Cygnus Rock Band - The Proof of Valhalla (Death And Glory)
As I wrote in my album review, this song together with Lady Hél is the cornerstone of this album for me.
These two songs - for me - make a sort of axis for the album. Two counterpoles, two epic, monumental songs
both sung by Deneb
and both songs are about death. But while Lady Hél is picturing the actual, physical death, describing all that is connected to the phenomenon of death - the fear of the unknown, the underworld that is often the synonym of fear itself in most European traditions - as well as the embodiment of death that is here the half-dead, half-alive appearing goddess Hél, this song, "The Proof of Valhalla" is also about death - though not in the literal way.
This song is also about a sweeping, cathartic experience, something that many philosophers and thinkers have compared to death itself. Something, that just like Death, consummates the entire existence of the human being - with the right person and in the right surroundings - pushing you into
I think once, a few years ago somewhere I read a perfect description for this state; it's "no-thingness". It's an infinite state when everything else disappears. Forms, shapes, definitions, everything. Only the very substance of existence remains. And despite its name it's not empty at all - on the contrary is absolutely, overwhelmingly, amazingly full.
Those who have listened to this song with ears and heart open, they will understand these words, I'm sure.
The song starts like a whisper. The deep, sensual vibration of the strings is immediately joined by the percussions, playing around the listener's ears. They are soon followed by the guitar, and already at this point the richness and depth of the sound, the many percussions, the many stringed instruments slowly, gently but surely push you into a trance.
And then Deneb starts to sing.
His mellow voice enchants the listener, as it's playing hide and seek with the deeply vibrating music. The intensity and the emotions appearing in his singing, the way he is playing by sometimes whispering only, sometimes his voice softly circulating around the listener, while sometimes disappearing behind the strings, sometimes gently pushing them away to appear again.
This song is the most wonderful evidence about how much Deneb has improved as a singer; how rich his voice has become, how many emotions - and how many shades of an emotion - he can express; how he can use his voice its tones and intensity to express emotions; and parallel to this how much his singing and breathing techniques have improved, just to name a few.
And let me gently remind you that besides all these Deneb plays guitars on this album as well as the bass, plays numerous solos, he made the orchestration for all songs, wrote the lyrics of each song, he is behind the mixing and arranging works of the album while he is constantly improving as a musician and a singer, as you can hear here in this very song.
And for those who dare not to believe that Deneb plays solos, here is a little video:
Multitalented, multitasking superhero he is. 💗
The miracle continues in the second verse.
Deneb's voice, the strings, the entire captivating, mysterious and beautiful atmosphere of the song get the support of Ruxx's special percussions.
We can agree that this song demonstrates not only Deneb's qualities and how much he improved, but the listener
(of course only in case the listener has open and well-cleaned ears, open heart as well as open, curious and enthusiastic mind)
can be sure about the same concerning Ruxx as well. Our favorite drummer seems that he had grown at least two more arms (but possibly four) to be able to play all the drums, cymbals and percussions. And he doesn't only "play" them, he literally plays while playing e.g. the tambourine among others. He is playing with the listener, playing hide and seek with the other instruments, playing hide and seek with Deneb's singing
often you catch the humane voice and the tambourine dancing around each other
while they together slowly raise the vibration and the atmosphere of the song. The symphonic orchestra beautifully enspheres the chorus of the song, making the sound even richer and even deeper - yes, in Cygnus Rock Band's case it's always possible for the sound, the music, the orchestration, the arranging to be richer, deeper, more vibrant and more colorful as it was before, even if the "before" state was already so rich you couldn't imagine it can be enhanced... but our beloved Colombian rockers can do it and will do it!
And then comes the solo of the song.
This solo is the most beautiful, most cathartic experience of the album. Though I dare to declare, it's not only the most cathartic solo of this album, but one of the most beautiful, most complex and richest solo Cygnus Rock Band has ever made and recorded.
All the musicians are giving the best of their best. Andrés F. Bernal shows everyone - to those most of all who ever had any doubts about him - why he is one of the most talented guitarists of our times born on the South American continent. Deneb playing the other stringed instruments gives a constant, solid, very chiselled and refined base - something he is definitely the very best in. While Ruxx... Ruxx gives way to all the creativity he had to hold back in the other songs of the album. He does the impossible. He is literally playing, in every sense, you can hear and feel how much he enjoys doing all those smaller and bigger musical ornaments, how much he loves not being held back by rules and time. The guitar and the drums are chasing each other, sometimes they clash (musically speaking) in bigger and smaller, wonderful battles, these two musicians, Andrés and Ruxx are like a playful competition of two young gods, while Deneb holds the ground for them on his shoulders like a solid, reliable, wonderful rock giant.
Still the most beautiful part of this song, at least for me personally is the bridge after the solo, when even the tone is raising to divine heights. Deneb sings so powerfully, with so many emotions and this, right after the solo gives the peak of that entire catharsis the solo has brought. I think that this piece, this bridge, together with the solo, but the entire song as well is a peak, a cathartic, sweeping and eternally beautiful peak of not just the song, not just the album, but Cygnus's musical career so far as well.
I would like to talk a bit about the lyrics as well
Hereby I would like to state that if for any of you out there this song is just a "sexy song" or if you have the audacity to have this song as a background noise for your personal oestrus/rutting, then I would like to suggest you to start a new life and be a lamp-post or a coffee machine instead. You know, it means that this humane life form is really not for you, but still in these ways you can be somewhat useful. This song, all the energy, creativity, (literal) passion, time and love that was invested into it by our Viking chieftains deserve much much more than your own little lack of refinement.
Because I know that there are many of you out there who think this way 😒
though I'm convinced that these are those lyrics that should not and must not be talked much about. These lyrics should be felt, experienced and absorbed, again and again, because all words wasted on it will never be adequate to describe its delicacy, beauty and subtlety. For some it may be labeled as "erotic poetry", though for me personally even this label is trivial and ordinary.
Sure, it's not unusual from Cygnus Rock Band to play with more sensual tones in their songs (think of "Pagan Orgy", "Winter's Night" or "Vixen's Vik")
and that's why we love them amongst others, because despite the sometimes tongue-in-cheek song themes they consistently do this in the most tasteful and enjoyable way, without even just touching vulgarity
but in my opinion in this song is definitely the perfection after all their previous songs about passion and lust. For me personally this is one of the songs that mean the peak of Cygnus Rock Band's career at this very moment. The other song is Lady Hél. And needless to say, I'm looking forward to upcoming peaks!
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