In October 2009, the British band Evile, while on tour in Europe, lost bassist Mike Alexander (Mike Alexander). When the musicians performed in Sweden, he was hospitalized with a diagnosis of pulmonary embolism. The doctors failed to save him, and Mike died in the hospital. The members of the band honored the memory of their colleagues with the track In Memoriam (“In memory”), which was included in the Five Serpent Teeth album.
The history of creation and the meaning of the song In Memoriam
Lyricist Ol Drake tells about the history of the track and its main idea:
It goes without saying that there will be some element dedicated only to Mike in the new album. We were looking at a couple of ideas that were quite out of the ordinary for Evile, and when Mike passed away, those ideas started to make more and more sense. From the very beginning, In Memoriam was conceived for Mike and only for Mike. Each of us in the band has our own vision and idea of what this song means and who it is for, but it came into being out of a desire to include something special for Mike, his family and ourselves on the album.
As the song developed, it began to take on a life of its own, so to speak. It is for everyone who has lost a loved one. This song has a lot of meaning and I think some people will question whether Evile should have recorded such a song, but if our sentimentality is incomprehensible, I don’t care. As our producer Russ Russell said, “It’s a brilliant song for a brilliant guy.”
NME, 2011
Release and achievements
EVILE performed In Memoriam live for the first time on February 11 at the HMV Ritz, Manchester, in memory of Woods of Ypres frontman David Gold.
The composition was included in the album Five Serpent Teeth, which was released in autumn 2011 via Earache Records. In June 2012, In Memoriam was released as the third single from the album.
Clip In Memoriam
The video clip for In Memoriam is closely related to the main idea of the composition. Let’s hear what the members of Evile had to say about him:
Ben Carter:
We are really excited that our fans, new and old, will see our video for In Memoriam. It’s definitely a different sound and approach for us, but we hope our fans will take into account the sentimentality and the reasons behind this song. There is a lot of context in her words that everyone will face sooner or later, and we hope that in the video clip we were able to convey the whole point.
Ol Drake:
We were originally going to release a video for Cult, which we did, and then immediately start filming a video for In Memoriam, but that was easier said than done. About why the song came about has already been written a lot. When it came to creating the “correct”, “appropriate” script for the video, it was a lengthy process.
The song is very close to all of us, so we wanted to make sure that the video would complement the composition and its theme, so all four of us were happy with how the song would be presented visually … In general, the song is about the loss that we can all suffer, so we wanted to express that in the video while respecting why it was written.
Blabbermouth.net
Next, watch the music video for In Memoriam.
In Memoriam Lyrics
When the darkness takes from me
Cruel hands are scorned
How our light dims carelessly
Bringing bare minds torn
chorus:
Come with me
When the darkness comes
We must leave
When the darkness comes
Sifting through my memories
Lifting spirits once more
Ones we lose forever breathe
Through the past reborn
Chorus
Wasted seasons surround us
Take not for granted your time
Such a thing waits for no man
stone gardens stand before us
Lifelong the memoirs always rhyme
Try to live before one dies
Chorus
In Memoriam Lyrics
When darkness takes over me
despicable cruel hands
How carelessly our light dims,
Tearing open souls
Chorus:
Come with me,
When darkness comes
We must all leave
When darkness comes
I go through my memories
Lifting my spirits again
The ones we’ve lost forever breathe
Through the revived past
Chorus
We’re surrounded by wasted times
Don’t take your life for granted
Nobody waits for this
Before us stone gardens
Memories rhyme for a lifetime
Try to live before death comes
Chorus
