Track By Tracks: GLDN - First Blood (Deluxe Edition) (2023)

First Blood was the first recorded material we ever put out into the world. Now that it's been a little over a year since the original release, we thought it was time to revisit it and tweak some things here and there. It turned out to be more of a complicated undertaking than we had originally planned. Some songs were given entirely new mixes - Parasite, for example. The entire project was inspired by the song Harmful If Swallowed. It originally appeared as an instrumental interlude on the EP. After the EP came out, I began to expand on it and write some lyrics. Over the following year, I kept adding new pieces to it, culminating in the final version of the song and video that we just released. The new version of First Blood is something that we feel very proud of. Even though we are actively working on new music, we want everything to be put out to be something we feel we can fully stand behind. To us, this new remaster feels like the best version of the record that we could release.

1. Gravedigger:

Gravedigger is about dealing with liars and sycophants. It always seems like there's some piece of shit trying to take advantage of you in life, but I think it becomes easier to spot once you've experienced that kind of deception a few times. You get a kind of superpowered intuition for sniffing out bullshit and ass-kissing. The song itself is uptempo and catchy, so I felt like it would be a good album opener.

2. First Blood:

First Blood is the title track, obviously, and the dark subject matter kind of sets the tone for the album. If you read the lyrics, it's probably pretty clear what it's about; but suffice it to say it's my takedown of religion and rape and any cross-section therein.

3. Ripe Tackles:

Ripe tackles the inner philosophical battle between good and evil. The lyrics don't approach the subject from any sort of definitive standpoint; rather, it simply pose the question: how can hatred be so wrong if it feels like justice? There is no conclusion in the song, so I leave it up to the listeners to reach that on their own.

4. (harmful is swallowed):

(harmful if swallowed) is an instrumental interlude, so there isn't a lot to say about it lyrically. However, the extremely out-of-tune piano was recorded on an old upright piano that belonged to a friend. Interestingly enough, the keys that I used in the song were the only keys that really still worked. In that sense, the piano was the one who came up with the song.

5. This Must Be The Place:

This Must Be The Place is a song about descending to a low you never thought you were capable of reaching. It's about giving in to your impulses and allowing them to choose your path for you.

6. Suicide Machine:

Suicide Machine is a term that, for me, refers to the degradation of our perception of reality because of mass media and the proliferation of the internet. There seems to be a willful ignorance and disregard for reality in society that grows far more bleak with every passing moment.

7. Parasite:

Parasite is pure rage. This song contains some of the cruelest lyrics I've written, and I really meant every word. Empathy can be a valuable tool in life when it comes to connecting to other people. It can also be your downfall. Essentially, it's a takedown of the kind of person who tries to gain your trust to get inside your head, only to eventually try and tear you down from the inside out.

8. Metamorphosis:

Metamorphosis is mostly instrumental, with the only lyric being "I'm just an insect". At some point in life, before you can ever truly be in control of your fate, you have to face your own insignificance. The world owes you nothing, and it will give you nothing unless you learn to reach out and take the things you want in life.

9. Harmfull If Swallowed (Single Version);

Harmful If Swallowed (Single Version), which is the full version that was built upon the original interlude, looks at how trauma can inform your decisions. It's about the disregard for your own life that you can sometimes have after experiencing said trauma. I will leave it up to the listeners to fill in the specifics through the lens of their own experiences.