His run-in with the witch has heavy consequences for the wanderer, which are described in the song ‘River of death’. As he is on his knees and captured by the witch, ghosts and undead appear around him through the trees. The toxic air keeps filling his lungs, everything seems like an hallucination. The music starts with a threatening intro.
“All I can see is darkness, I feel the heavy air,” says the wanderer. The vines around his limbs have disappeared and as he slowly tries to stand up, he can feel his own weight pulling him down. High on toxic fumes, he looks around for an escape, while the evil draws closer.
Menacing voices fill his head with doubt, quite possibly conjured by the witch who has him trapped. “Don’t run, we’ll never let you leave!” they whisper in the chorus, trying to tempt the wanderer into giving up. He tries desperately to resist, keeping on his feet and trying to make sense of his surroundings in the darkness. A thick mist is preventing him from seeing clearly and the hallucinations seem to grow stronger with each step. “Give in to darkness calling you, death wins, no matter what you do,” they continue in the second chorus, followed up by the final push: “you know there’s no escaping here!”.
A struggle follows in the bridge. Sharp snares and a dark bass line make it sound frantic and desperate, like the wanderer is doing everything to prevent himself from believing their words and giving in. A voice starts singing; this time it seems to be the voice of the spirit. It yells with urge, egging the wanderer on in the outro of the song “Find the strength to resist, run as fast as you can or you’ll go down with them!” The voice repeats her words, trying to push him towards sanity.
Will he escape the claws of death, in the trap that the witch set for him? Will he reach his destination? Find out in the next ‘behind the music’ blog!
Lyrics:
All I can see is darkness
I feel the heavy air
I try to open my eyes
But they were never closed
Don’t run, we’ll never let you leave
Give in- to darkness calling you
Death wins, no matter what you do
You’re doomed, we’re coming after you
Their claws are tearing at me
I don’t know where to run
My feet are barely moving
Dark haze is blinding me
Time to spend your eternity
You’ll burn, feed us with enеrgy
Your soul never meant to bе free
You know there’s no escaping here
Find the strength to resist
Fight the darkness calling
Run as fast as you can
Or you’ll go down with them
Read all the lyrics on Genius!