We're All Alone - Architects (Split - Single, 2008, Thirty Days of Night Records) Song deconstruction

Note: All timings in this post are in reference to the youtube clip of "We're All Alone" at the top of the blog

In this post I am going to deconstruct my proposed song for music video in terms of the different sections and what happens in each. Once we have gone more in depth with the song we will be able to use this information to determine the speed of cuts and edits, the use of transitions and the filming style suitable for each section as it happens. Also from this we can determine the obvious "3 section split" in the song. I see the song as having two obvious moods and this being separated into ternary form (A, B, A) in the sense of the mood, but beneath I have gone more in depth and given each section a specific coding.


SECTION 1 (00:00 - 01:30) :

00:00 - 00:11 (Intro)
Lead guitar and drums only things doing anything. No vocals. Rhythm guitar and bass playing long chords. Fast paced, drum beat on the off beat, fast riff. Ends with vocals and other guitars coming in to drop into the next section

00:11 - 00:31 (Section A)
Vocals come in. Both guitars playing the riff, bass aswell. Drums breakdown. Much slower beat (not tempo wise but pace). All instruments in rhythmic unison at end of the phrase to bring in the next section.

00:31 - 00:41 (Section B)
Everything cuts out except lead guitar for a second then everything comes back in. No time signature. Very fast complex riff. Timeless feel. Drums are only doing fills rather than a beat to keep time, used as an instrument rather than a rhythmic device. Vocals very drawn out over the phrases, not in obvious places.

00:41 - 01:06 (Section C)
Back in an obvious 4 in a bar time signature, drums similar to intro on the off beat. Guitars playing simple chord patterns with a slightly more lead line over the top. Bass following the root of the chords. Gang vocals, involving the whole band to emphasise the words "All on our own". Those four words repeated three times to really drive in the point of the song. At the end of the section plays half of the intro again but with a vocal line to add variation before going back to the original section.

01:06 - 01:30 (Section A.2)
Same riff and beat as first time round section A, but altered lyrics, similar theme but has been developed through section B & C. End of the section (01:23 - 01:30) is different with an extra part of the riff added on, again similar to section B it has no real time signature but instead follows the rhythmic patterns of the riffs following descending scales leading down to the first chord of section D.


SECTION 2 (01:30 - 02:48) :

01:30 - 01:50 (Section D)
The song takes a completely different mood with the guitars playing straight drawn out chords and the drums playing lots of fills. The vocals are screaming long lines that emphasise the change in lyrical direction as well as mood of the song. The lyrics are "And I just don't care anymore about you, You can sit and suffer alone without me". This shows that the character has given up hope on whoever the lyrics were aimed at before. These lyrics are reflected by the song with the riff at the end of A.2 being a big descending scale and then stopping with the chords. This is a clear sign that the editing should become slower and reflect the mood of the song.

01:50 - 02:14 (Section D.2)
Now a lead guitar line comes in and the song picks up pace, not quite as fast as the original riffs but gives the song direction and a driving force. The lyrics are simple so as not to distract from the intricate guitar part.

02:14 - 02:39 (Section D.3)
The drums break down into a slower beat and singing begins (first time in the song). The singing creates a very melodic section in contrast to the really dissonant chords and patterns seen in the opening sections of the song. The pattern repeats twice with different lyrics and then manages to go directly back to the same speed and pace of the original riffs.

02:39 - 02:48 (Section E)
This is a small linking section to bring the pace back up and not make the change of mood sound too sudden. It is a simple build up with some drum fills and simple chords.


SECTION 3 (02:48 - 03:03) :

02:48 - 03:03 (Section B)
This is an exact repeat of the first section B but ends very suddenly with the vocals left going after all the instruments have stopped on the line "We're all alone" which is the driving theme of the song so that it sticks in your head.