November 2004
Hello again.
When we last talked, Steve and I had just powered through a couple of really difficult sections of the "Shadows of the Past" record. We're still at it.
If you'd be kind enough to reference my other entries, you'd sure make my job a lot easier. If not, please read on anyway.
After "The Gift" I wrote an instrumental piece called "End of a Line". It is, quite literally, the instrumental tune I've always wanted to write.
I took, what I feel, to be quite an unusual approach when writing this song. Some of my favorite musicians (who shall remain nameless) have recently taken a 3-minute idea and stretched it to 10 minutes to fill space. I took a 3-minute song, spent 2 weeks trying to stretch it out, and decided to leave it a 3-minute song. It just seemed like the right thing to do.
We then follow with a 13 plus minute epic called "Confined Within Destiny". It was 13 minutes and 13 seconds long until Steve K. decided that we needed 2 more bars during the guitar solo. More guitar solo? Who am I to argue?
This is the most eclectic song we've ever written. It is filled with: a low "A" tuned hook line, a (what can only be called) Queensryche inspired verse section, a 10 second gratuitous-shred guitar solo, a slow and depressing breakdown section (featuring Koelling on a bit of vocals), and a "Spirit Carries On"-type solo section. It's a real roller-coaster ride.
This weekend we begin the trek into the last 5 minutes of the album. We're pushing this one to the limits of an 80-minute disc's capacity. And think, this is only Part One...
Talk to ya soon.
Steve
Sorrell.
