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Credits: The bass, the rhythm guitars, and the solo guitar are played by Cem. The drums are programmed by Cem. The song was composed in September 2021. This track was recorded in September 2022. It was released in December 2022 with the rest of the album.
Conception: I wanted to dedicate the first few songs to my family. I had this melody in my head, resembling the theme song of the movie I loved, The Last of the Mohicans. I thought about two rhythm guitars repeating the melody would set a good foundation to write a guitar solo on top. Since the song would be quite heavy, I thought about dedicating it to my son. I remembered the oil painting I made for him in May 2021- The Warden. Since the melody sounded like a march, I named the song “March of the Wardens”. I thought whenever he looked at the painting, he might hear this song.
Execution: The song begins with a strong drumbeat, followed by a heavy bass line. You can hear the wardens marching. As they get closer, the rhythm guitars introduce the main melody. Then, you can hear their leader shouting at the group through the solo guitar. His battle cry echoes through the ranks. He is singing about their glorious battles. Their march slowly fades away as they head to their next battle.
Mechanics: The song is written in D minor with 4/4 measures and 100 bps. It is composed of two simple chords switching between D and C (1-7). The power chords do not hint a scale, but the solo comes in D minor, thus forcing C to be C Major. Please note that at the time of this recording, I did not know even which notes I was playing. The foundation is a set of triples. The drum sets the framework, which is later embellished by the bass and the second rhythm guitar. First, the solo introduces the chorus. It then moves on to scale rundowns and arpeggio jumps. The second rhythm guitar briefly switches to a steady note to avoid any conflict with the arpeggios. Solo then moves to triplet escalations and de-escalations with a long, steady verse in the middle. A small change in snare hits highlights the march. It ends with the chorus fading away.
Here are private notes.