Sabbatical Year is setting out for the kill with its new single “The Hunting Party.” The song will be included in Metropolitan, a multimedia project with video, photographs and music that will be released in June.
“The Hunting Party” invites listeners to travel alongside lead singer Nick Margiasso and his enigmatic, adventuresome music. Its dark adventure describes a royally commanded hunting party pursuing one unfortunate victim.
Sabbatical Year Creates a Tragic Documentary
Margiasso’s clear voice first describes the hunting party within a hushed, electronic melody. The quiet rhythm and Margiasso’s soothing voice invokes comfort and safety.
However, as he sings, “Oh my / Oh no,” the song becomes more dangerous with haunting beats and sounds. While the chorus’ whisper-like sound can dramatically symbolize the hunted’s soft breath, the constant background beat sounds like the hunting party’s footsteps.
“The Hunting Party” continues to chronicle the perilous journey of being hunted by adding a strong guitar riff in the bridge. Margiasso sings, “Lately I’ve been running on the hilltops / traveling down, traveling down.”
With the song’s documentary lyrics and loud guitar melody, Sabbatical Year delivers urgency to the runaway pursuit. The riff becomes more complicated with faster, higher rhythms before fading out on a single note. The instrumental melody can represent the victim’s heartbeat as he or she runs away from the hunting party. As fast as the character runs, a flatlined heart rate is inevitable.
Sabbatical Year tells a calamitous and fatal story in a musically beautiful format. Although the adventure ends in death, the song’s lyrics and tone magically bring life to the disastrous journey. Listeners cannot help but feel captured themselves– not by a hunting party, but by Sabbatical Year’s haunting storytelling.
Get captured by Sabbatical Year at https://sabbaticalyear.bandcamp.com.
