Greetings, fellow travelers.

Im very excited to share my first ever AIM entry for 2023! This was done in a span of a week, and i have never even dared to think about putting together an artistic combination like this in that period of time, since most of my projects took multiple weeks to make, if not months. Needless to say, im very pleased, like always.

The artwork of my choice called "Summer Storm" was crafted by the magnificant, and spiritual landscape-maker himself, @artoast8p. I saw this particular painting on the frontpage one day, and I couldnt have asked for a better sign by the Spirit. You should check out his artisanship!

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  Summer Storm

  by artoast8p

  Illustration

  726 Views

  (Everyone)

I originally didnt intend to put this track under the Melancholy Hill name, but seeing how it turned out, and how it resembled the style and feel of my original works, i have decided to give it a single-like release under the MH badge.

So, in typical Melancholy Hill fashion, this is the part where I break down the song, give an analysis, and share the technical, artistic, and spiritual details and processes that went into the song.

The beginning is calm, and relaxing. The smooth guitar tone, third harmonies, wind and bird chirping puts us in a meditative state, and it makes us feel at ease with nature, and everything else.

Then gradually, the thunders roar like Zeus's manifested anger, dark clouds surround the sky, and we slowly wake up to the field that is now our personal warzone. The atmosphere that was once full of light and color, was infected with darkness and grayness.

Like the sky, the guitar starts to roar as well. Gradual build up, until we get to the first breakdown.

From that point on, the aggresive melodies and rhythms, show us glimpses of anger, pain, and the willpower that drives us forward to fight through this storm, at all costs.

Then all of a sudden, the bridge appears. Rain starts falling, like the tears from the eyes that begs to see the light of day again. The piano also adds a melancholic touch, a trademark one at that. We are blinded away by the clouds, the toxic poison of our unjustified hatred against the things that we cannot control, and we slowly feel withering away. But the second build up comes, and we realize that the only way to defeat hatred, is passion. Love and faith in ourselves, the people surrounding us, and the Spirit for guiding our way to a higher level of being.

The second breakdown comes, along with a kickass solo section. The guitar here sings like the soul that wants to break out the cage of the storm, and liberate itself to achieve the passion that it looks for. The main riff is also a bit more melodic and uplifting here, to signify the positive mindset that we have to have in order to climb the mountain, overcome obstacles, and cast the sun up in our world, that gets rid of the clouds once and for all.

And then, it ends. The clouds divide, the sun opens,but the rain here are not sad tears. They are tears of relief, pride, and love, as our reward for lasting in the face of horror, without running away. We come full circle with the closing riff, which is a bit more melancholic and different in tone character, meaning that while we endured the misery, we will never be the same again, as the experience is now a part of ourselves. The song ends. Everything goes on, until another hurdle presents itself, that we must conquer.

Summer Storm is a reference here. The deepest points in our lives can (and often do) come at our highest, our peeks, our tops. Change is a process that many people underestimate: within it, there is always a progress, whether its up or downhill. A path that's never constant, and most importantly, never stops. Every pain, every misery, every horror that a soul can endure, leads to something greater than all negativity combined in the universe.

And this is why, we must keep climbing.

Thank you everyone so much for being here with me! I dont know how will my first attempt at AIM will go, but I do hope that you will appreciate this nostalgic piece, that throws me back to the first days of my artistic journey. I had fun making this, and im very happy to craft music again that has a deeper message embedded within, like in the old days.

Keep climbing, never give up, and ill see you at the top!