While many Autumns Eyes songs are created from an organic process inspired by instinct, there are a few tracks which have a story to tell behind their origin. Parallel Absolution is a favorite amongst fans, but it’s inception is rooted in a unique story. The year was somewhere around 2005 shortly after the release of the Autumns Eyes EP Abandoned Expression. During preproduction of the follow up album The Awakening of the Sleeping King, I randomly stumbled on who would later become the love of my life, a girl whom I have shared the past ten years with.
At first she claimed to be a fan of my music, but was not convinced it’s sound had been crafted by one person. During a chat on the phone I decided to reassure her disbelief by recording a song in real time. I put the phone down to go record a quick drum track, came back on the phone whilst I laid down bass guitar, and shortly followed up with electric guitar. To avoid embarrassment of singing over the telephone, I opted to record vocals on my own and call her back to reveal the finished product. I also made sure to include her name in the vocals to ensure absolute legitimacy.
She was excited to hear the finished product, and continued to have me play the song for her whenever she came over to visit. After the song became embedded into my musical DNA, it was only natural to translate this creation to the new album. Soon after, the short song turned into an almost ten minute sonic journey of major and minor melodies. The major chord progressions and melodies were lifted straight out of the original song, while the minor parts were added to contrast it’s overall perception and style.
The biggest shift in tone came from the lyrical content, which shifted from a few lines jotted down to impress a girl, all the way to an in depth psychological battle of sanity. Since the albums lyrics revolved around a person battling split personalities, the lyrics on what soon became the last song would focus on this central character coming to terms with his insanity.
In order to add an extra homage for my girlfriend, I decided to throw in a musical cue which she would easily recognize. If you skip to 2:42 on the song you will hear what sounds like a high pitched flute melody over the verse. This was a melody originally sang by Gizmo, the main character in her favorite movie Gremlins. After all, Ive always been a fan of adding personal touches to my songs which showcase other inspirations to the creative process besides just heavy music.
The Awakening of the Sleeping King was released in 2007, and was the first album to start the wave of support from fans who began to take notice of what Autumns Eyes was all about. To date, Parallel Absolution remains one of the most popular Autumns Eyes songs, and I owe that to the woman I love. The one person who’s own self doubt would eventually evolve into a great song, with a great story behind it.
