Track By Tracks: Stygian Fair - Aradia (2023)

Album as a whole:

Aradia is a monument of honest metal. We have no ambition of jumping aboard any current music fads but do whatever we like and feel works when we play together. There’s softer songs and heavier songs, but all of them want to convey something.

Track by track:

1. Ancient Lies:

This is one of the older ones on the album, dating back to the first time Andreas sang at the Stygian Fair. Now we felt it was time it was released on an album. It’s about the allure of charismatic charlatans.

2. Masters of the Sea:

Imagine the rolling waves of the ocean. The longships of the Viking warriors are crossing the dark depths to find fortune and fame. It’s a song that changes perspective between shore and deck.

3. Aradia:

The title track is about the coven of a Diana cult. There is some really odd riffing in this one and also a folk music interlude somewhere in the middle. The rituals, infusions, and spells summon the moon goddess and her powers.

4. Tapping of the Vein:

Well, it’s not about shooting up but rather the old belief that there had to be a balance between the four senses of humor. Tap the blood if you feel that your spirit is a bit too spry. That’ll probably do the thing to this day.

5. Let It Go:

A couple of thousand years ago you weren’t looked kindly upon for corrupting the young. This song is a play on this and maybe it’s about not dwelling on things that make you feel lousy.

6. Panopticon:

Most of us are constantly being observed and algorithmisized through our behavior on our phones or other screens. The mastermind in Panoptikon could be the commercial powers of the world or even in a not-so-distant future - an AI!

7. Unto Oblivion:

Are language and memory really all that great? That which some people suppose separates us from the other animals can also bring great sadness and moroseness. And who should we blame for this? Mnemosyne, of course. This song is about sometimes wishing that you’d like to remember less rather than better.

8. Grief Collector:

Rain drips like tears outside. A soft bass figure guides this song forward to the chorus. The Grief Collector rejoices in the sorrows and losses that drag us down memory lane. And remember: memento mori!

9. Tainted Dream:

There’s still a war in Ukraine. The pacifist dreams of a world in peace and then comes some Russian moron and turns it all upside down. Maybe that dream is childish and naive. But it’s beautiful still.

10. Devil in the Details:

When life gives you lemons... It's always good to stay positive but it may be good sometimes, in all aspects of life, to see if there may be an alternate agenda to why things are being presented to us.