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
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.
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
