Track By Tracks: Cepheidae Variable - Primordial Reverie (2025)

About the album as a whole (LYRICALLY & MUSICALLY):

Primordial Reverie started out as an exploration of my musical tastes as an artist. It quickly developed into a concept of establishing different biomes or “acts” through instrumentation. Void of any lyrics, this challenged my compositional abilities. Each song has a strong identity, and the album flows like a story. The underlying story was largely a visual outline that constantly grew and shifted in my mind. I wanted to leave this up to the imagination of the listener.

The album, from its inception, was meant to be listened to as a complete piece. The intro foreshadows the tonal shift it undergoes as we gradually go from a fantasy feel with natural orchestral elements to more synths and sci-fi elements. We also see an increasing level of complexity and scale as the tracks continue. I start to introduce odd time signatures heavily around “Zephyr of Ourobouros”, and we see a whimsical shift in “Encounter” to establish the sound that develops in the central act of the album.

Something I leaned into quite heavily is the recurrence of certain motifs and the mutation of past rhythm and melody. Most of the tracks undergo a lot of change throughout; however, upon subsequent listens, I think you start to pick up on just how much might be built around a single idea.

Track by Track (LYRICALLY & MUSICALLY):

1. Overture:

Overture was the second last piece written for this album. It is the only track that is mostly made up of synthetic elements. Although the main arpeggio theme we hear is played through effects on a guitar. It is meant to foreshadow the sci-fi shift the album undergoes and establish a lot of the themes that develop.

2. Carving a Dragon:

Carving a Dragon is one of the simpler tracks. Meant to be catchy and feel like you’re setting out on a journey. The song developed in a way that feels like it’s constantly driving towards something. It is also a demonstration of a more refined version of a track I would’ve written when I was younger. There are a lot of guitar harmonies and layers throughout, and a fairly simple but powerful solo section.

It also has symbolic meaning to me. The title itself was the first thing written for this album. It was derived from the book I was reading at the time, “Assassin’s Quest” by Robin Hobb. I enjoyed the themes developed of pouring your soul into something to give it life. Carving a Dragon is about taking the life I’ve built around music and setting out to create an album I’m excited to have people listen to.

3. The Waiting Storm:

The Waiting Storm is the action scene of the album. It is a straightforward track that gets you moving. Other than a brief reprieve in the center, it doesn’t let up. Likely my favorite song to perform on this release. Its main riff is catchy and satisfying, and the chorus sections are very energetic.

4. Zephyr of Ouroboros:

Zephyr of Ouroboros is where the album really starts to open up. It is the conclusion to the first act that has been developing. Opening with a windy soundscape and orchestral arrangement, it then goes into an engaging guitar riff that keeps you guessing. We start to see a lot of odd time signatures here, and some additional genre influences.

Violin and guitar interweave to create soaring harmonies. Each section is meant to feel like the leg of a journey. The structure of this song is quite traditional, with orchestration and lead guitar taking over the role of vocals. This allowed me to have a lot of fun in the center section with what would normally be an instrumental break. A bass solo is followed by a two-part guitar solo that eventually winds down into a reprisal of the earlier themes.

The song is also circular in structure. After a final chorus, we have an outro which breaks down the intro riff in reverse, before leading to our orchestral section being rearranged for soft piano over an evocative soundscape. This closes out the song and the first act of the album.

5. Encounter:

Encounter is where we start to see a lot of the sci-fi elements that were foreshadowed in the opening track. Layered synths create an operatic melody that gives a feeling of isolation and melancholy. This is quickly shattered by heavy guitar riffing and an introduction to 8-string guitars from here on out.

I was listening to a lot of Haken when I started writing this track. I also received the cover art for the album. These outside influences really shone through here and marked the start of the album's second act.

Highlights of this track are plucky synths and guitar riffing, creating what can only be described as an alien ho-down. As well as a very fun and whimsical bass and solo section. The outro of this does not resolve and leads directly into what may be my favorite track on the album.

6. The Conduit:

The Conduit continues right where Encounter left off. Melancholic synths are soon met with layers of taiko drums and the main theme of the track. When the guitars are introduced, they are accompanied by a floaty, atmospheric harmony.

The driving energy of the song continues with a bit of tension release prior to dropping off into an unexpected synth interlude. This devolves into something darker and more sinister. The main theme comes back mutated before being met with a wall of guitar and blast beats.

More genre influences introduce themselves with a heavy breakdown. This releases into a slow and dissonant build as the tempo steadily climbs. The tension is relieved before going into a heavily layered outro that ends our second act.

“The Conduit” was visualized as a section of the story where the journey takes us through a portal in space that leads us to our final frontier.

7. Chromatic Haven:

Chromatic Haven gives us a bit of relaxation after the last track. Opening with a joyous, whimsical synth melody, which is soon met with guitar unison and choppy rhythms. Some more prog rock elements then make their way in with a groovy bass and guitar section.

We then have the driving rhythm behind the start of our final journey. The joy and whimsy are broken as the song takes a darker turn. Heavy guitars are mixed with an atmospheric lead solo and sustained guitar harmony.

The song ends on a cliffhanger. It evokes a similar feeling in me to how “Carving a Dragon” ended. Giving a sense that our final act is underway.

8. Entropic Harvester:

Entropic Harvester came from the idea of having a “villain” in an instrumental track. Guitars and synths interweave in a game of cat and mouse throughout. We have an evolving rhythm section followed by chorus sections that introduce new harmony and layering each time they reappear.

The central section goes completely off the rails. Dream Theater, Haken, and Meshuggah influences take over to create a combination of heavy guitar riffing, odd-time, and melody. The first solo leads into a keyboard solo meant to feel like an epic battle. With the Entropic Harvester supposedly defeated, we get a bit of a break with a happy feeling of harmony, which I aptly named “friends” as I was writing. This is soon shattered by an aggressive solo that leads into the song's outro.

The outro mutates and evolves the themes that have built throughout the song. When you think it’s finally over, we hear the very first part written for this song, the Entropic Harvester shuts down, and we move on to the final leg of the album.

9. Singularity:

Singularity was always meant to be the grandest track I’ve written. Writing began quite early in the album's development. We open with an aggressive spacey-sounding synth section before guitars take over and solidly establish the themes in a strong intro riff.

After a cyberpunk feeling disco party, we go into an orchestral interlude that is heavily mutated from the main theme. This leads into some of the quirkier sections of the album. Rainsticks prelude heavy guitars and a driving guitar solo that trades focus between bass, rhythm, and unison.

The album then comes full circle. Taking the arrangement from “Overture” as our outro. Each synth and string section is given to a guitar or bassline. An emotionally larger-than-life soundscape is created with the use of reverb and moving instrumentation around the stereo field. The asynchronous harmonization creates a grand feeling that clearly defines the album as coming to a close.

Finally, we’re met with a peaceful yet desolate soundscape that gives us a feeling of closure to the album.