Track By Tracks: Inpathos - Ascension (2023)

The idea behind the Ascension EP was simple: write a three-song EP about rising out of dark times with each track based on one of the three geographic elements that make our home state in the Pacific Northwest so special: the Pacific Ocean, vast forests, and the Cascade Mountain Range. The three tracks flow seamlessly from one to the next just as the ocean hugs the edge of the forested landscapes that extend up to the foothills of the mountains and beyond, creating a single story arc of an unnamed protagonist that has been lost at sea coming to a new land and struggling to survive the night and find hope. The artwork embodies this by portraying a lonesome path leading to the mountains in the distance, symbolizing both the physical journey our character must make as well as an ascent from the depths of despair.

1. Forsaken Shores:

Forsaken Shores begins the story arc, throwing the listener into the midst of the ocean's wrath on a stormy winter night. Our protagonist and his fellow travelers seek refuge on the shores of an unknown land, only to discover that it is host to a number of terrors that lurk in the darkness. With no end in sight for the storm and morning but a distant hope, the lost travelers brace themselves for a long night. As the hours pass, the darkness is filled with their anguished screams as the unknown, unseen horrors pick them off one by one. In desperation, the survivors move into the woods seeking any possible shelter to wait out the night.

2. Frostweald:

Frostweald picks up in the forests bordering the rocky, forsaken shores. The trees provide some shelter from the storm, but the shadows grow deeper as what little light from the moon or lightning illuminating the clouds above is blocked by the crown of the trees. The wind and snow die down as they forge ahead, but as the storm grows quiet the night is filled with the sounds of new threats looming in the shadows. The nightmare begins anew as more are taken or driven to madness and lost in the darkness. Rushing frantically through the night, our protagonist catches a glimpse of the stars and moon above through a break in the trees and clouds. In this brief moment of illumination the silhouette of a solitary peak can be seen above, and he begins moving towards it through the nightmare unfolding around him.

3. Ascension:

With the sounds of the forest now growing fainter with distance and morning still beyond the horizon, a new adversary arises: hopelessness. Exhausted, distraught and lost, our character now struggles to find the will or strength to carry on. However, as he trudges on, the first whispers of the new day provide a glimmer of hope. As the hours continue to pass the sun begins to illuminate the now clear skies from just beyond the horizon. Coming to a clearing, he finally stops to rest and get a sense of his new surroundings. As he turns, the first rays of the sun break the plane of the horizon. The shores and forest that had nearly become his tomb are illuminated, revealing them to be part of a breathtaking landscape. With the dark of night behind and the swift rising of the sun, our character begins to feel a sense of hope ascending within.