A Bit of Rock History
This song grew out of my fascination with the evolution of rock music. Many conventions in rock are lifted from blues, which is itself a descendant of African-American spirituals. Today, when we use the word, we usually mean a particular style of music that features a particular chord progression (I, IV, I, V, IV, I, or something similar) and call-and-response phrasing. But originally, the blues was derived from slave spirituals, many of which were cries for divine deliverance from evil human oppression. I think reading a classic “slave narrative,” such as Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, is a great way to understand the roots of the blues.
It’s fascinating (and sickeningly ironic) that white British musicians, the descendants of men who institutionalized the slave trade, began converting blues riffs into brutally beautiful rock songs in the 1960s. These guys influenced a new generation of rock musicians, many of whom I count as favorites today. “Behold the Wicked Man” came about when I was listening to “Never in My Life” by Mountain and “Black Dog” by Led Zeppelin. The first incarnation of “Behold” had a much simpler arrangement, without the pounding drums and palm muted guitars. It was meant to be a straight-up ‘70s blues rock song.
But, I also love how Dimebag Darrell (of Pantera fame) took the blues motif one step farther. In particular, Pantera classics like “I’m Broken” and “Revolution is My Name” feature amazing blues-based riffs. Imagine the opening riffs in a finger-plucked, acoustic style. What do you hear? To my ears, those riffs are simply blues progressions fed through mounds of distortion.
Jason and I weren't quite satisfied with the original arrangement of “Behold,” so we decided to re-imagine it as a metal song more akin to the Pantera songs mentioned above. But the blues idea is still there. Even the chord progression throughout the song mimics the classic I, IV, I, V, IV, I progression, albeit with the V chord moved up one-half step. I also arranged the lyrics in a call-and-response pattern with the main guitar riff (i.e., the vocals call and the guitar responds). So, if you were to line them up, you would hear similarities between “Behold,” “Traveling Riverside Blues” by Robert Johnson, “Never In My Life” by Mountain, and “I’m Broken” by Pantera.
The Recording: Keep it Simple
There are only two electric guitar tracks on “Behold,” which is far less than some of the other songs. I wanted to make sure not to inject too much “studio magic” into this song; it needed to approximate a live sound.
The vocals were difficult for me to record on this one. I recorded nine attempts at the main melody line before getting the vibe I was going for. By the time I got to the sixth take, I had finally distressed my vocal cords enough to get the gravelly tone I wanted!
In the mixing process, I tried not to go overboard with processing and thereby lessen the intensity of the performances. I added grit to the vocal tracks in the form of overdrive. I left the guitar and bass middy and crunchy, approximating a live sound, and I recorded the performances in continuous takes, for the most part.
Oppression and Freedom
Since the blues grew out of a spiritual cry for divine deliverance, I believe it can fit quite well with many themes in Scripture. The cries of the oppressed children of Israel in Egypt go well with the blues. David’s cries for deliverance from Saul go well with the blues. The blues mesh with the desperation of the exiles in Babylon. And, as Christians, we sing the blues every time we cry for the return of the risen Christ.
--Aaron
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