Rewatching the earlier, and even pilots episodes, of Ninjago are so WILD man. First of all, you notice all the things that are just plain forgotten about or pushed aside in later seasons. Kai originally being the main character, sure, we all know that one, but Cole was heavily implied to be, or become, the leader of the Ninja, that was Cole’s thing. Zane was automatically described with having a sixth seer sense, when nowadays it shows up very, very infrequently. Lloyd used to basically be the Avatar, does anyone remember that? This kid was just the Avatar.
And then you remember the silly things. Like how the skeleton army was once a threat. Like...the skeletons. We battled a giant snake, smaller snakes, robot armies, sentient video games, Garmadon a billion different times, the Overlord, Oni...and the skeletons used to be a worthy adversary. The skeletons.
Did you all remember that Cole’s earth dragon used to...breathe earth? I’ve been forced to remember. Rocky used to breathe earth as a form of attack. It was shown through brown swirly wisps in that beautiful, incredibly shitty 2011 effect. The Underworld used to be implied to be the place where all dead people went, or at least the bad ones. We never heard of a Departed Realm. Do we remember the time Cole had a scene that was a direct parody of Michael Jackson? I sure do. Genuinely the highlight simply because I don’t know how to describe the emotion I felt upon seeing it.
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So...maybe I got a bit hyper focused on all the FX Sleep Token uses in their songs. Other than one that I already pointed out (Vore) having listened to a couple of other songs, I realised they do this a lot. Hope these make sense!
Part One includes: One, Two, Jaws and TWTYW (below the cut!)
Part Two -> Sundowning and This Place Will Become Your Tomb
Part Three -> Take Me Back To Eden
+ If I've missed something, feel free to add your own thoughts!
Note- some of these are FX, others are sound mixing and music bits I wanted to mention. Any song you don't see mentioned are songs that I couldn't find anything to pull out of them.
Thread The Needle
- Throughout almost the whole song (cutting off at some points during the breakdown and chorus) there is a soft humming, that sticks to one note the entire time (which I believe is a B note? Don't quote me on that lol).
- At 2:04 to 2:30, and then reappearing at 3:46 to 4:06, there are notes that mimic a calm heartbeat. Which, considering the lyrics at this point are "We can spend the night in" and "Just look and where we're lying", it creates the image of lying with a lover, with your ear pressed against their chest. It makes the song feel personal, in my eyes. It also creates quite a distraught feeling when the heavy breakdowns follow immediately after.
When the Bough Breaks
- At about 5:40, a chord starts up that sounds like a muffled bell tolling, which, considering this song can be interpreted as how love, especially the toxic kind, can bring you pass the point of no return, with a willingness to be in pain for the relationship to continue, suggests an end to it all. A bad one.
- Just gonna slip in a quick compliment to Vessel's beautiful falsetto and head voice vocals in this one!
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Album Notes: To me, this whole album feels sleepy. Like, as a listener, I feel like I'm in that odd inbetween of awake and asleep. It's the same in Two, but much lesser so in their later albums. The songs use very minimal instruments; basically just sticking to synths and beats other than the breakdowns. And, speaking of breakdowns, they're kind of like the wake-up call to the song. You can live in blissful peace, lay in your lover's arms as you slowly fall asleep, gift compliments back and forth to eachother, but it all ends. Everything is nothing in the face of this ancient deity. I heard someone describe the Sleep Token albums as the five stages of grief, and I can definitely see that. Definitely denial.
Calcutta
- From 0:00 to 0:20, there is a very hard to hear, high pitched clinking noise (I suggest putting on headphones if you wanna hear this one!), which almost sounds like the clinking of two glasses.
- From 5:25 to the end of the song, you can hear Vessel using his head voice! I thought it was an instrument at first, but it's just him having a lil' scream. I want to say it's a muffled whistle scream, but it's not croaky enough to be one from what I can hear, so I'll just say it's some vocalisations. What I can be sure of, is that he sounds like a Banshee and I live for it.
Nazareth
- At 2:38 to 3:10, a very simple beat comes in, along with a bunch of other muffled beats that bounce around if you have headphones on, which, having spoken to my friend, she says sounds a lot like a deeper pitched gunshot (which I said she's just pulling at strings, but I'll put it in either way) being mimicked by a drum beat. Considering the lyrics around this time, it's fitting.
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Album Notes: Similar with One, Two also uses the minimal amount instruments, other than the breakdowns, but they use backing vocals a bit more in this album, especially with Nazareth and certain parts of Jericho. To me, this one feels a lot more angry. Not towards a person, perhaps, but more so towards Vessel himself (which is mainly shown in the lyrics). If we're still rolling with that five stages of grief, then I can definitely see this as anger.
Jaws (Single)
- The (what I think is distorted crash cymbal or just a cymbal) noises from 0:00 to 1:45 kind of sound like when you knash your teeth together.
- Just wanted to note the absolutely lovely lyric that is "Stand under the stained glass and, I will know it's you."
Personal Notes: One of the first songs that got me into Sleep Token, so, it holds a special place in my heart. Will never not swoon at "Show me those pretty white jaws, show me where the delicate stops".
The Way That You Were (Single)
- There is (obviously) the organ the resonates throughout the entire song, which, in some chords, mimics the typical Church Wedding song (Here Comes the Bride). By association, when people thing of organs, they think of Church, and, therefore, Weddings and funerals. To me, it makes the song a whole double edged sword (especially with the lyrics being asking someone about their inner pain, how they can fix it etc.). In the end, did this end in joy, or death?
Personal Notes: By far my favourite single. Comfort song all the way. Despite it being my favourite, it will always hold a bit of an unsettling undertone for me.
Thank you for reading through all my thoughts and feelings, whoever you are. Remember, the night belongs to you; worship <3.
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