Vanquished Kingdom

from Vanquished Kingdom by Vanquished Kingdom

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about

Vanquished Kingdom is about the vanquished kingdom of humanity itself but also the band itself. This eponymous track of the band’s eponymous debut album was partially written as a brother song for Iron Maiden’s, ‘Iron Maiden’, from the album ‘Iron Maiden.’ The similarity of some of the lyrics, the guitar riff and instrumental break, harmonies and structure make this clear.

The first verse recounts the band’s early experiences of playing live – particularly at “The Chatswood Club” in Sydney, Australia. This is reminiscent of the way Iron Maiden’s eponymous song describes aspects of their shows at the Cart and Horses in London’s East End.
Words like “standing”, “room”, and “blood” are also reminiscent of, ‘Iron Maiden’.
“The red blood of the covenant and water of the womb” is a reference to the cousins and spouses within Vanquished Kingdom.
“Blue notes”, as well as being a contrast to “red blood”, is a play on words: Heavy metal music has strong roots in the Blues and Vanquished Kingdom’s tunes incorporate a lot of Blues influence, and it was $10 to get into the venue – the Australian 10-dollar note is blue in colour.
“The dead of night, we’ve reached the final day” refers to the band performing regularly at 10 or 11pm on Fridays.
The band would often begin their shows by playing a recording of Bryan Cranston reciting ‘Ozymandias’ by Percy Shelley – a poem whose themes are strikingly similar to many of the band’s. The recording came from a promotion of the TV show ‘Breaking Bad,’ another previous influence on the band’s output (see Left Bower and ironicmaiden.bandcamp.com/track/it-may-be-blue-but-its-the-bomb).

The pre-chorus zooms out to humanity at large, although “Castles burning” is also a reference to the way the band has used images of burning castles as illustrations for a vanquished kingdom, including the cover of this album.

The chorus, as well as self-proclaiming the band, describes the unworthiness of humanity and yet the paradoxical redemption that is available to help us to rise again.

“All our wares” is another nod to the lyrics of ‘Iron Maiden’, followed by an acknowledgement that Vanquished Kingdom shows are even educational as they play music about raw realities of human mess and repellent human beings.

Musically, the similarity of the "Vanquished Kingdom" riff to the riff from "Iron Maiden" has been noted. The track ends with what some in the genre call a “cadenza” – an extended, exciting ending. This closes the entire album.

lyrics

Standing here before you in the corner of the room
The red blood of the covenant and water of the womb
With blue notes in the dead of night, we’ve reached the final day
Now listen to the voice, hear what the poet has to say

Empires rise and empires fall
Tearing down the city wall
Will it ever be built up again?
Made with dignity and skill
Choosing to mistrust and kill
Castles burning by the hands of men

We are the vanquished kingdom
Unworthy in your eyes
Paradox: redemption –
Vanquished Kingdom, rise!

Palace slaves were forced to build up bigger, more and more,
They couldn’t see and soon forgot the rusted, rotted core
And when we show you all our wares, you’ll have a lot to learn,
With chaos to discern and evil human hearts to spurn

credits

from Vanquished Kingdom, released November 3, 2018

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Vanquished Kingdom Sydney, Australia

Vanquished Kingdom is a 4-piece band from Sydney, Australia whose strongest influence is the joyous power-driven energy and dark didactic depth of the 1980s' best heavy metal.

Formed in October 2016, Vanquished Kingdom play all original music - "meaningful Maiden-esque metal made modern."

Zac Anderson – lead vocals and guitar
Nick Vilka – guitar
Siebe Pogson – bass guitar
Jessica Kesby – drums ... more

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