“Moira - Sound Horizon” - Kevin Yi

It was on my birthday 2 years ago that I received a gift card for iTunes, perfect for me because I loved to find new music. It's always so refreshing to find a good tune and get addicted for hours on end. To my surprise, there was a section for J-pop (Japanese pop music). There, I found a little 15 minute album that translates to “A Connected World Beyond The Mist” by Sound Horizon.

I loved the suite-like arrangement of the music. Fortunately for me, the artist, Sound Horizon, specialized in suite-like albums. Each of their releases tells stories, either in individual stories in each song or like an epic poem where all the tracks continue one long story. Additionally, each major album is referred to as “The (n)th Horizon.” So far, there have been several albums released by Sound Horizon, but seven major releases:

-Chronicle: the first album which had no vocals

-Thanatos: a girl who can't sleep because her dreams are always about death

-Lost: the connections between people who have experienced loss and feel lost

-Elysion: a father who will do anything to make his dying daughter happy

-Roman: a story about the cycle of life and death, morning and night

-Moira: a musical epic of Iliadic proportions

-Marchen: a fairy tale of love and revenge

Many, if not all of their albums have recurring themes such as life and death, happiness and sadness, love and desire, etc. What really strikes me as unique about this band is the use of so many different languages in the music. Roman uses French in all of its songs, Moira incorporates English and Greek, and Marchen uses a German narrator. I feel this allows the band to be very accessible even for people who don't know Japanese.

However, the only beef I have with the band is that so much of their music has mysterious lyricism and that means there will be as many different interpretations as there are listeners. Of course, that is also part of what makes Sound Horizon so enjoyable to listen to. According to Revo, the head member and composer of Sound Horizon, “All interpretations are valid,” leaving the story up to the imaginations of the listeners, much like how a person imagines a story in a book.

My personal favorite album is Moira, so I'll give a general overview of each song in the album. Plus, it's the most straightforward in terms of story so I won't need much “literary/musical analysis” to convey their style. Moira is based on ancient Greek epics like The Iliad and The Odyssey, and it is the sixth major album and the first to use a large chorus in its songs to emulate the “epic” feel. Below is the album cover. It's probably Sound Horizon's most detailed album cover to date. On the cover are characters featured in the story such as the twins Elefseus and Artemisia in the center.

Moira

1. King of Hades -Thanatos-

This introduction to the album uses the imagery of the underworld as a foreshadowing of the events to come. The king of Hades, Thanatos, sings about his plans to fight his mother, Moira (which means destiny), in order to “free” the living from the tyranny of destiny. His prophecy is that the night that Elefseus kills his mother, he will become Thanatos' vessel.

2. Life is a Matryoshka Doll -Matryoshka-

The setting changes to an excavation site like the city of Troy. Alexei Romanovich Zvolinsky, a Russian billionaire, digs up a barren desert in hopes of finding the ancient city from the book his mother had given to him as a child. He sings of his childhood in poverty and his hardships on the way to becoming a billionaire. At the end of the song, he hits a pillar, the ruins of the ancient city.

     3. Myth -Mythos-

This short song covers how the story's world was created and introduces the Muses who sing throughout the entire album. It also covers the lineage of the gods and explains the origin of Thanatos.

     4. The Twins of Destiny -Didymoi-

Two twins, brother and sister, are shown playing in the mountains peacefully. They are actually the children of the queen of Arcadia. As the two return home, their home is visited by the general Scorpius who wishes to draft the father into his army. The father, Polydeuces, refuses and the two begin to duel. Polydeuces sends his wife away with the children, but the twins are captured.

     5. The Slave Market -Douloi-

The twins, Elefseus and Artemisia, are sent to a market to be sold as slaves. The two are then separated to different places in Greece.

     6. The Hero of Thunder -Leontius

This song introduces the prince of Arcadia, Leontius. In this song, he is seen inspiring his generals and surveying the strength of his opposing nations.

     7. The Wind Capital of Death and Lament -Ilion-

Artemisia becomes the apprentice of two Hetaera, high class courtesans. They arrive in the city of Ilion, where Elefseus also happens to be. It is here that Elefseus discovers his ability to see who will die in the near future. However, he is forced to serve a corrupt priest who had ordered the Hetaera to his place. As the priest is about to molest Artemisia, Elefseus kills the priest and the two escape with Elefseus' friend Orion.

     8. The Holy Island of the Poet -Lesbos-

The twins are separated again and Artemisia ends up washing ashore on the island of Lesbos. There, she becomes the disciple to a poet named Sophia. Artemisia finds herself at home on the island, as the inhabitants value peace and love.

     9. Across the Distant Horizon -Horizontas-

While Artemisia is living on Lesbos, Elefseus becomes the disciple of a blind poet named Milos. Together, the two search for Artemisia. When they arrive at the temple of the Thunder God, Milos ends their master-disciple relationship and advises Elefseus to head to Lesbos in times of trouble.

   10. The Story of the Dying Ones -Historia-

Leontius engages in battle with the queen of the Amazons, Alexandra. After defeating her, she demands that he execute her, but Leontius refuses resulting in an alliance between Arcadia and Amazones. Meanwhile, Elefseus and Artemisia sing of their wish to see each other again one day. Finally, Leontius questions what he is fighting for.

   11. The Sybil of the Star Goddess -Artemisia-

At this point, Artemisia has become a mature woman and Sophia has discovered that Artemisia can read the future through the stars. Suddenly, soldiers invade Lesbos and storm the temple. The disciples of the temple panic while Artemisia accepts her immediate fate.

   12. In the Hands of the Dying Maiden is the Watery Moon -Parthenos-

Artemisia is killed by Scorpius and falls into a pool of water where her body appears to be holding the moon. Elefseus arrives at Lesbos too late to save Artemisia and grieves her death. Her spirit meets with Elefseus for a short time for one final farewell.

   13. The Hero of Slaves -Elefseus-

Elefseus, having fallen into despair, gives into Thanatos' whispers and decides to take up arms against Moira (destiny). He returns to the slave market where he and Artemisia had first been sold and kills the slavers. He then frees the slaves there and tells them to fight alongside him against Moira if they have the courage. Elefseus' actions incite a slave rebellion.

   14. The Battle of the Dying Heroes -Heromachia-

Elefseus takes up the name of Amethystos and invades Ilion with his army. Once inside, he tears down the wall which he had been forced to build as a child. After Leontius arrives, the two engage in a duel, resulting in Elefseus disarming Leontius. Leontius' mother interferes, begging the two to stop fighting. Elefseus throws a spear, killing both Leontius and his mother. Elefseus then becomes Thanatos' vessel, having fulfilled the prophecy.

   15. The End of the Myth -Telos-

Elefseus, having become Thanatos' vessel, reaches Moira's domain. However, the story ends here and does not have a true ending, much the Iliad by Homer.

I hope you enjoyed reading the plot as much as I had fun writing it. I definitely recommend giving Sound Horizon a listen. Even if you don't find a song you like at first, Revo has composed so many songs that you're bound to find something you like eventually. Personally, Sound Horizon has not composed a song that I did not like. There are even some songs that I have not listened to yet. That's how many there are! It's sure to be a great experience listening. Here's their website if you'd like to know more. Sound Horizon

-Kevin Yi

iYniveK@yahoo.com