2024-Oct-05 - Zero
This week's randomly selected song is Zero, song #12 from disc #1 of my latest 44-track/3-CD collection It Was All Just a Dream.
Zero made its first appearance on my unreleased 1998 album Kosmos. Nearly 20 years later it would be part of my 2016 debut release Legacy. The final version of Zero features new drums, new production, and the addition of melodic guitar elements in the chorus and outro of the song.
If you recall back to my August 24th song spotlight for The Descent, in my undergraduate college days, I worked on a student film project. The Descent was written to be a part of that project's soundtrack, and my song Zero has the same origin. In fact it takes its name from the film's title Phase Zero.
I wrote The Descent first, and the project team was happy with it, but they also wanted something a bit more late-80s/early-90s industrial sounding. So what started out as a challenge: "Hey Stark, I bet you can't come up with an industrial sounding song for the project by tomorrow", turned into Zero.
I had been listening to Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, and Front Line Assembly at the time, so I distilled the elements that I felt that these artists had in common, combined with the inspiration from the dark storyline from the film's screenplay. And I delivered. On time!
Harmonically, the song features a lot of dissonant intervals and chord progressions that would likely never be seen outside of metal or industrial music. Texturally, I chose harsh and brash synthesizer tones and made heavy use of clanging percussive sounds.
Prior to It Was All Just a Dream, the song Zero did not have ANY melodic components. This worked fine for a soundtrack piece because it was intended to be in the background and not draw too much attention to itself. But for a standalone song, I always felt like it was missing something important, and that lack of melody made the song less desirable to perform.
Writing anything melodic over such odd chords proved to be very challenging. I really didn't want to "soften" the impact of the song by bolting on a safe, consonant, melodic top line, but it needed something. This is why I chose to add the arpeggio patterns over the choruses -- it was a melodic element but still showcased the tension of the odd chords and harsh sounds.
But I also did come up with a surprisingly melodic theme that worked with these chords, so I chose to end the song with this motif. It felt like a fitting resolution to the built up tension, while still riding atop a bed of dissonance and unconventional harmony.
Guitars & Amps
For the very metal-influenced chugging rhythm guitar parts, I used a combination of my Solar S2.6 and TigerLuv Kraken prototype. For all of the lead parts, I relied on my trusty Sully US Custom 625. All of the guitar parts were played through my Mesa Boogie Mark V:25 using the IIC+ voice.
 Solar Guitars S2.6FBL (2020) |
 TigerLuv Kraken Prototype (2021) |
 Sully Guitars US Custom 625 (2022) |
You can listen to this song as well as the entire 44 song collection right here on the website! If you love what you hear and want to support the music I make, please consider purchasing this album on CD or digital download. I will gladly personalize and autograph your copy.
https://chrisstark.com/it-was-all-just-a-dream
Keep an eye out for next Saturday's song spotlight, and as always, thank you sincerely for all of your support!
Love, Aloha, and Rock!
❤️😎🎸