Everdune - The Aces Strike Back

by Karl Magi

Overall Album Impressions

Everdune’s (a project of Lightracer) The Aces Strike Back is an explosive, thrilling science fiction tale told through sweeping spacesynth soundscapes. Everdune imbues his music with planetary vistas, dramatic action and auditory storytelling, carrying his audience away on a grand adventure through space and across the surface of a far away planet. The added narrative segments enhance the music, transporting me to this realm of scintillating excitement and an engaging storyline.

One of the first elements that attracts me to The Aces Strike Back is the way that Everdune employs a broad range of synthesizers to help paint the imagery that defines this album. His textural and tonal palette allows him to create cinematic visions of a desolate but beautiful planet and the action that unfolds across the breadth of his story. The album is filled with moments of intense beauty, heart-pounding action and vast landscapes over which we travel with him. The way he weaves together different sounds is deeply pleasing and engaging.

Another quality that draws me into The Aces Strike Back is the narrative that exists in the vocals and spoken word parts. The different fragments of the story unfold across the tracks as the vocal elements outline the story without overshadowing the music. Each segment of vocal performance allows Everdune to elucidate and expand on the tale of galactic battles and a triumphant fight. I find it enjoyable to be given small glimpses of the world being drawn for me through the music.

I am also enamoured with the way Everdune pulls his listeners along with him. The music is bursting with detail and melodic beauty as it reveals ancient conflicts, exotic alien landscapes and a story that spans galaxies and strange worlds. The Aces Strike Back is an album that took hold of me and wouldn't let go, carrying me along as we flew across the stars and charged our enemies in a struggle for victory.

One final factor I'd like to mention is the quality of the guitar work on the album. Everdune uses the guitar to intensify and expand on the musical journey he carries us on. The way the guitar drives home the musical and melodic ideas makes it an integral part of this album's success.

My Favourite Tracks Analyzed

“The Aces Strike Back” begins with ferocious winds whipping across a desolate landscape. The sound of running feet rushes in as thunder cracks and a richly resonant synth carries a slightly haunting melody while the drums begin to throb and a countdown starts. The drums and bass leap into an aggressively driving pulse as bells ring and sharp noises slash through the track.

A brightly leaping synth carries an inspirational and adventurous melody that transitions to a lushly calling guitar, imbuing the music with nobility and a sense of victory. The compelling melody, full of encouraging energy, charges forward. A spoken word segment echoes, telling the first part of the tale, while the drums and bass rocket forward and a brassy synth flashes with exciting light.

The guitar unfolds again, singing out with majestic liveliness as the drums and bass pulsate, evoking the sensation of embarking on an edge-of-your-seat adventure. The track flows into a segment where a slicing pulse underlies a smoothly drifting synth. A snare drum rattles, and kettle drums boom, adding a martial air as the countdown resumes.

The synth, tinged with a minor key, calls out and the melody grows more dramatic and slightly darker while the relentless low end charges forward. The main melody exudes brilliant light as the track crescendos and comes to an end.

The narrator describes the Aces striking back in a "sci-fi attack" declaring that for these galactic warriors, there's no turning back. She proclaims "Through supernovas we soar on a mission to restore the balance in the universe." She urges everyone to hear the "cosmic roar!"

Pipe organ-like sounds, cosmic echoes and a steadily throbbing drum and bass pulse start “Riders of the Void”. Worshipful sounds float outward as the low end punches hard, and a melody with a bouncy, angular quality sings out in a dynamic line. Flashing, keyboard-like synth dances with the melody, bursting with a feeling of questing and vibrant life above the steadily throbbing drums and bass.

The melody charges forward, loping across vast distances as trumpeting notes with a cutting edge sing above the battering drums. The drums and bass undulate and the vocals growl in a chant as the main melody frolics. The flaring keyboard twists out with an ancient melody as the towering drums rebound.

Chimes sparkle and the main melody calls out, filled with a sense of soaring across vast voids. The trumpeting notes leap with luminous energy and the truly massive drums impact as the drums and bass thunder on. Strength pours out from the music as the track comes to an end on brilliantly gleaming, victorious piano notes that move along with the catchy beat before the track falls silent.

Our storyteller talks about navigating silence with the universe in tow. He describes how they go into "warp speed; we don't stop, let the stars freely flow." He speaks of taking a "quantum leap through the dark, where no light reaches." He concludes "We are the kings of the unknown and the skies are our beach."

“Starlight Siege” commences as orchestra hits burst forth and a warning radio message crackles over the air. After more massive orchestra hits, the drums and bass erupt forward in a speeding motion, as synth chords create dramatic tension. The drums rebound as a radiant synth jumps out, carrying a melody full of all the wild action of a space battle.

The drums and bass heave as the brass howls with noble, unbowed strength above the unrelenting low end. The bass is thick and heavy as the drums pound, while the brass section flashes defiance. Images of spaceships glinting in starlight, firing bright lasers through the void, fill my mind as the trumpeting synth climbs with spinning strength.

The low end propels the music forward as a majestic melody unwinds, bursting with battling power and victorious intent. The bass has a heavy density to it, while the lead synth fills the music with luminosity. Delicate chimes add a lighter and gentler contrast while the main melody flies through the music with unstoppable dynamism.

The orchestra hits deepen the drama as the minor-key synth part writhes through the music with brilliant light, creating tension and release as the low end continues on. The vocals echo out as the drums tick, while arpeggios add more speed. The brassy synth cries out again, carrying me away to a great battle in planetary space.

I am immersed in the strength and wildness, picturing missiles streaking across the void and great plumes of silent flame filling space’s vacuum. The song ends on a smoother background while the trumpeting notes continue to climb before fading out.

The narrator calls for the attention of his pilots as a "new threat looms across the starlit skies." He reminds them to power up and get ready for impact as they prepare for the starlight siege.

Our storyteller orders the shields to be raised and the engines kept steady as the starlight siege continues. He adds "The darkness is relentless, but so are we," as he calls for them to push forward and claim victory.

A sharp sound shifts as lush bass and rising, swirling synth begin "Crimson Sky." The track has an initial tranquility, but varied percussion begins to burst as scintillating metallic sounds skip and the low end pulses. The guitar slips through quickly and the vocals are distorted as they carry the spectral melody. The guitar twangs out with dark expression and the drums touch softly as the bass flows.

A brilliantly illuminating synth carries a drama-filled melody that speaks of action and adventure. Once again, the ominous lyrics, tinged with painful feelings, drift through as metallic noises sparkle. A flaring synth carries the adventurous melody, painting pictures of a low flight over a red planet with its canyons and plains. Descending, razor-edged pulses are cut by the echoing guitar and a minor-key synth drifts with ghostly tendrils above the pumping low end.

The guitar dances now, its slightly gruff tone matched by the female vocals as the drums and bass drive on. A string-like synth carries a melody that fills me with the thrill of discovery as it rises. A medium-high, shining synth skips out in a jaunty pattern before the track ends.

Our storyteller describes a desolate planet under a crimson sky. He mentions that amidst the ruins, something rises that "the ancient tales foretold." The storyteller speaks of the "whispers of the void" in the remnants of the past and a "cosmic requiem in a desolation vast."

"Arcane City" starts as slowly descending, clear notes are cut by a voiceover with a robotic quality. Rising, massive chords fill the distance with richly rounded sound and the hard-charging low end propels the music as the snare drum begins to tick. Robotic noises wobble and a gruffly glimmering synth flies out in an energetic, grabbing melody.

A medium-high, sharply cutting synth carries an adventurous and inspirational melody, rising like the spires of a technologically advanced city from the desert surface of the planet. A softer, smoother synth lifts my heart with a melody that speaks of hope and something full of majesty as it drives on. The low end continues to throb like a heartbeat and the jagged edges of the slightly distorted synth flicker out with inspiring motion.

The main melody returns, towering on an effulgent synth as it invokes feelings of a vast metropolis, reaching out toward the stars. The smoother secondary melody slides in, lifting my heart with its feelings of joyous exploration as the drums and bass continue to press on. The guitar sweeps, climbing and bending with a tinge of wistful emotion.

A broadly crying synth shines and reaches upward again. Another vocal moment comes through before the guitar spins and jumps, twisting and dodging through thrilling musical twists and turns. The brilliant synth climbs with intense luminosity, and the track ends on the chords that fly out.

The voiceover welcomes everyone to Arcane City, which is "a dazzling metropolis where the future unfolds before your eyes." The narrator goes on to say that the city is a place where all extraterrestrial beings can exist harmoniously, adding that the city stands as "a beacon of advanced technology.”

A robotic voice speaks before the drums and bass come in on a slamming beat as the rising and falling synth flits through the music with electrifying life to start "Game Changer." The robotic vocals carry a slightly enigmatic melody as the drums and bass punch and the orchestra hit leaps in. The beat has an addictive quality as the brilliant synth carries a galvanizing melody. I am compelled by this music’s dynamism and continual motion.

The robotic voice comes in again as the hard-hitting drums and heavy bass throb. The narration has a digitized coldness as it moves with the snarling guitar. The drums drive forward with an intoxicating rhythm as the vocals carry a minor key, slightly haunting melody. Brassy synth soars through the music and imbues it with thrilling motion as the drums rattle.

After an orchestra hit, a worshipful choir moves behind the spoken word part. The poetic darkness continues as the choir climbs with spiritual energy before a trickling sound runs through. Another orchestral hit on the endlessly pulsing low end propels the track as the reverent chorus moves with the robotic voice. The track pushes on to the end with unstoppable motion and the swirling melody along with diamond chimes.

The storyteller starts by talking about the Game Changer changing the game while pointing out that "the Game Changer is not a gamer." He also adds that the Game Changer isn't a player.

Our narrator talks about riding a "starlight wave" in a cosmic dance as we travel through "the astral realms where dreams and visions pave." Galaxies sweep before us with untold mysteries in the "neon void where destinies unfold."

The storyteller mentions a holy power pulsating in the void as "binary worlds collide in this game of time." It goes on to speak of synthetic melodies "in the cosmic range," adding that in this universe, we are the "Game Changer's change."

In a spoken part, our narrator describes the lights fading and circuits humming as "a shadow rises where the void is from." It hasn’t got any hands to gamble with or dice to throw but it "shifts the rules in the undertow." Our narrator speaks of "a whisper carried on the machine's breath" and asks if it's a savior or the master of the quest.

The storyteller concludes that this force isn’t "bound by players" as it "bends the frame," remaining invisible in this never-ending game.

“The Aftermath” erupts into life in one explosive burst as a funky pulse skips through the music. The drums and bass are groovy, and the trumpeting notes fly out with joyful liveliness. Orchestral synths with a string-like quality slide out in warmly caressing notes as the main melody cuts in on the noble and broadly sweeping synth.

The melody is full of triumphant positivity as it slides through the music with powerful emotion, while the low end continues to shape the music. Glistening synth climbs in the distance as the main melody calls out with ancient strength. A keyboard rings out with an exciting and encouraging melody, filling me with rising hope. I enjoy the imagery of victorious flight that fills this track as it unfolds.

The narrator's voice echoes as the drums continue to throb while the orchestral synth entwines. The keyboard melody is full of powerful, inspirational emotion, and the orchestra hits add even more muscle. The low end lopes onward, and the percussion fades as brightly coruscating synth carries a melody that paints images of dust trailing from a spacecraft as it flashes over the surface of the planet.

The voiceover moves past with a robotic sound as the synth chords undulate again. The keyboard melody lances through the music with thrilling life before the track ends.

Our storyteller talks about how the Aces will rise again after the dust settles. They'll be “stronger together, beyond the pain,” adding that in tomorrow's light, they'll make it through. He concludes that “the future is bright, it's waiting for you.”

Extended, slowly washing synthesizer waves are joined by an ancient-sounding string instrument that rings out into openness to begin “Eonscape”. The melody that cries out on the ringing strings has an epic quality. Now flaring, brightly shining synthesizer flies outward.

Dynamic motion permeates the ever-climbing, gleaming synthesizer as the drums and bass launch rapidly. Ethereal chimes flicker out and an orchestra hit blasts into the music above the driving low end as the distant sounds intertwine. A nasal-sounding, flashing synthesizer carries a melody reflecting timeless, legendary sensations.

I imagine warriors charging forward across the sands of the planet, ready to defend what they believe in as this song unfolds. The trumpeting notes arc outward and give the track a sense of promise and achievement. Delicate chimes dance through the music with minor key elegance as the drums and bass punch forward.

In the distance, a haunting keyboard hovers and a blazing, elevated synth cries out with a sense of indomitable strength. The ancient strings ripple again, and after orchestra hits explode, the chimes trickle while richly glistening synthesizer slowly, sinuously shifts.

Brilliant notes flash outward and imbue the music with unquenchable power as the nasal-sounding synthesizer carries a more wistful melody and the low end pumps. I imagine the Aces charging on to victory as the song comes to an end.

Conclusion

The Aces Strike Back is a musical quest through Everdune’s cinematic vision of a space opera. The way layered, complex synthesizer soundscapes are painted and a story unfurls with each track makes this album deeply engaging and entertaining.