SECRET SONG

Secret Song was a single released by the group themselves as a mini-CD, which they would give away at their concerts as a sample before they, unfotunately, broke up. It is a rarety to find this now, however, for our own good it is not one of the two bonus tracks on Leaving Your Body Map. This track was written by Toby Driver, maudlin of the Well's main songwriter and was supposedly played by the same line-up that recorded Bath/Leaving Your Body Map. It was also later stated that this song is the key to finding out the message of the two companion albums. Although I tried to "solve the mystery", pehaps with less effort that I wanted to, the message of the two albums seems uncertain to me even after hearing this Secret Song.

If it really does unlock a certain secret either musically or lyrically(or perhaps both), I can say that I definitely see why it is connected to maudlin of the Well's last two releases. The sound is very similar to the sound of Bath/Leaving Your Body Map, at times even sounding like it is borrowed from some of the tracks, but mostly contains some interesting details that seemed refreshing and new to me. This track starts as a spacey post-rock composition and doesn't last like that for more than twenty seconds - it quickly steps into the extreme side of the music motW's fans adore so much, with Byron's trademark growl, doomy drumming and a strong melodic line. The main riff of the track kicks in later, supported by whispering vocals and then more screams. The transition between the contraries, just like always, is done extremely well in motW's music, thus putting them above the rest of the Progressive Metal world. The song after the riff is most enjoyable and pleasing. It is a mixture of space rock and post-rock with acoustic guitars and Jason Bitner's trumpet work present. It creates a laid-back, cool atmosphere that is comforting in a way. Once it calms down for what seems to be an outro, things turn out completely differently and we are awarded with the return of the main riff, played furiously. That's where the track ends. What I always liked about maudlin of the Well's music is that it is always unpredictable without being too nonsensical or chaotic. These characterics would make it logical that this track would appear on either Bath or Leaving Your Body Map, however, it somehow didn't "fit", so it was seperate all the way. We do not know which musicians were involved in the recording process, however, it seems obvious that it was the B/LYBM line-up.

Secret Song should not be avoided or ignored by any fan of maudlin of the Well's music. It is truly unfortunate that a group as excellent as this only graced us with about three hours worth of listening material in their short career and would be a mistake to miss even this less than seven minute long gem. I will also add that this track can be used as a sample for people interested in getting into the group's music, as it represents their aesthetics rather well, although doesn't capture its diverse, immensely vast sound.

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