SOUNDTRACK: MAGIC SWORD-Legend EP (2016).
Magic Sword, the instrumental band from Boise Idaho, is back, following their epic Volume 1 with a 15 minute EP and a new angle to their story.
The three members of the band remain: The Keeper (red, keyboard, audio-visual), The Seer (blue, guitar), and The Weaver (yellow, drums).
This EP has three songs.
“Legend of the Keeper” begins slowly, like something building from primordial ooze. Steam escapes as the music builds and turns into a kind of 1980’s montage soundtrack introducing the hero. There were guitars on the first album, but they are more prominent here with a lengthy solo.
“Uprising” begins with a menacing pulse that resolves into a tense series of overlapping melodies. It continues into some laser-sounding pulses that set the tone for the uprising to come. “The Curse” has a simple keyboard melody, but underneath it, the low distorted notes sound like an animal, a demon, whispering words into your head. But a soaring guitar solo pushes through the distortion.
There is a Deluxe Edition of the EP with three remixes: “Legend Of The Keeper (F.O.O.L. Remix),” “Uprising (The Indicator Remix)” and “The Curse (The Toxic Avenger Remix).” I’m not keen on remixes so these don’t do much for me.
[READ: October 29, 2020] Magic Sword Volume 2, Chapter 1
Volume 1 set up the origins of the Magic Sword. In Volume 2, we see it come to the aid of the desperate.
The Nierhi Valley people were a peaceful tribe, who knew no threats.
But the neighboring Kihlhi tribe had recently crossed the mountain that separated them. The Kihlhi has been overtaken by a mysterious stranger who slowly sucked their humanity from them. They soon thought only of murder and defilement.
The Niehri were easily overwhelmed until a thunderous crack on the top of the mountain meant only one thing: the arrival of the Magic Sword.
The Keeper (red, keyboard, audio-visual), The Seer (blue, guitar), and The Weaver (yellow, drums) stand atop the mountain and they see the soul who tried out for the Magic Sword.
We meet Tayia, running fro her life from a (wicked cool and really creepy) Kihlhi. The Kihlhi (in a wild headpiece, with all kinds of fascinating things attached to its body) throws a bola and trips up Tayia. She is easily overpowered, but she builds up some resistance.
As the Kihlhi plans to land the final blow, it is suspended in the air. The Keeper has stopped time and presents Tayia with a gift. Although, it may not be a pure gift “for there is a price to be paid.”
For once you wield the sword you “shall become death itself.” The power of the sword has no bounds.
The Keeper explains that only those who are chosen can wield the sword. The Keeper hopes that she will be able to seal The Lord of Shadow back into his prison.
Tayia touched the sword and felt its power course through her. Then the sword became an extension of her body.
It felt like the Niktal she used when performing her tribe’s sacred dances to the land. A tool of fluid beauty and movement
She had performed the dance many times to save her starving people…now she would save them with blood.
The artwork continues to be fantastic in this story. There were no people in volume one (only robed immortals), but the anatomical artwork is very well done and the design of the Kihlhi is very cool indeed. Let’s see what Volume 2 brings.
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