Apocryphon

Album: Apocryphon (2012)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Austin, Texas heavy metal outfit, The Sword, close their fourth album with its title track. Speaking with Spin magazine, guitarist Kyle Shutt explained that rather than having a specific concept it is "more of a metaphorical reflection of everything we've gone through up until this point."
  • The album and song title came from frontman John D. Cronise's research into Gnosticism and early Christianity. Shutt explained to Spin magazine that it is a word meaning "secret writings or secret teachings about things that maybe shouldn't be known. We're using metaphors to mask what we're really going through."
  • This song was an instrumental for most of its life, despite the fact Cronise had always intended it to have a vocal. He explained to Artist Direct: "I'd written the lyrics for all the other songs, and I was spent in a way. I was out of ideas. Then, it was suggested, 'Well, we always have an instrumental on our records. All of the previous albums have one. Maybe we should leave this as an instrumental.' We did that for a while. In the back of my mind, I always had this nagging voice that it wasn't supposed to be that way, and it really needed lyrics. I actually wrote the lyrics the night before the vocals were recorded. Usually, everything is written well ahead of time, and it's rehearsed. Hopefully, it's even played live a couple of times. Strangely, that one came right at the eleventh hour."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Lip-Synch Rebels

Lip-Synch RebelsSong Writing

What happens when Kurt Cobain, Iron Maiden and Johnny Lydon are told to lip-synch? Some hilarious "performances."

Penny Ford of Snap!

Penny Ford of Snap!Songwriter Interviews

The original voice of Snap! this story is filled with angry drag queens, video impersonators and Chaka Khan.

Crystal Waters

Crystal WatersSongwriter Interviews

Waters tells the "Gypsy Woman" story, shares some of her songwriting insights, and explains how Dennis Rodman ended up on one of her songs.

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And Hell

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And HellSongwriter Interviews

Guitarist Tony Iommi on the "Iron Man" riff, the definitive Black Sabbath song, and how Ozzy and Dio compared as songwriters.

Mick Jones of Foreigner

Mick Jones of ForeignerSongwriter Interviews

Foreigner's songwriter/guitarist tells the stories behind the songs "Juke Box Hero," "I Want To Know What Love Is," and many more.

Women Who Rock

Women Who RockSong Writing

Evelyn McDonnell, editor of the book Women Who Rock, on why the Supremes are just as important as Bob Dylan.