Winds of War (PVD, AndyG, CrossEyedHenry, Zax)

[Zax]

Well… it’s been a little over a year in the making, but here it is… finally!  I’m definitely not the fastest, but hey… whatta-ya-gonna-do…  

I’m extremely pleased with the final result!!  

Special mention has to go to Andy here.  I was thrilled when he agreed to provide bass for the song, and he did so with an absolute killer bass track!  But it didn’t end there, as I thought it would.  He then surprised me with a super piano part, as well as an absolutely awesome organ part that, in my opinion, totally captured the feel and mood I had envisioned for the song!  In fact, all his contributions did!  He also suggested that we bring the military snare drum in gradually during the intro, which works great IMO.  This song would definitely not be same without Andy.  

Thank You, Andy!

Steve then came in and provided the missing link… a human drummer.  He contributed a fantastic groove with great fills and some clever hihat work.  While at first, I wasn’t too sure about the “toms” section in verse 3, after living with it for a bit, I came around to seeing that it fit perfectly!  It is now a highlight for me in the song.

Thank You, Steve!

And last, but certainly not least… Where would we be without Paul?  His thoughtful and inspiring lyrics started it all!  Outstanding write with a great sense of rhythm.

Thank You, Paul!

Winds of War

The winds of war
Blowing at the door
People huddled in fear

It all had begun
With the sound of a gun
And it grew ever near

Wherever the wind went
Like trees people bent
And some of them broke
The stench of flesh
Was so strong and fresh
Covering all like a cloak

The winds of war
Like the times before
A harbinger of death

The children cried
As their future died
Each one gasping for breath

The enemies prayed to their gods
Begging for some lightning rods
But nothing ever came
Probably never, ever will
For the winds of war rage on still

(chorus)

Credits:
Paul Dempsey: Lyrics
Andy Gupta: Bass, Piano, Organ, Arrangement
Steven Collins: Drums
Frank Zax: Music, Arrangement, Vocals, Guitars, Mix


EDIT:  New mix posted (Aug 24, 2016)

[Donna]

The kind of dark song that I love.

A really fine collaboration, gentlemen, with everyone giving of their absolute best.
Mighty fine playing and singing. I especially like the melody in the 'wherever the wind went' section.

Donna

[AndyG6508]

Hey Frank,

Good to see this one up in the finished section. As you mentioned, yes, it took a while, but the wait was worth it!

Thank you for the kind words regarding my contributions, all I had to do was to follow the strong foundations laid by Paul's lyric and your scintillating musical bed/arrangement! I am glad that I managed to contribute something nice in return for all the great tracks you have provided for my songs.

Your vocals are superb with spot on harmonies. You should sing more often. Your guitar playing as always is mesmerizing, and the highlight for me is the guitar run/lead from 2:00 onwards.

Steve's excellent drums track was the final piece in the jigsaw, great job in playing off the bass and providing great accents and fills.

Finally, Paul's lyric is top class, and very relevant to what's going on with the world today.

Thanks for inviting me on this collaboration!
Andy

[rightonthemark]

WOW!!! \m/ \m/
this is awesome.
every aspect is top notch.

[Albino]

Great song guys. Nice n dark, great performances by everyone.
You are always onto a winner with Andy on board.

Steve.

[McLovin]

This is F'king stellar guys,.. I truly love this..

Well done all around!

[CrossEyedHenry]

Great song ALL the way around !!  Great lyrics, vocal performance, and musicianship was top notch !!  Stellar mix !!  Thanks to all for including me !!  It was a blast.....so glad I found this site !!        Steve

[SmithC]

I agree with Andy....Frank should sing more often

Great song guys

Smithie

[Zax]

Thank you so much, everyone!!!   

I really appreciate you having a listen... And your kind comments are also appreciated and very encouraging!!    

Frank

[Paulo]

Great song, very nice

[PVD]

Frank/Everyone:

Very well done, creates a great balance between a rough topic and a well crafted piece of music.  Your vocals are a good match.  Tks for giving this one a chance.

Paul

[cyclone]

Wow this is amazing, great work guys.
Cyclone

[Zax]

Thanks a bunch, Paulo and cyclone!!   

Frank

[Zax]

Frank/Everyone:

Very well done, creates a great balance between a rough topic and a well crafted piece of music.  Your vocals are a good match.  Tks for giving this one a chance.

Paul

Thanks, Paul!!  As stated above, it's your great lyrics that started it all!   

Frank

[Zax]

Hey Gang!

Hope you're all well!   

I decided to remix this one as I wasn't quite happy with the original way I had mixed it (listening to it a few months later).  I was originally going for a somewhat "dirty" sound, but I think I had over soiled it.      
I think I managed to clean it up some with this new mix.  The original is still up there for now, in case you would like to compare.

Frank