Ian Bender comments on each song on the album Stories From The Book Of
Metal (2008):
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I contacted Ian Bender from Zephaniah to spread some light on the Stories From The Book Of Metal. Here is what he had to say. He wanted to focus on the lyrical content, as the music is so dynamic and complex, that it truly speaks for itself. Enjoy his succint explanations for some brilliant concepts and personal associations.
The
Metal Prayer - We wanted an introduction to our album with lots
of orchestration, so we came up with a few ideas and eventually composed
a full score. The end of the track features a poem we call "The Metal
Prayer," originally written by a friend of ours who based it on the
Lord's Prayer ("Our Father") With a few revisions and Logan's
best Christopher Lee impression, we had the epic intro we were looking
for!
Antietam
- As an American Power Metal band, we wanted to write something
that was true to our history. The Civil War battle of Antietam was the
bloodiest one day battle in American history and provided plenty of ideas!
The verses of the song tell the story of how the battle progresses, Union
vs. Confederate Armies. The chorus describes the emotion of the soldiers,
fighting in a battle where they know they will die.
Avenger
Of Souls - A song about revenge. You are in battle, surrounded
by your fallen brothers. You must be a man and face the enemy alone, or
run away and die a coward. In the end you choose to fight and defeat your
enemies, thus becoming the Avenger Of Souls!
Deep
Breath - Deep Breath would be considered our ballad, but we chose
to avoid the sappy love song theme. Even slow songs need balls! The lyrics
are about staying strong, and keeping your courage when times are hard.
Sword
Of The King - One of our favorites, this is about a warrior with
a sword forged from magic. He leads an army to battle to fight off the
tyrannous king that has stolen the throne. In the end the warrior slays
the evil king ,and takes the crown for himself!
Fight
For Love - This song is the oldest song we still play and the only
love song we have ever written. It's about a man fighting for his wench's
love and survival. It shows his confidence in defeating his enemies so
that he may live in peace!
Blackbeard's
Revenge - Blackbeard's Revenge is about pirates attacking a ship
to steal their gold and valuables! In the end you find out both ships
were pirate ships!
The
Lone Warrior - Logan got the lyrical ideas for this song from a
personal experience of his. A warrior swears his allegiance to the Ice
Queen. He falls in love and they are married, but she then betrays him.
He must kill her and leave the kingdom to regain his honor and pride as
a man.
Flame
Of The Dragon - Pretty straightforward. It's about a dragon burning
people to death!
Related links:
www.zephaniahmetal.com
www.myspace.com/zephaniahband