Lyrical Instrument

[AprilSuspyre]

A coworker came up to me this morning and said that he gave 'When Time Fades' a spin in his car during his commute. Heh, he said that he pretty much listened to Clay's voice like it was an instrument because he had no idea what the lyrics to any of the songs meant

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on this. Do any of our lyrics get the wheels turning?

When I was auditioning for keyboards, I had to learn "April in the Fall," and "Blood and Passion." Ironically, "Oh, April. Overwhelming yourself," pretty much hit home for me! I was probably the embodiment of Nervous at the audition

 

[Cello]

I have to say that in general I have to listen to a song a few times, regardless of it being a Suspyre song or any other band, because singing isn't talking. Articulating is obviously more difficult and sounds are drawn out when singing, that and the fact that I'm not a native speaker of the english language (though fluent enough ) helps with the fact that I find it harder to understand someone singing in english than talking in the same language. Because of that I usually have the booklet handy when I listen to a cd the first time. I make a habbit of sitting down and taking my time for a first listen, because I believe that the lyrics are an essential part of songs in general and first impressions are generally golden, if not always correct cos some songs/albums grow on you after a while. That said, the lyrics set the tone of the song, imo, and are therefor a very important part of the song.

Suspyre get the wheels turning for me, but only because I've read them before. Don't get me wrong, Clay articulates perfectly fine and is very understandable, but it's still hard for me to get parts. If I hadn't read the lyrics while listening to the album for the first time, I prolly would've been like April's coworker and regarded Clay's voice as another instrument. And what a great instrument it is!

 

[AprilSuspyre]

That's what I love about listening to songs in a foreign language. You get to appreciate the vocals a little more when you're not thinking about meaning.

 

[voodoo]

Back when I had time to spare I used to pay real close attention to lyrics. I would essentially study them. Maybe it was because I have no musical training that I would identify with singing more so than guitars or drums (although I airdrummed and aiguitared all the time). Now that I have little to no spare time I spend more of that just jamming along to the music and following the melody.

 

[Flyzby]

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on this. Do any of our lyrics get the wheels turning?

I listened to The Silvery Image so many times that there were several passages like you are referring to.

My favorite is from Distant Skies -
"Tonight the chorals rest upon my feet
And their melodies are running through my veins." I'm not sure why, but it seemed like such a strong visual for the music that I listened to it over and over.

The other is the chorus from I See and especially the last line, "I see my God killing everything."

 

[Beyond the Pale]

Really, with Suspyre, for me, I do consider Clay's vocals to be more of an extension of the music. I don't pay attention to the lyrics as much. I do read them and figure out what the songs are about, but the type of melodies he sings just come across to me more as an extension of the instrumental piece. When I listen to bands for the lyrics, I think of Pain of Salvation or something, where the lyrics come before the music. Gregg has said time and again that the music is written in mind first, and the lyrics second. Whereas with PoS, the lyrics are a focal point of their music.

However I am quite sure that if Suspyre did a more lyric-centric album it would be just as good as their current output. When you make an album about the story first it's more meant to convey the emotion of the lyrics, as opposed to their current style where the vocals compliment the music. I don't have a problem either way, I still think Suspyre is probably THE most underrated prog band out there today.

 

[Cello]

However I am quite sure that if Suspyre did a more lyric-centric album it would be just as good as their current output. When you make an album about the story first it's more meant to convey the emotion of the lyrics, as opposed to their current style where the vocals compliment the music.

Maybe with the concept album that they (or was it just Clay?) wants to write/is writing we'll see such a change happening and we'll be able to judge if our faith (cos I share the belief that they would do just fine going from lyrics -> music as they do from music -> lyrics) in the band is met with yet another masterpiece

Perhaps the guys can comment on how they think they're going to be working on the concept album? I'm still intrigued and excited about a possible Suspyre concept album ever since Clay mentioned it

 

[Rev. Clayton]

The next album will not be a concept album. I tried working on one and what came out was a lot of songs...but not concept songs. sometimes we gotta go with what comes out...especially when writing lyrics.

I have a friend of mine that works on films and I've asked him to work with me sometime in the future. I know Gregg and I like concept albums because they're fun to put together, but if we don't have something good to put out...we're not going to do it.

The concept idea I had in last year ran into some dead ends and I've pretty much scrapped it, but if I can get together with my friend and we decide on a film together then there should be a concept / movie. We have no secrets so when we come up with stuff I'll keep you guys posted.

Clay