Gryflet’s Endless Tempest

Nuno Tavares, the mastermind behind Gryflet is not a man of many words… but his music and song titles say it all. Many times, especially with vocals and lyrics, everyone in the band has an opinion. What is the song about? Or who should the vocals sound like? These are all good questions, but in Nuno’s case, he seemingly leaves it all up to the singer.

I say ‘seemingly’ because I think he secretly knows ;-} All his songs are narrative riffs that take us through a journey. Antithetical to heavy rock, there’s no guitar solos, because if you create a singular hero within the song, then you take the power away from not only the other band members but also away from the audience. In Nuno’s soundscapes, a door is opened and we are invited to enter and be a part of it.

Take for instance this song, Endless Tempest: Without directly telling us, the title and riffs converge into an apocalyptic wall of guitars. Something is not right… the ‘end is near.’

My own lyrical interpretation was to take the concept of ‘Tempest’ and use it to address climate-change deniers fueled by the economically driven lies of corporations and lobbyists. Written in 2015, before the devastating wake of hurricanes Florence and Maria, the song (like many of Gryflet’s tracks) has a premonitory bend to it.

From the mournful ‘evacuation-siren’ drone guitar in the beginning to the sudden flood of pounding drums and riffs, the song has many sonic and lyrical references pointing toward an apocalyptic future.  For instance, in the first line, I mention the poisonous hue of ‘Orange…’ Even as the current U.S. president had just announced his candidacy when I wrote these words, somehow, enveloped in Nuno’s soundscape, I saw a dark vision of him as the future leader… and now here we are.

‘Here we are’ doesn’t have to be ‘here we will go.’ Like all apocalyptic dreams, Endless Tempest is both a vision of the future and a warning for the present. Some things came true, but as I injecte into the lyrics: ‘yes, I’m to blame…’ Against the heavy momentum of global warming, we are the ones that ultimately must take responsibility…