Cygnus Rock Band - Raise Your Horns (Ancient Visions)

"Ancient Visions" starts right with the party song

no, I fucking hate it and I can't emphasize it enough when my favorite band's songs get such tabloid-sounding labels

I get that the vast majority of people out there are dumb as fuck and they need labels - easily memorizable ones, if possible - but since we are talking about a band with depth, culture and seriousness, it shouldn't be difficult for anyone to gain some dignity. If it still is, then I seriously recommend you to ask for professional help

so, "Ancient Visions" starts right after the overture with a song that is probably one of the easiest ones on the album, both musically and with its theme.

Mind you: the fact it's an easy song does not mean that it's not beautiful. On the contrary, it starts with an ear-caressing, wonderful folk theme. String quartet appears right at the beginning along with the traditional rock/metal instruments and rich percussions; and as soon as Ruxx starts to sing, you can hear the sweet, enchanting sound of the tiple.

Good job, my dear, beloved Colombian rockers, good job! You pretty much know how to sweep me off my feet... percussions and tiple!

And the best is yet to come! ☢

That's the truth, dear Reader. While I'm not much fond of that music genre where the tiple is originally at home, I find it absolutely, totally captivating 

you know, that kind which makes your heart race

in rock music.

At least in this rock music. I admit, I haven't heard it anywhere else yet out of its natural habitat.

Have I mentioned how I love these two men for trying out non-conformist things in their music?...

The tiple has got a worthy company in this song; not only the humane voices, but the massive, brutal, seriously radioactive rhythm section as well.

Even though in this song they don't unleash it yet to the "Chernobyl" level. But worry not, dear Listener, soon you'll have a literally radiant smile while listening to Cygnus, I can assure you!

Ruxx and Deneb are singing in duet; it's my opinion only of course, but I hear Ruxx singing on a pitch that is lower a bit than his usual singing level, and it brings out such qualities from his vocal chords he rarely lets to shine. His voice is a very sharp, rock/blues soaked tenor and he proved not just once but many times the real power hiding in his throat. Yet here in this song he is not afraid to hit the lower tones, which - again for me - is something very exciting. A real, rare gem!

Deneb's voice is also extraordinary. Being an excellent vocal opposition of Ruxx with his warm, mellow baritone that possesses all the shades of emotions 

and this way these two men complete each other perfectly and every single time I have to stop wherever I am and just stare at them with awe and admire them

yes, I do that regulary, you don't? why?

here he similarly flashes a layer of his voice he rarely shows. I can compare it to how he was singing in Cygnus's Rolling Stones cover; just while in "Paint It, Black" his voice is full of passion and hits the listener like a whiplash, here it is energetic, packed with joy and vigor.

You know, this antidepressant kind.

After the first chorus comes what swept me again off my feet (after the massive kickdrums, the gruntling bass and the voices of Ruxx and Deneb): the small bridge with tiple and rhythm section only.

What did I say just a few lines earlier?... That these men know very well how to weaken my knees and the best is yet to come. Here we are! 💓

The second stanza continues in the same way as it was in the first one: strong rhythm section, guitars, the distinctive sound of the tiple, and the voices of these two wonderful rockers wandering in rarely explored areas. 

And you find yourself craving for more.

I still don't know what their secret is that they can make the listener addicted this much. But I'll find it out! Just to get addicted even more 😁

If I'm not wrong, the solo of this song is played by a local guitarist named Lina Etcheverry. Maybe for this reason, maybe for other reasons, this isn't the strongest solo of the album. But knowing the perfectionism of everyone's favorite Viking wolves, probably they didn't even need a more complex solo for this song. 

And let's be honest, it doesn't really need any complexity. It's a song of joy, feeling good and enjoying life with people you love; the theme of the song is a real earworm, that kind which makes you smile on your dark days, walking in the street dancing, not giving a single flying fk on what others might think of you. The lyrics are also about feasting and drinking together; and themes like that don't require anything complicated. Life is complicated enough and songs like "Raise Your Horns" are the antidote of it.

The truth is, Cygnus Rock Band made an official video for this song, which you can watch by clicking or tapping here. I still deliberately put the YouTube-generated video here; I'm aware that people will disagree with me for this or some might even get mad at me, but the truth is, I never liked the original video. Obviously it's just my own opinion, so it isn't craved in stone, but for me it carries all the so-called "diseases" a low-budget clip can have. A lot of people being either way too awkward or too cringy in front of the camera (obviously people from their friends' circles, which is understandable, but too many of them seemingly feel like a lost sheep while the camera is focusing on them); out of the band members it's only Cole Vidrine, who seems to enjoy it. Additionally, I'm not sure whose idea was this brown-ish filter to apply on the entire video; okay that we are in the 2020's and filters are applied at everywhere, but for my taste in this video it reached the "too much" level. 

I admit, the reason it bothers me all is that I know Cygnus had made a row of high-quality, beautiful videoclips earlier - and later, too -, that are a joy to watch. I get, too, that - for many reasons - their possibilities were limited. But there is no explanation for the cringe some people represent, the amateur camera movements and the cheap, stereotyped scenes. Sure, I'm very glad if you like the video, because that's why it was made after all; but in my opinion this wonderful band with absolutely talented ARTISTS who show their dedication in every single thing they let out of their hands, deserve much more than that.