The haunting synth intro is a staple of Extreme metal, a short track consisting of some background ambience and a few simple melodies that sets the tone for what’s to come. Oftentimes these are disconnected from the rest of the music and feel like amateurish attempts at capturing the chilling sensations from the soundtracks of classic horror films. “Eve of the Apocalypse” takes this premise and incorporates directly within the framework of the Death metal song. The synth melody is a slower and stripped down version of the song’s main riff.
Harmonically there is nothing particularly special going on within the riff. A power chord is simply broken down into single notes and takes a brief detour into metal’s most potent tool: the tritone that adds the necessary roughness before returning to stability. This creates slight unease and just enough intrigue for the second part to really shine through. In the video complement, chords were interpreted to highlight the shift in tension that occurs within the riff. A basic progression that most listeners would find completely standard but the third chord in the sequence completes the emotional content
The second part of the riff briefly flirts with a traditionally happy colouring that doesn’t add joy but forms a twisted melody that would be too angular outside the realm of metal but perfectly conveys the ferocious anger that this album is based upon. The second part ends unresolved and needs to return to the riff’s first note to achieve completion thus making repetitions cathartic and highly expressive of the violence being conveyed. This time in the video complement, the traditional interpretation of what the chords should be doesn’t work but the emotions are still clearly expressed. The riff’s first chord was added at the end to highlight how the final note directly leads to it.
“Eve of the Apocalypse” is a great example of repurposing a simple introduction in a powerful riff. While the rhythmic variations of this riff are and integral aspect of its quality it’s the combination of setup and release that make it so powerful. The way it sets itself up to be repeated and it’s unrepentant vitriol guarantee that this is a simple riff that will not be forgotten anytime soon.
