a song from my band

[oscillator]

Oscillator - The Gerasene Demoniac

http://www.4shared.com/file/231764193/86c5564a/Oscillator_-_The_Gerasene_Demo.html

Hey guys,

Here's a song from a band i'm in called Oscillator. We're based in a seaside city called Sunderland in the North East of England. A lot of the stuff we do is heavily Tool-influenced though not in an overtly obvious way. I think most of the inspiration comes from Adam Jones' guitar work (his use of effects mostly) and some also from the philosophical ideals in Maynard's lyrics, particularly from those on Lateralus. I'm the drummer and lyricist in the band and I'm also in charge of recording the material. I would appreciate any comments and constructive criticism regarding any aspect of the song from anyone.

Other bands we love include classic psychedelic prog acts like Rush, Pink Floyd and King Crimson, The Mars Volta, Porcupine Tree, Doves, Radiohead and even Coldplay (I know they're not everyone's favourite but I think there's quite a lot of depth to Martin's lyrics, especially recently on Viva la Vida).

I've really been engrossed in Maynard's lyrics for ages now, piecing together the meaning by looking at possible sources of his inspiration. The whole band are obviously very inclined to delve into esoteric matters, which is obvious coming from the topics on most of [url]Lateralus[/url]. It's interesting that Maynard stated that he thought most of Tool's fanbase were artists themselves; I think thats maybe the reason why some people can find them hard to digest. In terms of the occult inspiration of this song (The Gerasene Demoniac) I tried to base it around the idea of the gnostic concept underlying the exoteric Christian theme of the "the resurrection of the dead". You might notice that the title itself is a biblical story found in the gospels of Mark and Luke. I come from a Christian background but like a lot of people I found that in my experience most of the churches were basing their doctrine on a huge backlog of man-made theology and ritualistic sacraments that seemed to completely trap me and completely overun my mind whilst not give me the deep spirituality I was searching for. In response I turned to Eastern philosophy and meditation, finding many profound spiritual insights and practices especially in Tibetan Buddhism.

Similar to the Mars Volta's story of Cerpin Taxt, the Gerasene Demoniac finds himself in elected darkness, lost in the sunless caves of the underworld crying and cutting himself with sharp stones (crude mental formations?). In Hermetic Kabbalistic terms the man descends to the lowest low (i.e. the klipotic dead) for the very reason of experiencing this facet of spiritual bankruptcy. In "The Patient" Maynard seems to be referring to a similar phenomena when he speaks of low vitality (a mode tamasic consciousness) , a terrible hanging on, volitionary paralysis and the 'giving of blood' (quite mythological). Just some little ideas I had. Thanks for listening, and please slate it if you hate it! x

Lyrics:

If you could see me in a different way then no fear could drive you away.

Feeling a light, bruised enough to love again.

When the night hides the sun I'm feeling alone, I'm feeling alone.
When the clouds cover the stars, I'm feeling alone.

When the night hides the sun the sun is gone.

Cheers,

Matt G

[Sano]

Awesome, you came here and immediately began peddling your band...That's a great way to make friends!!

Die.

[Faust]

tl;dr but I did listen to the song. I thought the tune and the band are pretty good, but the vocals are shit. Find a talented singer, and you might do alright.

[oscillator]

sano: fair point. i wasn't really trying to 'peddle' the band though, as that would be quite pointless. I was just curious to see what you thought as tool fans. fair observation though, granted.
faust: thanks for listening. yeah the vocals aren't everyone's cup of tea. we (the band) are indeed lookin for a better singer. cheers for your time. I'll try and post more constructively in the future.
m.