Track By Tracks: Ivory Gates - Behind The Wall (2022)


1. THE BOOK OF LIFE:

This track was chosen to open the album to, right away, present the proposal of the new work. While the progressive and melodic characteristics of Ivory Gates are maintained, it is also possible to notice that the band is heavier and more direct.

Matheus Armelin – Guitars: Even though it's a long song - about seven and a half minutes - and complex, there's no overplaying, making it easy to listen. “It's my favorite song on Behind the Wall and maybe in our entire discography. Here you can find all the elements that we put on previous albums: guitar openings, synchronized bass and drums, striking chorus, and, consequently, an almost complete mix of our main influences.” 

Felipe Travaglini – Vocal: “Personally, I used a lot of references to bring a hint of suspense and tension to the pre-chorus, like a narrator who participates in a scene, observing and commenting on the fateful verdict.” 

2. PRISONER:

As with the previous song, Prisoner is heavy and fast, reminiscent of Iron Maiden of the 80s until reaching the first verses, where the progressive and intricate vein is resumed.

Hugo Mazzotti – Bass: The lyrical theme addresses the presentation of a perfect world through social media and the anguish and frustration of those who are sucked into this illusion and isolate themselves from the real world. “In my point of view, PRISONER, along with YESTERDAY'S NEWS, are the two songs on this record that have the most elements of the Ivory Gates history. Heavy progressive metal, especially inspired by Fates Warning, Queensryche, and Iron Maiden, with some hard rock touches and melodies” 

Felipe Travaglini – Vocal: “Prisoner brings a repetitive chorus “a la Maiden” reinforcing the idea of addictive routine, of wasting time, of ceasing to live reality. Within the song, we took special care in the interlude, harmonizing a more “clean” and melancholy context. At the end, the voice changes to a more aggressive tone and a very pronounced drive, closing the song with a message, that in the end “you will find yourself alone”...

3. FALL OF JERICHO:

Third song from the BEHIND THE WALL album, Fall of Jericho is probably the heaviest and most aggressive song.

Mixing elements of modern Progressive Metal, with excerpts that add polyrhythm, to a fast Thrash metal, the song makes clear again the proposal of Ivory Gates, getting really heavy to deal with, in a figurative way, with the lack of empathy and intolerance, themes more current than ever in our society.

Matheus Armelin – Guitars: “This is an album with little room to breathe and this is one of the fastest and most objective songs. In the bridge section of this song, we have a polyrhythm part where the vocal melody still sounds natural and the complexity will possibly go unnoticed by the most distracted listener. The guitar solo of this song is one of my favorites on the record since it synthesizes all my effort to merge striking melodic parts and technical fragments with an interpretation that makes it possible to be sung.” 

Felipe Travaglini – Vocal: “I had a special challenge in the chorus of this song...tempo. Can you imagine the whole band changing the time signature and you have to stay in line? I'm already imagining playing it live... Fortunately, the final result only raised the level of music, from great, to excellent. For me, one of the best of the album. 

4. LEAVES OF WINTER:

The observation of the passage of time until the inevitable end, where only silence will remain, is presented by Ivory Gates through a ballad in 6/8.

With a very introspective beginning, the song goes in a steady crescent until reaching the peak in its epic chorus, where the influence of Savatage/TSO becomes more evident.

Hugo Mazzotti - Bass: “The first true ballad in the Ivory Gates discography, unlike other more introspective moments on previous albums, which were more connected to progressive music moods. And, despite this song transiting in more melodic areas, I see it as one of the strongest and most intense on this record, which gradually creates a growing tension, only relieved in the last notes.” 

5. GOOD ENOUGH:

Aggressive and fast, almost a Power Metal song, Good Enough is one of the highlights of the album. Here heaviness and melody walk side by side as the band addresses the human dissatisfaction, Always wanting something more and, many times not caring for what they already have (material or emotional). And will the fulfillment of these desires really bring satisfaction or can they turn into a terrible nightmare?

Felipe Travaglini – Vocal: “GOOD ENOUGH brings all the components of a great Power Metal song: heavy, fast and melodic. I think it was one of the lines that I liked the most on the record, counterbalancing the guitar and bass riffs, and the drumming. The voice permeates through all the components bringing a lot of synergy to the composition. ” 

6. DUALITY:

Matheus Armelin – Guitars: Instrumental music where, in addition to a lot of individual techniques of the musicians, the band once again seeks paths not yet explored by incorporating Brazilian and Latin rhythms and harmonies to heavy metal in its various layers, but still sounding like a song by Ivory Gates “Here comes a curiosity. That was the last song composed for the album. We had already finished the compositions, but I had the idea of an instrumental song because I really like the instrumental tracks created by Iron Maiden and Metallica. As soon as I proposed this, everyone quickly agreed, but the first attempt was frustrating and we discarded it completely. We started from scratch and at this point, Duality really emerged, a short instrumental that DOES NOT resemble Iron Maiden or Metallica and with a strong insertion of Brazilian rhythms from the intro and with a 'surprise' interlude where we find the samba rhythm on the guitar, but with heavy bass, drums, and guitar markings. ” 

Hugo Mazzotti - Bass: “Because it is an instrumental song, the musician's work becomes more intense. In addition to harmony and rhythm parts, we had to fill the melodic part also, making the music interesting, not boring. The bass part was no different, being one of the most complex of all where, in addition to speed in the heaviest moments, the music still makes room for Slap and Tapping techniques and even a solo with a more jazz-oriented language.” 

7. YESTERDAY’S NEWS:

Ivory Gates' DNA is very well represented in the track YESTERDAY’S NEWS, which brings a lot of the sound of its past, especially from the era of the second album, "Status Quo" from 2005.

This song has a typical progressive rhythmic form on the verse, with odd times signature, long-notes melody and going to a more fluid bridge, reaching a chorus with an initially intricate rhythm, but easy to assimilate. Its lyrics talks about the promises of politicians during the election campaigns. Always the same. Repeated over and over to, once again, not be fulfilled. A cycle that never ends, and that makes the whole situation always seem like we're listening to "Yesterday’s News".

Matheus Armelin – Guitars: “This song features the solo that most differs from the others, made with “wah wah” effect, and taking advantage of all the sound nuances provided by the harmony, but still maintaining the balance that I sought throughout the record. ” 

8. BEHIND THE WALL:

The title track of the new IVORY GATES album synthesizes the musical proposal of the record, looking for new horizons and challenges without abandoning the characteristics developed in more than two decades of existence. It is an extremely heavy song, a modern and vigorous heavy metal, but which, suddenly, presents an acoustic, smooth, and melodic interlude before returning to the previous format and reaching an epic conclusion.

On the lyrical side, it is also the one that represents the musical concept developed during the album, dealing with the fear of change and the unknown that keeps us stuck in a comfort zone that brings security but prevents growth and evolution from happening.

Hugo Mazzotti - Bass: “Within the concept of looking for new or unexplored elements, despite my studies being essentially erudite, I never wanted to mix this approach with the band and I always kept a more traditional rock approach. This time there was an exception. During the interlude, the bass arrangement was inspired by the Six Suites for J.S. Bach. A Baroque spice in prog metal” 

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