Track By Tracks: Adder´s Fork - The Individualist (2018)

1. The Individualist:

This was written over the course of about 18 months. After some re-arrangements and cutting, the five remaining songs grew into their final form.

2. Moodshift:

This song was actually written after the title track, to create a mood-setting introduction. Driven by a march-like drumbeat and a thick bassline, it's spiced up by guitar chords and synth, which is a rather stark contrast to the rest of the guitar riff-driven EP.

3. The Individualist:

This was the first song creation - its verse riffs are heavy and driving and I had the opportunity to write a multi-layered chorus - guitar chords/riffs, tapping and synth. It was harder and more complex for me to sing than ever before, but I've been practicing a lot to reach a successful level. I have been working on melodic and faster soloing as well, you can hear that here. The lyrics are about the impossibility of going "back to our roots" - the failure of leaving modern cultural pressure behind, our inability to break the chains of today's society. Because even though we think we are "free", we are surely not in the true sense of the word.

4. Witchgrove Mountain:

This song tells the story of an outcast, who's being led to Witchgrove Mountain, a refuge for other pariahs – thieves, rebels, witches and dissidents. Looking for a place to hide, he's soon invited to be part of a much more cabalistic cult than he ever expected. This story is backed by a mixture of pounding but variable drum-beats, open-chorded riffs and differing basslines, that feel more at home in early 80s-post-punk, which is a main ingredient in my sound. I also used tremolo-picking and a few more extreme-metal leanings while the song progresses.

5. We Stare Into the Fading Sun:

Started out as a more balladesque tune but soon turned into a rather folkish, maybe even Viking Metal-styled song. While writing, I was also quite inspired by

later 90s-era Iron Maiden, mainly in the way Steve Harris used to construct the more epic numbers on the Blaze Bayley albums. The song's theme is about the leader/follower-mentality, where people will blindly follow their "leaders" into even the most insipid situations...and burn for it.

6. A Wall Behind the Curtain:

This last song goes more in line with "Witchgrove Mountain" lyrically, it tells a story about the temptation of evil spirits, seemingly willing to end the lasting loneliness of the protagonist. If that is a good thing or not, is for YOU to decide. It's my heaviest "Adder's Fork" song yet and features an abundance of guitar riffs and lead work. Especially the rhythm guitars bounce around in many directions, it's the song that took most effort in terms of writing and fretboard-work.