L3 Unit 2: Assignment

 Unit 2 Assignment.


Song 1: Planet Caravan by Black Sabbath



Performance

This song is performed by the band Black Sabbath

The band consists of Ozzy Osbourne on vocals, Geezer Butler on bass, Tony Iommi, Bill Ward on Percussion, and Tom Allom on Piano

The energy is Psychedelic/Cosmic and the end of the song is very bluesy

This song was most recorded live but it was clearly overdubbed as it Tony Iommi is also playing the flute in this song which he wouldn't be playing guitar at the same time

The vocals in this track are very faded as Ozzy used a Leslie speaker to create the vibrations behind the vocals.

The Rhythm is quite relaxing and uses bongo drums 

Technology

Planet Caravan was recorded at Regent Sound Studios and Island Studio in London, England.

The effects in this song include a Leslie Speaker for Ozzy's vocals and a clean and cosmic tone for Iommi's guitar. Theres also a load of flute sound effect to contribute to that cosmic vibe they were trying to make.

At the time, Regent Sound Studios and Island Studios were using a 16 track or a 24 track tape recorder

The producer for this track was Rodger Bain

Planet Caravan was engineered by Brian Humphries 

The song was mastered by Andy Pearce and Matt Wortham

No quantisation was used

Music Theory

89BPM

Melodies are used in the vocals and are transmitted through a "Leslie speaker" Tony Iommi plays a flute in this song which plays a minor 7th. For the solo at the end he’s soloing in the Dorian mode, which is just the regular minor scale but with a major 6th instead of the minor 6th. I don't think harmonies are used in this song

Planet caravan is in the key of E using chords E minor and Dadd11 

Planet caravan is kind of like a jam session but does have structure

Intro

Verse 1
 
Verse 2

Bridge 

Verse 3

Verse 4

Solo

Fades out

The song uses E Standard tuning 

The Rhythm is bluesy and space rock inspired

Musical Context

The genre of black sabbath is heavy metal but this song is more Psychedelic space rock.

The lyrics are all about floating through space with ones lover

Ozzy Osbourne, Bill Ward, Tony Iommi, and Geezer Butler wrote this track

The audience for this song is probably aimed at people who smoke weed or take or hallucinogenics and Metalheads

Black Sabbaths influences include Led Zepplin, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, and the songwriting of The Beatles

Lyrics

The lyrics in this song are magnificent. Look at the rhyme scheme in these lyrics: 

"We sail the endless Skies, Stars shine like Eyes, The black night Sighs" 


We sail through endless skiesStars shine like eyesThe black night sighs
The moon in silver treesFalls down in tearsLight of the night
The Earth, a purple blazeOf sapphire hazeIn orbit always
While down below the treesBathed in cool breezeSilver starlight breaks down the nightAnd so we pass on by the crimson eyeOf great god MarsAs we travel through the universe


I believe this song uses Abstract lyricism in this song, I believe this because it is seen in the lyric "And so we pass on by, the crimson eye, of great god mars, as we travel through the universe" That evokes mood and makes you feel connected to the song through the abstract lyrics.





There are no repeated lines in this song, The title clue in the name of the song might be a bit ambiguous but it certainly needs explaining. This song does create some good imagery, personally when I hear this song I imagine myself sitting by a window listening to this song at night whilst I watch the stars at night.



The song is definitely in the first person as the first lyric is "we" suggest the story is being told from the perspective of the singer. The song doesn't necessarily tell a story but its all about creating imagery in the listeners mind.


There are no repeated phrases or lines in this song, the structure doesn't really have a pattern




The mood in this song stays the same all the way through. There are no big changes at all really. Ozzy drags out the final word which is "Universe" and it kind of suggests that the story never ends and the two lovers drift off into the universe forever.


This song has nothing to do with politics, or cultural norms, or economic factors. I suppose the rise of heavy metal was super important in the creation of this song, and it certainly inspired future heavy metal bands to make slower, sadder, and more melodic ballads.




This song uses metaphors and similes to enhance the cosmic and dreamy feeling to it as seen in the line "stars shine like eyes" and "The black night sighs" which is personification. The black night cant actually sigh but it gives us that imagery for the listening experience with the song.


Song 2: Raise Your Horns By Amon Amarth


Performance

This song is performed by the band Amon Amarth

Amon Amarth Consists of Johan Hegg on Vocals, Olavi Mikkonen on Lead Guitar, Johan Söderberg on Rhythm Guitar, Ted Lundström on Bass, and Tobias Gustafsson on drums.

The energy is motivational and viking based and full of glory. 

This song is performed live until the programmed bit in the middle with the chanting.

The vocals in this song are really gravelly and it usually stays in the same note but can increase pitch when he wants to. Vocals are quite disjunct and far apart, mainly just singing along to the guitar part. the vocals are syllabic and follow the tempo of the song almost like a metronome.

The rhythm is like a hammer, just constantly bashing into the listeners ears and I think its fantastic

Technology

This song was recorded at Backstage Productions, Derbyshire, England.

The effects in this song include distortion for the guitars and a lot of reverb on the vocals for the middle part

The song wasn't quantised

The producer, engineer, and mixer for this song was Andy Sneap

The song was digitally recorded, so not using a tape recorder.

Backstage Productions studio was built by a man named Andy Sneap who has worked with very popular metal bands like Megadeth, Exodus, Judas Priest, and Saxon.

Music Theory

Tempo is around 110BPM

Melodies are certainly used throughout the song and are very noticeable in the bridge part. The vocals harmonise with each other in the bridge part making it sound like 1000 people are chanting.

The song is in the key of Dm and the song prodominantly uses power chords which are known as 5ths. chords include A5 Bb5 C5 D5 F5 G5. There are no solos in this song, so no scales were used.

The time signature is in 4/4 and the structure is:

Intro
Verse 1
Bridge
Chorus
Verse 2
Bridge
Chorus
Interlude
Chorus
Outro

The tuning is in drop A

The interlude section in the middle has a triplet rhythm in it with the drums

This song was arranged for a melodic death metal band, the instrumentation highly suggests so.

Musical Context

The genre of this song is Melodic death metal

The lyrics in this song are about drinking heavily, like vikings would.

The song was written by Johan Hegg, Olavi Mikkonen, Johan Söderberg, Ted Lundström, Tobias Gustafsson.

The audience for this song is mainly fans of death metal, vikings, and heavy drinkers.

Amon Amarths influences include Slayer, Bathory, Motorhead, Iron Maiden, and Norse Mythology. The band gets its name from a volcano in Lord of the Rings

Lyrics

The lyrics in this song suggest only one thing, and thats that this is the greatest drinking song ever

Victory we fought hard and prevailedBrutally we were fighting
Stormy seas rolling thunder, piercing hailBattlefield lit by lightning
Eagerly we filled the waves with enemiesHungrily ravens cawing
Home shore callsWe return on bloody seasTwilight fallsDarkness crawling
So pour the beer for thirsty menA drink that they have earnedAnd pour a beer for those who fellFor those who did not return
Raise your horns raise them up to the skyWe will drink to glory tonightRaise your horns for brave fallen friendsWe will meet where the beer never ends
No regrets we went out to war and strifeTo protect king and country
Victory honor those who gave their lifeWillingly we will not grieve

So pour the beer for thirsty menA drink that they have earnedAnd pour a beer for those who fellFor those who did not return
Raise your horns raise them up to the skyWe will drink to glory tonightRaise your horns for brave fallen friendsWe will drink tonight
Raise your horns raise them up to the skyWe will drink to glory tonightRaise your horns raise them up to the skyWe will drink tonight
Raise your horns raise them up to the skyWe will drink to glory tonightRaise your horns for brave fallen friendsWe will meet in Valhalla again



This song is more of a parody, the band members aren't actually vikings but tell the story from the point of view of a viking.so its kind of abstract and narrative at the same time


The chorus is obviously repeated multiple times when he says the title "Raise your horns" it emphasises the importance of vikings having a drink after going to battle. The imagery it creates for me, i imagine a load of viking sat round drinking mead out of a horn. This is seen in the chorus.


In the opening line "Victory we fought hard and prevailed
Brutally we were fighting" it implies that the singer is talking about multiple people as he says we. This could mean he is telling a story about more than just a few vikings in this song and that this song is told is sung in the first person.


In the first verse they use the line "Stormy seas rolling thunder, piercing hail Battlefield lit by lightning
Eagerly we filled the waves with enemies Hungrily ravens cawing Home shore calls We return on bloody seas Twilight falls Darkness crawling" This line is telling a story about the vikings going to battle and returning to have a drink. It almost takes you on the journey with you as you listen to these lyrics.
The only word I can associate with this song is "Glorious" or possibly "Triumphant". I think the way this song is sung and played is fantastic and makes it a great song to listen to before a night out. The dynamics do change especially in the interlude section which makes the song for me. The build up into the chorus makes me feel pumped like your going into battle or something like that.
 
There isn't really any politics involved in this song, i don't think the viking conservative or labour party ever existed. Amon Amarth are all about vikings and norse mythology and Asgard and Thor and stuff like that so it makes sense to talk about the drinking habits of a viking. Amon Amarth are based in Sweden which is were most viking stuff took place many moons ago.
Themes of war, battle, thunder, drinking, and Valhalla continuously appear throughout the song .

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