Tag Archives: epic

Progress on The Redemption of Erâth

I’ve been in a productive mood lately. It’s a good thing, really – it keeps me busy, allows me to work through my creativity, and stops me from feeling terribly depressed in these dark, cold winter months.

Over the holidays I really was doing a lot of music work; in particular, I started writing a requiem, which is something I’ve wanted to accomplish for a very long time. (It’s not for anyone in particular – no one has died!) And whilst its been coming along pretty well – four and half movements complete as of right now – it’s nonetheless fairly slow, tedious work as I plug in every single note, one by one, for an entire orchestra.

So I’m taking a break from that just for the moment, and in the past couple of weeks I’ve come back to The Redemption of Erâth. For those of you who don’t know or don’t remember, this blog started out originally, back in 2011, as a way of publishing chapters from my ongoing fantasy series for people to read. It soon expanded from there as I shared any random thoughts that crossed my mind, and then, of course, deteriorated into a once-in-a-blue-moon posting about how I lament not posting more frequently (see last week’s post).

The Redemption of Erâth is the story of a young man who is banished from his home after a terrible tragedy, and spends the rest of his life (so far) wandering the world, trying to save it from impending destruction at the hands of Darkness (yes, with a capital ‘D’). So far I’ve published the first three books in the series, entitled Consolation, Exile, and Ancients & Death (all available on Amazon and Apple Books if you want to support a starving artist!). Each book is really a direct continuation of the last, so do make sure you tackle them in order (very à la Lord of the Rings), and I will say they grow in scope and excitement with each new book.

I’m currently about halfway through the fourth book, which will be called The Fall of Thaeìn. In it, we see our hero struggle deeply with his own inner darkness as he races to warn the great kingdoms of men about the advances of Darkness. We’re up to a chapter now called The Siege Begins, and it promises to house one of the largest battle scenes the series has seen so far (outside of flashbacks). I’m excited!

As I push myself to complete the fourth book over the next few months, I think I’d like to try something I’ve done in the past (without any great success): I will post a chapter from The Redemption of Erâth, starting with the first book, every few days for you all to read for free! After all, my great desire is not to make millions off my writing, but simply to enrich people’s lives with stories of darkness and fantasy that might help them escape into a world they’ve never seen before. If slower-paced, dark fantasy is your thing, then stay tuned – I’m going to start this week!

If you just can’t wait to know what happens next, then you can do one of two things: if you really, really like me you can purchase these books on Amazon (both digital and print) and Apple Books (digital-only), and enjoy your very own copy; or, send me a message or comment below and I’ll happily provide you with digital copies absolutely free for you to enjoy in your own time.

It’s a great feeling to be writing again, and I truly can’t wait for the fourth book to be finished so I can share it with you all!

New Music Is Available!

So … when I’m not writing, it seems, I’m writing music. Whilst The Redemption of Erâth has been on pause for a few months, I’ve been revisiting some music I created between 2019 and 2021 – an album of symphonic metal called Despair.

Recently, I upgraded the orchestral sample libraries I use, and re-recorded all five tracks of the album using EastWest’s phenomenal samples and sound engine. Whilst the final result may not sound exactly like a live orchestra, it’s (in my mind, at least) pretty damn close.

So without further ado, I present to you: Despair, a suite of orchestral heavy metal in five parts, channeling the deepest, darkest emotions of human nature!

1: Depression

Depression is the first track from Despair, opening with quiet strings and horns, building to crescendo before the crushing heaviness of the metal band comes crashing in. Segueing to a softer, melodic verse section, things eventually take off with pounding guitars and drums, intertwining a full orchestra through rises and falls until a heavier recapitulation brings us to the outro – soft and quiet again, building into a sudden wall of orchestral noise and a thundering drum punctuation that leaves on a cliffhanger, waiting for the next track.

2: Anger

Bursting in with furious strings and brass, Anger ups the pace and energy tenfold, a full orchestra blasting away until dropping out suddenly to allow for the metal band to take over with churning, grinding riffs. Never giving in to a slower beat, the song carries forward in a kind of scherzo-and-trio format, building to a climax before a middle section that leads again with devastating riffs, before recapitulating to the opening. Finally drawing to close with every instrument at full tilt, Anger is a crushing ode to unbridled fury.

3: Fear

Opening with a rumbling, unsettled bass line, Fear is deliberately the most disjointed piece of the suite, wavering between numerous time and key signatures throughout. There are moments of melody interspersed between longer passages of chromatic atonality, but the overall mood is one of anxiety and unsettled, indescribable fearfulness.

4: Grief

Almost entirely orchestral (the band comes in only briefly at the very climax of the piece), Grief takes us through a journey of pathos and heartbreak, with sweeping strings and devastating horn lines drawing influence from the raw emotion of the greatest of classical composers – Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, and more. From the soft, distant opening to the thundering timpani that bring the song to a heaving climax of sadness, Grief will tug at your heartstrings and (hopefully) give you chills at all the rights moments.

5: Despair

The epic conclusion and title track, Despair opens with a hammering timpani roll and huge, crashing chords from the band and full orchestra – nearly a full two minutes of opening to a 20-minute track that winds through many layers of instrumentation before coming to a quiet close halfway-through, only to burst back into life with grand horns and strings sustaining the melody over churning guitar riffs. Through a varied development we finally return to a grand reprise of the opening, announced with a huge gong crash, before moving on to the closing of the song, and the album, with a revisiting of the very opening of Depression, bringing the full album to a close.

The Redemption of Erâth: Volume One – Consolation, Chapter 16

New to Erâth? Start here!

Chapter 16

On the Eve of Death

With two days yet to pass before Faevre’s trial, Brandyé found himself in the midst of much haste—so much so that he had little time to consider the consequences of the path he was now treading. He did not again meet with the Scythe’s Blood in their cellar, but rather spent his time with Elven, who led him here and there to meet with various people who were to help him prepare for the deed that awaited him.

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