Composer Feature: Bloodline by Earth Forge

And so, as I ride in tow, looking on at the man I’ve chosen to follow, I must confront myself. Is this, then, the life I will lead? Is this where I belong? Forever living on the frays of war. Forever attuned to the injustices I had once so desperately sought to amend…

Bloodline is a concept album about a young man caught up in the first English Civil War, the mercenary leader he comes to follow and that man’s mysterious heritage… It is the first album from Earth Forge which is the band created by Ian Bristow.

On We Ride

Beware these, the follies of men, lust and greed and treasons ascend
You can’t know the heart or the soul, you can’t see the sickness take hold.
Then when you’re cast away, you learn what it means to pay
The dues of a wounded land, can’t be what they all had planned

All had planned
All had planned

We do we can but do what we must
Life isn’t easy, life isn’t just
On we ride
On we ride

Like worms with a flesh meal, they twist and they vie
Shunned away from the light, they are shameless and blithe
They take just to have now, they’re taking all that they want
Playing life like a chess match, they’re moving their pawns
Get in the way at your own cost, and see their design
You’ll be what they said to be, or you’re dying this time

Promote these, the triumphs of men, truth and pride and friendships ascend
You can’t know the future till past, you can’t write your life in cast
And now that you’re here to stay, you’ve learned what it means to pay
The dues of a wounded land, can’t be what they all had planned

All had planned
All had planned

We do we can but do what we must
Life isn’t easy, life isn’t just
On we ride
On we ride

We do we can but do what we must
Life isn’t easy, life isn’t just
On we ride
On we ride

A Bite of… Ian Bristow

(1) What made you decide to write this concept album?
The drive to start writing this album came from the inspiration I got while reading Lord’s Legacy, an absolutely brilliant book series, which was written by the amazing author E.M. Swift-Hook. I was lucky enough to get an early look at the books, so I can’t offer a link to them, as they are not yet published, otherwise I would tell you all to drop what you’re doing and go get and read them this instant. I was still reading book one when the first song idea came to me, and by the middle of the six book series, I had too many other ideas to deny an album was what I really wanted to do. So, I set to work writing and recording tracks that would take the listener through what – to me – were key events within the story.

(2) So this is a solo project, but it sounds like an entire band, how is that?
Well, thanks to the sort of technology we have these days, I was able to write and record parts for each instrument. Then I took each of those tracks and mixed them as if it was a band playing and not just me all by me onesie.

(3) Which is your favourite track of the album musically, which was the hardest to bring off and which was the one you are proudest of?
Let’s see, favorite track off the album musically… Blimey, that’s tough, as they all mean a lot to me in their own ways. But if I had to say one, I think I’d go with The Covenant. The hardest is easy, that was Oath. Bloody track is 24 minutes long and was a beast to write and record. And being that Oath was the hardest track to bring off, it’s also the one I’m most proud of. There were times I thought that one would get the better of me. But I did finally manage to make it stick and I’m really happy with the outcome.

Ian Bristow has spent the majority of his life in love with music, studying almost every genre during his twenty-five year relationship with guitar. And while he primarily plays guitar, he also avidly explores bass, piano, drums and vocals. His music is released under the name Earth Forge and his debut album ‘Bloodline’ is available on all music streaming platforms. Check it out on Spotify or YouTube today.

The opening quotation is from Ride into Worcester, the opening piece of Oath, the one that follows is from Bonds Broken and Unbroken, the final part of Oath.

In the end, the pen holds true might.
Sets things wrong, sets them right...