Connecticut genre-benders and pioneers of the atmospheric emo wave The World is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die have clearly been productive in the recent global lockdown, even during their downtime, given that someone within the fold has clocked up some serious hours in the depths of Dark Souls. However, unlike the rest of us who dove into video games as an escape, this band has used the popular title as a muse of sorts, digging deep into the game’s lore and emerging with inspiration for their third studio album, Illusory Walls.
Today, The World is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die have shared the first single from the release, ‘Invading the World of the Guilty as a Spirit of Vengeance’ and as avid fans of Dark Souls will have noticed, both album and single are a tip of the hat to the punishing and unforgiving action role-playing game.
Illusory Walls “refers to a hidden surface that seems to prevent entry, but upon inspection is nothing more than a visual illusion,” says vocalist/guitarist David F. Bello, who adds that the single title is a reference to an in-game mechanism in which Player 1 must take up arms against an Unwelcome Player 2 who enters the gaming session.
Lyrically, the track doesn’t venture too far from that concept, exploring the inherent issues mankind – Player 1 – experiences when massive corporations – Unwelcome Player 2 – enters our gaming session (life) and comes for our loot, picking at our flesh until there’s nothing of us left.
Sonically, ‘Invading the World of the Guilty as a Spirit of Vengeance’ is kaleidoscopic and vivid. Lunging forward with an abundance of texture that allows the song to fill the room, any room, no matter how small the speakers, it beams an unpredictable urgency that one can only expect from such a cautionary tale.
If the first single is anything to go by, which it absolutely is, Illusory Walls, out digitally Friday, 8th October is shaping up to be one of the more important and timely releases of the year.
