Track By Tracks: Mind Swell - Hands Of Fire (2023)

1. Painted Worlds:

Painted Worlds is about the imaginative worlds I spend time in and how it allowed me to let my friends down and run away from my dreams. Beginning with drum and bass then kicking in hard to set the tone and to show listeners what to expect. Lots of slow and heavy riffs in this song. Picking up at the end with a little taste of some blast beats.

2. Memories:

Moments of loved ones who are gone and how sometimes I act like death doesn't affect me when in reality the effects of death can be debilitating. I also reflect upon the strength these memories help me build. This one starts off a little quicker than the previous song and shows more of our Deathcore influences. Introducing some dissonance in the guitars and slamming breakdowns. There are tons of different riffs in this one.

3. Hands of Fire:

Governments grasp on humanity. I believe the lyrics reflect what they do to us onto them. I end with the question "will I ever see the day humanity collectively realizes that the power is within our hands?". A more hardcore-influenced song but keeps the deathcore style breakdowns. There's a tempo change about halfway through the song with a guitar break to slow it down. The song ends with the guitar pitch shifting a full octave down with a slow and sludgy riff.

4. Sever the Hand:

Breaking the control the government has on us and how we have to stand firm and strong for what we believe in. Also, it's about working together as communities to make sure we have what we need without the help of large corporations. The song starts off instantly with vocals and heavy guitar. Possibly has some of the heaviest breakdowns on the EP.

5. Humanity: a Plague

All things natural are beautiful and should be appreciated. I speak my opinion on humanity because of our contributions to ecocide. This is actually the first song we wrote for the EP and was released as a single. Starting with drum and bass to introduce the first riff then going into a slow melancholic guitar part using a detune effect. The last half of this song is basically just an entire breakdown that slows down even more with a slight tempo change toward the end. To use the words of our bass player, "let's just play the same thing.. but slower."