We read the lyrics for Glacier Eater‘s new album Tempest before listening to any of the music. They are well worth reading, both because they were crafted with literary flair and also because they tell a story that builds anticipation for the music.

That gripping narrative unfolds across the songs, each of which is like a chapter in a tragic saga. Through two contentious narrators, they relate the attempt of a warrior captain to lead his forces away from the life of killing they knew and to sail toward a foreign shore “at the edge of the world” where they might find peace, “a chance to make it right”.

Some in the company don’t share the captain’s optimism, and sure enough, it turns out they have sailed “into a hole of death”. Against the backdrop of a volcanic eruption they are assaulted by other warriors on the shore, whom they slaughter until forced to retreat and set sail again, only to be assaulted in a different way by the tempest for which the album is named, as if the gods themselves are exacting “a righteous vengeance” for all the killing they have done.

But even then, after the storm and the drowning of many, the protagonists’ turmoil hasn’t ended, because another ship, a hostile one, is rapidly gaining on them and cannons blaze, “another fight on our hands”. Continue reading »