Dan Swift

Trophies from Sheol

About the Album

After I had finished I'm Dead, I was trying to come up with a good title for this album. It was around the same time that I began reading up on Buddhism and Judaism. Research is a funny thing. I had started on Buddhism around 10 o'clock in the evening this one particular night. By the time I decided to call it a night, I had been lead to astral projection and the time was almost 2 in the morning.

I had already decided that I wanted the album to be a religous mutt. The day after the astral projection reading, I decided to revisit some of the other material that I had found. The next day, I continued to reflect on the contents of the album as well as a unifying theme. That is when Trophies from the Afterlife was born and later changed to Trophies from Sheol.

Tracks

1. A Prelude to Hell

   During the Fall of 2005, I had an opportunity to listen to the 'Bass Communion' album entitled Ghosts on Magnetic Tape. I remember this one night I was listening to it with the lights out and I found this particular track (3 or 4) to be quite disturbing … especially when played in a big empty house with the lights out. I decided that I wanted to write some music that would really scare the listener. That project has since been placed on hold, but some elements managed to creep into this introductory piece.

   Listen to Clip of A Prelude to Hell

2. I'm Dead

   I had recently made some really incredible changes in April of 2006. I think the change in my mental state is really reflected in track number 2 from this album. During the course of my life, I've only written what I feel are 2 perfect chord progressions. The first was in An Introduction to Insomnia - the motif of:

   Fm⁷ Fmaj⁷ F Em/F F#

   The second is (in I'm Dead) at the beginning of the first bridge. It's a beautiful progression:

   Esus4 C° G# C#maj⁷ C# C#maj⁷ G⁷sus4 G⁷

   The other interesting thing about this one is the ending. I had absolutely no idea what key I was in because I was writing by ear. I remember printing out the score and doing an analysis while watching something on the travel channel. I think it was like multi-million dollar cabins or something like that. So, with my pen and score in hand, I began to do my harmonic analysis … just like I used to do in college.

   Listen to Clip of I'm Dead

3. Charon

   For as long as I can remember, I've had this fascination with skeletons. Charon (kâr'in) is the ferryman of Hades in Greek Mythology that takes the newly dead across the river Acheron (often confused with the river Styx).

   The rhythm track is definitely interesting in this one. I remember reading a post from someone suggesting placing a four beat against a three beat. At the time, I was just getting ready to write this piece. The rhythm track is definitely key to this one. If you know the name of the piece and you listen to the rhythm track, you'll know where in the transporation you are. Listen to it with that in mind.

   Listen to Clip of Charon

4. Bardo

   The idea is taken from Tibetan Buddhism … of which I, admittedly, have a very rudimentary understanding. The idea behind this one is three different stages (Bardos) that are different in and of themselves. The interesting challenge was then stitching them together to create something a little more unified. The third bardo is either rebirth or, appropriately, merging with 'God'. The end is open for interpretation …

   A little extra something for you - there is a reference to the rock band 'Queen' in this one as well as a reference to 'Evanescence'. Happy hunting!

   Listen to Clip of Bardo

Credits