Behind The Tracks: Phase - Amethyst (Resurfaced) (Single) (2024)
The main riff of Amethyst came into existence an evening when I was
hanging out at a mate’s house with another mutual friend of ours, during
the exam period for the course all three of us were attending at the time
[the same course I met Jim Lytras and Alex Arnaoutoglou on]. I was
actually strumming my friend’s guitar as we were chatting away, basically
trying to remember a part I had previously come up with, to be used as an
interlude to Homeseek Dark Blues, toying with an alternative tuning (F# A
F# G B E), aiming for it to match and compliment the song’s root note, with
the guitar resembling some instrument from Ionia (Asia Minor) where
open chords would create some satisfying sympathetic resonance.
The song’s lyrics are about the predicament/tragedy of the human condition
and more specifically the drama turbulent and toxic relationships bear,
where one is oftentimes nursing hopes of “making it work”, despite all the
red flags and damage already being brought to them.
Amethyst‘s title comes from the Greek myth that wants the homonymous
virgin getting crystallized to be protected from the likely Persian imported
(as per relevant plays and specifically Euripides‘ Bacchae) hedonist god
of intoxication, Dionysus.
For more details on the song’s themes and the symbolic imagery in the
lyrics follow the link below:
Marios Papakostas, who had been well into the debut album before
he joined, was prompting me to write a song that could match Ibidem in
style, against his former stance, being minded for us to avoid having
previous songs as blueprints or following formulas, so I guess I
subconsciously granted that wish in a way with this song. Amethyst, in a
similar manner to Ibidem, features outbreaks for hooks, before the song
climaxes to end on a coda (i.e., a totally different musical theme to what
was previously heard, usually introduced as an outro) after an instrumental
bridge that somewhat releases (but not totally resolves) the tension that is
built with the verses.
We love this storytelling style and tend to avoid a standard pop song
structure where we can, unless, of course, a song would call for it. When we
were starting, a few people in the industry would urge us to write more
choruses or add more solos, amongst other things, offering comments
explaining that weren’t Tool to be able to pull this off, but adopting that much
of a formulaic approach would not be natural, nor honest for us.
I remember I had brought the two main parts to the practice space
and Damos came up with these fantastic bass lines, putting me to shame
for thinking I used to be a good bass player for years, like he always
effortlessly does, and figured the finer details there and then, including the
closing riff.
Although we weren’t satisfied with the production, with the mix being so
busy having a lot going on, on the same frequency bands (and us failing to
address that at first instance), the song still managed to draw rave reviews
and it has an interesting lyric video accompanying it, created by Afsoon
Shahriari who is also responsible for the original single’s artwork, as she is
for various other artwork done for Phase.
The original cover, created by Afsoon Shahriari, featured the “Amethyst
Key,” a symbol of wisdom, clarity, and spiritual insight in the context of the
song. It was partly buried on a long, expansive beach at low tide,
reminiscent of the East coast of Northern England, where the low tide
reveals miles of walkable sand stretching towards the sea. For the
remastered release, we recreated this concept using an antique skeleton
key purchased at Tynemouth market, onto which we glued an Amethyst
crystal. The key is fully uncovered for this one (or Resurfaced) with the tide
coming in, whilst the photograph was taken at Whitley Bay, if I recall
correctly. The Layout and Colour Correction was done by Aris Liapis on
both versions.
Amethyst (Resurfaced) 2024
Mark Chudnovskyi, with the exceptional skills of a miracle worker, took on
the challenging task of creating a more balanced stereo image for the song
over 10 years later. He focused on enhancing the sound without over-processing it, aiming to remain faithful to the original recordings. We feel
that the result preserves the authenticity and emotional connection to that
era, whilst it lends the song a new lease of life.
I really hope you enjoyed this one in whatever version or form,
Thanos
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