Plague of Butterflies

[I. Losing the Sunsets]

Cold was the air that the evening wind brought
Silent and so quiet were the woods
On the eve of that night.
Don't know why I stayed there for so long,
So long that I could hear that voice.
The whisper we all avoid.
Sound from within, the quiet truth

I felt my blood slowly turning cold,
Turning cold from waiting.
Hours I spent there awaiting,
Hoping for someone, someone to come.
To silent the voice that felt like thunder

Evael is the light, the white light.
In the chill of my world, she is the one.
She brings the butterflies, pure light.
When ever she comes by
The darkness steps aside

But I felt my blood turn cold.
Hours I spent there awaiting,
Watching the light fading

You're losing the sunsets, you will never get them back.
The days you spend in loneliness are seconds in shades of black

Winter was cold, but summer is even colder.
Nights have been longer, they have made me much older

You're losing the sunsets, you will never get them back.
Every night you spend in loneliness are years in shades of black

Years pass, but has time stopped on me?
Morning always arises with vaster pain
And then it is sunset again

We weep the winds for your loneliness,
Choir of broken dreams for the love you had.
But now she walks forever lost in gray and woe.
She's not forgiven, she's the one for winter to own.
Not yours, old man, never again...

[II. Plague Of Butterflies]

Silent people walking by.
They are leaving, again someone is living.
They don't seem to be well,
Quiet death on their faces

Buried a few of them today,
The children and the old by the road.
I could give them shelter but they decide to go...

Village is empty, dead, cold, empty
Only frozen bodies greet my arrival.
Tortured by the plague, a ghost town.

But her face I could not find.
I searched for her in the woods again
And kept a light on my window, for anyone to come.
But when even the trail of dead ended by the road,
I gave up waiting, hoping.

In this kingdom of my loneliness,
On this throne of my thoughts

Maybe I'm the old one, sheltered by these woods.
And when I lay my body to rest,
I watch the ballet of shadows.
Dancing through the flame of a candle.
Taking me to sleep...

But the night trembled my heart,
For black wings moved upon me.
Hoping for my time to come,
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
But like every night before, death did not come.

The wings, they moved and danced.
As a butterfly, they kept dancing,
Dancing around my candle.
But why are you here when Evael is lost still?

The morning came with its cold caress.
I curse your light for waking me again.
The candle burnt down, and the burnt wings beside.
Is this a sign of Evael, I arise

I opened my window, painted by thick ice,
Took a deep breath and whispered her name in the air

The freezing summer burned my lungs again
As I walked through the snow.
Looked deeper into the woods,
And the trees waved their heads in sorrow

[III. Evael 10:00]

Cold, oh so cold is this air that the night brought.
Silent, too quiet are the woods in the eve of this night.
Once again I lit the candle on my window
And waited for the sleep...

Evael, my dream has been so alive,
And this plague has cleansed this world for us.
So please, release me now

Sink deeper to your loneliness
And you will lead her to your grave.
She's lost in gloomy light
Still trying to hold her flame.
You're losing the sunsets and you will never get them back
This life you spend in loneliness is forever in shades of black.
Wake up, old man, let it go, let it go...

Was it a weak sound on my door that woke me up
Or the trees sheltering me from the night?
I kept my eyes closed but still felt the light,
And the room was filled by butterflies

I rose with my heart beating.
For the weak hope of the midnight's hour I prayed
And opened my door to the winter night

And she fell...
She fell to my arms.
In tears I carried her
And laid her down to sleep.
Her eyes frozen from the thousand nights alone
She trembled and whispered

"I was lost in the woods
And the trees kept me away from you
For I brought the plague with them
With the butterflies"

Hush now and let it go.
Close your eyes now.

And we drift away, together away from the pain,
Deep in this sheltering night, to a forgiving dream.
Until one minute past midnight, the room was filled.
Filled only with butterflies.

- Swallow The Sun (2008)

Swallow The Sun hails from Finland. Now the Finnish metal scene is known for a progressive style that usually finds nothing more than a niche audience in the United States. The progressive elements are present in their sound, but the base is pure technical death metal. Complicated song structures and atmospheric elements paint the setting for poetic and sometimes dark lyrical content. This song, from the eponymous EP, clocks in at nearly 35 minutes and is done in 3 movements.

The first movement, "Losing the Sunsets" sets the stage of this epic love story. Our tragic hero is wandering the woods, searching for Evael, his love. The words are sung almost as if the unnamed hero is recalling this all from memory. The sadness and lament are felt until he receives the warning. The warning is to turn back, to give up the search for Evael. His time is wasted. When he tries to plead his case, sympathy is expressed for his loss, but never again shall he find his love.

"Plague of Butterflies" finds our man coming to a village. People are leaving and those who haven't are either dead or dying. He searches for Evael's face among the dead, but does not find her. After burying some of the dead, he lights a candle as an offering of shelter to those who may yet still be alive. A sadness fills his heart as no one comes to him. He gives up and prays for death, which to his agony never comes. He sees black wings dance around him like a butterfly, which tortures him more as he thinks only of Evael. Morning comes and he sees the wings are burnt by the spent candle. Seeing this as a sign, he begins his search again deeper into the woods.

Night returns in "Evael 10:00". The disappointment at not realizing this sure sign of Evael is expressed as he again lights a candle and prays for death to take him. Again we here the argument that he is wasting away. Evael wanders the woods forever a prisoner, and the only thing the hero gains is to be one day closer to death in loneliness. Just as he finally sleeps, something awakens him. He feels something and opens his eyes to realize the room is filled with butterflies. Opening the door, Evael falls into his arms. She tells her story only in 1 verse... the trees kept her prisoner from him, for she brought the plague with the butterflies. As he holds her in his arms, they both drift into the black. The love is felt and until they die together, the room is filled with nothing but butterflies.

Musically this song reminds me of "Symphony No. 7: Leningrad" by Shostakovich. There are a series of highs and melodic lows throughout the song. The underlying sadness is punctuated by the dark tone of the story. Even in the moment of happiness of Evael's return, we can feel a darkness and sadness in the music as she tells her story, of how she stayed away from him as she was the bringer of the plague, and if they were together they both would die.

One of the things I love about metal is that it encompasses a range of styles and creative freedom that would never even be considered in genres. Metal musicians even have the freedom to incorporate other musical styles into their compositions to great effect. This is something that a few artists in other genres have attempted as one off experiments, but never fully explored. The epic song is normally found only in the realm of opera. The length of this composition is normally left to the realm of classical composers. Swallow The Sun has brought these 2 elements together into a death metal base to very great effect.

Chris didn't want another love song, but then again he just said that he didn't want anything sappy. I'm leaving this one open to interpretation by all readers... whether you follow the blog or not I challenge each of you to listen to the entire song and provide your thoughts.