After the last couple of Lo-Fi days, I had both the energy and desire to go back to something more cinematic and orchestral. After some positive feedback from other participants on similar tracks1Such as Black Obelisk, The Sentinel, The Gathering, and Convocation earlier in the month, I was starting to wonder if maybe I had the beginnings of another thematically linked set of pieces that might be worth putting together as an album, a demo reel, interesting videos, etc.
- Demonstration of Will Ray Toler 3:49
This isn’t a complex piece, but it’s good for underscore. I don’t remember if the drums came first or the opening pad playing fifths did, but I suspect one followed the other in fairly rapid succession. Interestingly, I can definitely hear that I’m strongly influenced by the soundtrack of a now-ancient videogame on the Nintendo 64 called Turok Dinosaur Hunter.
This game was a first-person shooter type game and featured a lot of synths playing 5ths and 4ths, along with driving, tribal drums. My piece is a lot more somber and forboding than action-driven, but I can definitely tell that Turok is at least one of its spiritual predecessors, as is the Blade Runner soundtrack, specifically the scene where Roy kills Eldon. I wasn’t consciously thinking of either of these while writing, but after a bit of distance, the influence is unmistakable to me.
Here’s the full Turok soundtrack on YouTube. Just click around randomly for a bit and you’ll hear what I’m talking about.
I’m similarly not sure when the title appeared to me. I suspect it showed up around the time I was writing the bit that starts around 1:50. Part of the challenge of writing for film or narrative is finding the right emotion to match the content. This piece is relentless. The drums never stop, they only get more involved. The bass is a slow, ominous drone.
I personally see this as being perfect for a juxtoposition against frenetic battle images or destruction on a massive scale; think of the Death Star moving into position to destroy Alderaan. In fact, that sequence is a perfect encapsulation of the title. Demonstrating capability or force is one thing. Demonstrating that you have the will to use it to devastating effect is something else entirely. As horrific as they were, the two nuclear weapons used against Japan in World War II were more about indicating that the United States was prepared to use a level of force never before seen to conclude the war.
Ultimately, the technology of destruction is meaningless without the will to utilize it. There’s an old saying that power used is power lost, and that is true. The threat of use-of-power is what most often effects change, so the unfired weapon is often the most effective one as long as the other party fears it. But if you don’t believe the person is willing to use it, that weapon is powerless against you.
And of course, all of this is only one possible interpretation of this piece. It could just as easily be the underscore for someone making a difficult decision, climbing a mountain, or facing a demon. I think there may be more to explore in this piece in the future, but that would depend largely on what its end purpose is.
Colophon
Instruments & Samples
Plasmonic, Novum, GForce OB-E, Omnisphere, Damage 2
Effects, Mixing, & Mastering
FabFilter, Gullfoss
Notes
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