For the Love of Art and the Making

The 3rd release by Finn Zierler and his Beyond Twilight is one of those CDs that will find you either completely loving it, or absolutely hating every minute of it - there can hardly be any feeling in between. As far as a concept work goes, this pushes the envelope in a major way. There are several example of crazy concept CDs out there, but very generally speaking, those usually fall into the prog rock genre - never before this has this level of concept been applied by a power metal band.

There are 38 minutes of music awaiting us on this CD, split into 43 tracks. Is it one song in 43 parts; is it 43 distinct entities; are there tracks that belong together to make up larger units? I have the distinct feeling that this CD will mean something different to almost every listener, which is precisely what I think Finn Zierler intended in the first place. It is meant to be a puzzle, and the solution is not given - you're on your own. I cannot claim that I have solved it - but every attempt is a gratifying experience.

I get the most enjoyment out of this CD by playing it in the sequence as it is presented. However, to me, there are several distinct units, each made up of some of the 43 sections, and it is important to realize when one unit has ended and another has begun. I have played this CD on shuffle, I have tried playing every other track - any one of the various possible listening methods creates a different feeling and sound.

I can't put the meaning of this work any better than it is described on the Beyond Twilight site - and I have taken the liberty of copying and pasting their description of their work to the end of this review. For my money, this is a completely successful concept puzzle.



"The concept is abstract and at times almost surreal. It deals with the larger things in life. Such as life, death, love, the very essence of being dishonest, lies, sin, the essence of truth, the essence of creating, art, theft, moral values, bdsm, freedom, sadness, joy, anger, every possible emotions humans have, human nature. But most and foreall the concept deals with the passion for composing, creating, art and the essence that is music.

The composition is unique in different ways. It is one ongoing composition - a symphony/metal opera with a concept you could call it but it is not really covering the essense of it. The composition is devided into different sections/orchestrations fully packed with Beyond Twilight details both musically and lyrically. Here's a few examples. Try counting how many times "In The Eyes Of My Soul" is introduced and how. Another "key piece" - "The Black Box Of Reverse" - note "Sleeping Beauty" is composed backwards. But not restricted to backwards as composition. The melodyline is composed and played backwards. The bassline is composed and played backwards as if it was recorded backwards. There's a quite a difference of playing composed and recorded backwards. This is a mix between both in one composition. A mathematical challenge but also deep in the essence of composing and of the very soul of music if you analyse it closer. Another key piece "Past The Magic" is compositions containing compositions in the compositions made of rhytmic laughter. If you analyse the music and lyrics you'll find many more details. The music includes several hundreds tracks and the complexity is beyond anything we've ever released. You can say many things with words but you can say so much more with music.

The concept is compounded by 43 sections and 3 hidden sections. The sections are (pieces of a puzzle). Lyrics and music both play important roles. Each section has it's own life/story and every section is a brick of the whole puzzle. Depending on in which order you listen to the pieces of the puzzle you'll get a new picture of For The Love Of Art And The Making. So you can really understand this piece of work in numerous different ways. It's up to you how you gather the puzzle.

"It is a great joy musically for us all to release this album and it pleases us personally in many ways. This album is most and foreall for our fans and for ourselves. It is not exactly something for easy-listeners - it is deep - very deep. You will have to give it quite a few spins in the cd player to get the understanding of the dephts of this unique album. Enjoy!"