" before being changed to its current one. I put off recording this for a very long time since I knew it would be long and didn't want to deal with making the drum tracks. Dean's then-recent departure didn't help much, and I was beginning to wonder if I should even continue The Conjured while running through the song on my own. After coming up with a couple riffs for a few songs that would appear on later albums, I decided to carry on.
The song clocks in at over 11 minutes, the longest in The Conjured's catalog. It also is the only one to utilize the major chromatic scale. The entire ending section is basically improvisation with the major chromatic scale on both bass and guitar. I added there for two reasons: to reflect the ending of the game which spawned the song idea (fighting against depression and finding hope for the future) and to reflect how I feel about The Conjured despite the many setbacks we've experienced at the challenges faced in recording and other aspects. Despite the fact that the song is very long, it didn't take very long to record. The most complicated part was the muddled vocals at the start. I wanted to record them clean but couldn't hold the melody on the day of recording, so I decided to record them with harsh vocals. However, my normal vocal style didn't fit in well, so I did a more growling style and just threw a load of reverb over it. In fact, there's a ton of reverb over the vocals and instruments in this song, as I wanted to create a "distant" feeling through most of it.
The song clocks in at over 11 minutes, the longest in The Conjured's catalog. It also is the only one to utilize the major chromatic scale. The entire ending section is basically improvisation with the major chromatic scale on both bass and guitar. I added there for two reasons: to reflect the ending of the game which spawned the song idea (fighting against depression and finding hope for the future) and to reflect how I feel about The Conjured despite the many setbacks we've experienced at the challenges faced in recording and other aspects. Despite the fact that the song is very long, it didn't take very long to record. The most complicated part was the muddled vocals at the start. I wanted to record them clean but couldn't hold the melody on the day of recording, so I decided to record them with harsh vocals. However, my normal vocal style didn't fit in well, so I did a more growling style and just threw a load of reverb over it. In fact, there's a ton of reverb over the vocals and instruments in this song, as I wanted to create a "distant" feeling through most of it.
Lyrics
I dream a world of black and white
And live a life in shades of gray
I curse when I make it through the night
And hope I don't make it through the day
One waking moment drifts to the next
Repeating like the clock's moving hands
An existence constantly hexed
When will my time run dry of its sands
Many were driven from the dark
But my misery was her mark
Finding solace in my woes
It was I that this rose chose
Like the thorns upon the stem
She drew blood and spread mayhem
Shattered mind with just one goal
At all costs, we'd become one soul
A spark that brought light to the dark
She's insanity's matriarch
Leading down a flowered path
Where the rose thorns sting with wrath
She brings color to my world of gray
Bringing scarlet to the day
I can't tell if we're bound by love
Or if she will spill my blood
Like a guardian demon spawn
Over me, she'd often fawn
And raise steel to those who fought
Against us two, who just peace sought
I can face the light of day
Without the dread which used to lay
Upon me like a brick of lead
From the fog, by her I was led
We are tied by the blood shed
By those who wanted us dead
She brought color to my bleak world
Through maddened love which was unfurled
Though I can't see behind her eyes
She will never tell me lies
She brings an honest, twisted love
That from my chains has set me free
I dream a world of black and white
And live a life in shades of gray
I curse when I make it through the night
And hope I don't make it through the day
One waking moment drifts to the next
Repeating like the clock's moving hands
An existence constantly hexed
When will my time run dry of its sands
Many were driven from the dark
But my misery was her mark
Finding solace in my woes
It was I that this rose chose
Like the thorns upon the stem
She drew blood and spread mayhem
Shattered mind with just one goal
At all costs, we'd become one soul
A spark that brought light to the dark
She's insanity's matriarch
Leading down a flowered path
Where the rose thorns sting with wrath
She brings color to my world of gray
Bringing scarlet to the day
I can't tell if we're bound by love
Or if she will spill my blood
Like a guardian demon spawn
Over me, she'd often fawn
And raise steel to those who fought
Against us two, who just peace sought
I can face the light of day
Without the dread which used to lay
Upon me like a brick of lead
From the fog, by her I was led
We are tied by the blood shed
By those who wanted us dead
She brought color to my bleak world
Through maddened love which was unfurled
Though I can't see behind her eyes
She will never tell me lies
She brings an honest, twisted love
That from my chains has set me free