The Bells Of Terror

Not the fire alarm or recess bell...HMS Terror was one of the two 1845 lost Franklin expedition ships which disappeared with all hands attempting to find the North West Passage. All the searches and many of the theories of what happened to the men and ships were put to rest in 2014 & 2016 when the sunken ships were found, remarkably well preserved, under the sea ice.The ships bell of HMS Erebus is in a Canadian museum- the bell of Terror still on the ship.
ScottC recorded three guitar tracks for this.
Your thoughts on any aspect of our Shipwreck Rock are most welcome!

Style is _RAININ+.STY (Raining Americana Flk MultiStyle)

RealTracks : 387 Bass, Metal ev
RealTracks in style: 2780:Guitar, Acoustic, Rhythm Songwriter8thsBrent Ev 085
RealTracks in style: 3027:Vocal Oohs, Background Pop3-part Ev 085
RealTracks in style: 3027:Vocal Oohs, Background Pop3-part Ev 085
RealDrums in style: AmericanaRoots16th^01-a:Toms, b:Snare
RT805Guitar Electric DrivingCountryBallad
RT1856Cello BackgroundPop
Loops Bodhran,Bell



The Bells of Terror

under a patient sea
bright fish feed on failure
silence mans the winch
waves thrum cables
ice ghosts are real
will you believe the fables
see the captain at his table

kelp hands hold the helm
coral city cabins
wine bottle spins slowly
a note for the future to find
did they raise a parting glass
to boyhood`s grand design
never lower the banner never resigned

colours flying when she went down
every hour they sound
the bells of Terror

loaded musket on the rail
facing the night
dark dreams sail
through centuries of ice

colours flying when she went down
every hour they sound
the bells of Terror

© Robert Cordrey Aug.2018

What a fantastic lyric. The progression, backing and production made me shiver. It has a feel between Ghost Riders and the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald...both high praise from my point of view. Scott's guitar fit this haunting absolutely beautifully. Even the title is emotional.

I adored everything about this...except. Your phrasing of "coral city cabins wine bottle spins slowly" feels off to me, and kinda ruined it for a while.

Great title!

First thought is... a tad long of an intro. But only by a few seconds. For a moment I wondered if it were an instrumental, then the vocals began. I'm probably just impatient.

Evocative lyrics, the arrangement fits nicely. But the vocals are a bit low in register, which makes them hard to make in some places.

I like the instrumentation - it's not too busy, but still does interesting things.

Spooky harmony. Love the bell tolling at the end.

All in all, I enjoyed it a lot. The only complaint is that the vocals don't stand out in the mix, so they're a bit hard to make out.

Robert / Scott

Very evocative music. Some excellent guitar, vocals and an interesting mix of sounds. Liked the lyric (recently saw the British television series called "The Terror" which was a fictional account(based on the incident) of this voyage). Bells were a nice touch at the end.
Thoroughly enjoyable.

Peter

Love it!

I think this has to be your best collaboration yet.

Great use of dynamics! Love the way the song builds during the second verse.
Use of the Bodhran was inspired, worked really well, and the bells end things off nicely.

Vocals, and the way you are processing them, sounds great to these ears, I love the way you handled the chorus especially, very effective. And of course the lyrics are always a treat.

Scott has his usual great tone and smooth, melodic lines.

All in all a great listen (listened twice actually)

Well done!

This too me sounds like the theme tune to some epic episodes of …Game of thrones sort of thing.
It worked well and the haunting intimidating style leads me to the comment as above.


good sounding guitars and vocals giving it this feel.

Thanks

Robert & Scott...

A big WOW on this one.

Robert - you have really kicked it a notch (several really) on this.

"under a patient sea
bright fish feed on failure
silence mans the winch
waves thrum cables
ice ghosts are real
will you believe the fables
see the captain at his table"

A super write.

A super production! Each element adds perfectly - at the right time. The loops help give this a "fresh, new" sound. And a nice mix. Nice vocal.

Scoot - your guitar parts are really nice - taking this up one more notch.

Well done. Your best, I think...

fj

Shivers are what we were aiming for, so thanks for that!
Scott`s solo here gives me goosebumps.
I went back and forth with that section of lyric. I have a habit of leaving unnescessary words in- in this case I think you`re correct, the meaning gets a bit lost by paring the original
line... I`m going to fix it.

Robert



Hmm.. I thought the intro a bit short ( but then I love songs like Mercy Street with looong intros!).
Vocals are in a low key on purpose- to me it adds something to the doomy feeling; they`re also slightly lower in the mix than I`d do on a folk tune.
I`ll admit the whole works better on headphones than monitors.
Thanks for your thoughtful comments.

Robert

very interesting lyrics and overall sound

you guys just keep turning out great songs

should have about an albums worth by now?

nice guitars Scott

nice kind of hypnotic song

enjoyed,

Kenny

Hi Robert. There's nothing wrong with those lines. Sure, they are a bit shorter, but evocative. I'd never suggest someone to re-write. I just think you can find a more rhythmically natural way to sing them. That may take a small re-write, but I don't think it would.

It's a well constructed ballad with a great narrative.
The 1st percussion note seems to come in oddly or conflict with the vocal a bit.
I agree with Tangmo about lines in that verse. The read a little oddly and that's reinforced by the change in meter of the delivery.
Otherwise it's fabulous.

Hello, Robert

I cannot say which genre this song belongs to, but it is a cool song with the grand story.
I agree with rayc.
It's a well constructed ballad with a great narrative.
The 8-beat bass played throughout the song and the percussion produce something scaring mood. And Scott's guitar excites more scare.
And finally the bell of terror sounds.
It is a wonderful direction.
Enjoyed my listen a lot.

Best regards.

Shigeki Adachi

Robert, your gift for lyric writing and melody is a potent combination! This song has such a haunting feel to it and is just a excellent composition! You really put together a nice piece of music here and Scott’s contribution really is a big plus on this! Thanks, Torrey

I really enjoyed being a part of this project with Robert. Very cool subject matter. One of Roberts best lyrics.

I used my PRS for this song to get the different sounds for the different tracks. The amp is my Ceriatone Cwreck.

What a unique and creative tune A really enticing title, and really interest subject matter for a song. Some of the lyrics here are really otherworldly, and your delivery of them on the tune is incredible too. Not sure what compelled you to write this one, but I'm glad you did! Crazy where inspiration can come from.

Great work and thanks for sharing!

"kelp hands hold the helm
coral city cabins
wine bottle spins slowly
a note for the future to find
did they raise a parting glass
to boyhood`s grand design
never lower the banner never resigned"

We just kept reading the lyric over and over. "Kelp hands hold the helm" is stunningly rich imagery.

We love history and we love what you do with it in songs.

Take that creative write, add the perfect vocal for it and the wonderful guitar and you have one of the top collabs posted here.

You two are quite the team. Y'all keep pushing that bar on up.

Kudos!

J&B

Hi, Robert and Scott !:))

FANTASTIC ! Hard to find
any other word for this
remarkable tune and production
(co-op) !!!

Masterpiece is another word
that comes to mind between
the ringing bells !!!!

Cheers
Dani

Great story...great "mood" piece!! Some wonderfully descriptive lyrics, and Scott's guitar has the perfect emotion! Another gem from a wonderful team!! Take care. Greg

This sounds great guys.

Really warm mix, and an excellent production.

Very cool lyrics and a great overall vibe. Really enjoyed it.

Peter,
Thank you!
Bells were held back `til the end, but obligatory I think.
I saw that series too...it played a bit too loose with the history for my taste, but great acting and sets.

Robert



Dave,
It`s encouraging to hear those positives from you- particularly on the dynamics. Glad you came back for more!

Robert



I can relate to that - GOT can use it if they let me have a bit part like Ed Sheeran!
Thanks for your listen.

Thanks everyone for the awesome comments. Glad you liked the song..

Great lyrics. Haunting and a creative way to tell the story.


The production and instrument choices spot on.

And Scott's guitar fit in perfectly with the tone and mood.

Much enjoyed!

Very nice Robert. Isn't there a Netflix series based on those events?
Thanks for posting.

Mike B.

Floyd,
I appreciate all those positives - especially good to hear we are getting the production levels up to speed. The bar just keeps getting raised on the songs I`m listening to around here!

Robert



I guess that`s true, Kenny - surprising how that one message to Scott a couple of years back has turned into one of my main motivations for keeping going with songwriting. But who has time to remix everything for a cd?
Thanks for your listen and comments.

Robert



"Its all good" as my neighbour says.Your comment kind of echoed a question I had about the way that line sounded so it just nudged me to revisit the two words I`d cut.I like it better now.

Cheers,
Robert

Robert and Scott,

You've really reached new heights with this creation. The lyrics, melody, arrangement... everything... all work together so well to create a terrific journey in a sombre mood. At the end of the song, I just sat here reflecting on the story you'd both just told me in words and music.

Wonderful work.

All the best,
Noel

Thank you!
See my response above on those lyrics.
I think you`re referring to the Bodhran not the drum RT- there are two loops and when they hit the same beat together its quite a thump.



Shigeki,

I appreciate you highlighting the bass & percussion tracks - they help transform the song from folk to folkrock.
I`m glad you enjoyed this.

Robert




Thank you very much,Torrey!




Deryk,
I`ve been a history buff since high school and for some reason ( I hate the cold!) I`m particularly keen on polar exploration stories.
I thought that title would prove attention grabbing!
Thank you for all those positives.

Robert

J&B,

I live near beaches with miles of that kelp. Images of the wreck are probably where that line came from, though.
My historical songs are usually slim on narrative ( still remember how dull I found the list-of-events essays I wrote as a history major!)... there has to be some emotion in the telling.
I`m happy you enjoyed our time travel music.Thank you for all those generous comments.

Robert

Hi Dani,
That`s very kind, thank you!

Robert



Greg,
The "mood" was the aim here, so I`m glad it came through.
Thanks for your comments.

Robert




Good to have your thumbs up,David!

Robert

Wow, this is really great and will fit lots of adventure movies like a glove.
We are impressed in particular by the transition from verse to chorus.
Scott's guitar work is top notch.

You guys never cease to amaze us.

Rob and Anne-Marie

Thank you for your listen and approval!




Mike,

Yes, PeterF mentioned that - its called The Terror- gets into some ghoulish netherworld creatures.
Glad you liked our song.

Robert




Noel,
Getting the parts to make a cohesive whole is a challenge on these collaborations. Scott always makes it easier with his intuitive playing.
Its gratifying to hear your positive comments on our efforts!

Robert

Robert / Scott,

What an awesome song! It's a great story and a very cool delivery vocally and with Scott's incredible guitar support.

This is so well done...

Bob

Thanks for that, Rob & Anne-Marie!



Bob,

It`s a story for the ages retold in books over and over, but all the songs seem to have too many facts and not enough emotion for my taste.
I`m glad you enjoyed our efforts.

Robert