i think i totally didnt give sound horizon the justice they deserved.
supressing my splitting headache, and my serious lack and need of sleep, i decided to further my research on them
i came to realise that an album contains multiple stories with different themes that create one long story. each song in the album sing a certain part of the story.
then, i chanced upon the live tour called "Triumph of Territorial Expansion III" this whole play tells of a tale, the tale of Layla.
If you could have the patience as i did to follow the story, i think its really enjoyable.
anyway, i shall move on to plot symnopsis.
Layla is a girl who has parents of different beliefs. one's a christian, the other's a muslim. In the story, there's a Jihad (Holy War) in Iberia between the Christians and Muslims. Her parents are caught in the strife and she felt bitter toward the world, but couldn’t side with either parties. When she ran away from home, she was mortally wounded by a stray arrow from war and falls into the dungeon where she met the demon of flame Shaytan, who was imprisoned for as long as eternity. She releases him, and in exchange, Shaytan promises to follow Layla forever and grants her immortality.
more to that.. if you go read up.
anyway, i really like the execution of the story. it feels like im watching a play rather than a concert.. truth is the lines are so blurred.
the first video is the introduction of the cast of Sound horizon involved in the play.
and then here's when all the storytelling begins.
from album 1st Story Maxi CD [Seisen no Iberia], this song's called "Arasoi no Keifu"
the sage, and the 3 sisters are but immortal observers of eternal conflict, and they will sing as observers for the next many pieces.
the song briefly introduces Layla and her pains, as well as her stumbling into the demon Shaytan's cave, where she gives up herself as a human and takes up immortality.
"cruel poison called eternity" is my favourite sentence here, because there's alot to ponder for that one sentence.
the next song is the second song from the same album, titled "Ishidatami no Akaki Akuma"
and the story continues into the second song~ where Shaytan asks her repeatdely whether she wishes to lament about the plight or take up his oath. besides immortality, he lends her his power of destruction by being at her side and destroying anything in her path.
"Shinryaku Suru Mono Sareru Mono", third song of the album. the next few will be taken from other albums, and joins the story qite seamlessly.
basically, Layla joins hands with Shaytan and declares war on humanity.
wont try to spoil the story much further, but if u watch all the way down i think it was presented that this move draws humanity together to fight off the demon's forces.
i found the dialogue in between to the next song to be kinda lame tho xP it kills the atmosphere somewhat >.<
shall not introduce any further, but i hope that i have brought a better picture of the works that sound horizon produces.
oh, must add that i see this simply as a piece of artwork, and not as some form of proliferation of messages and such.
Overall, i enjoyed the performances. There was elaborate preparation, to the acting, the costumes and setup, the songs were beautifully crafted, as is the lyrics. vocals were awesome and powerful~ cant ask for more now, could i?
AND the music wasnt jamming metal. altho im okay with that if it suits. but i like operas and sopranos too, so i was glad with that.
Thats bout it for now. i just lost a few hours of precious sleep, but for music and art, guess its worth it
PS: I was soo wanting to catch a play this year. i guess my dreams can be somewhat fufilled.
