Track By Tracks: LOCKJAW - Songs Of Death (2024)

1. Moon Fire:

A heavy sludgy chorus-type song with a thrash metal-inspired pre-chorus. Lyrically ode to the early darkness of winter and the cold winds that come. 

2. Screaming:

An up upbeat and frantic lead into one of the more in-your-face tracks on the album. A release of feelings one can have on the low side of the spectrum of bipolar lows. An optimistic hook to give the listener that glimmering possibility of hope and sunny days to come.

3. Resist:

Musically inspired by the likes of Bauhaus and Christian Death. I often wake up in the middle of the night and can't fall back asleep while contemplating all the dark possibilities in life and an inevitable end. This song expresses that.

4. Mourning Light:

Vibe wise in the style of older LOCKJAW songs with fast and heavy slamming drums. Powerful guitars accent the urgency, lyrically about desire, lust, emptiness, and the different faces people wear at different times of the day.

5. Death Is On The Way:

Another celebratory song about facing the inevitable while we struggle to live a better life under the shadow of the man. "Love, pain, suffer, change". The first track that was written for the album and set the pace for the rest.

6. Faster:

I just found out that Geordie Walker of Killing Joke died and I was in delirium from a yet undiagnosed COVID. I wanted to musically write a song in the fashion I thought he would if he was in LOCKJAW. Lyrically more positive the rest of the album and I reference my travels and love for the land and life.

7. Until The Last:

A tale about the largest decimation of a species by modern man. The American Bison were slaughtered from around 60 million to 375 in the 1800's. It not only affected the Native Americans and was tied to the concept of Manifest Destiny but highlighted the destructive and disgusting behavior of man. The song is pretty metal and intense with chugging guitars and screaming choruses.

8. When The World Slows Down:

A tranquil ending to come off of a heavy topic of the previous song. More of an instrumental than a song with the title words spoken over the intro. The bass line of this song adds a calming effect that creates a brilliant contrast to the guitar hook of the choruses. The chorus just repeats "No!" over and over as a statement to reject the powers and people that are destroying the world. An urgent need to slow it down before it is too late.