Written by Jasper Rocks. Illustration header courtesy of Ava O’Connor (@avawasastar on Instagram)
Ok Goodnight is a modern prog-metal band that should be given much more credit. Their music rides the line between too complex to listen to casually, and catchy hooks that stick in your ears. They’ve had many releases, their newest album “The Fox and The Bird” telling a mystical story while still being fun to listen to on every track (Something that even Pink Floyd struggled to do on “The Wall”). However, getting into a band through a rock opera is a big ask, most will inform their opinion of a band off of one song. The song that best encapsulates Ok Goodnight as a band is “Addled Eyes,” off their EP “Under the Veil.”
“Addled Eyes” is the second song off their second EP, and starts with a blast of energy to catch your attention. The drum lead in (hammered expertly by Augusto Bussio) makes sure you’re paying attention, giving you a moment to brace before the guitars come in and take you off your feet. The guitar and Bass duo (both played by Martin Gozolez) bring an energy not common in a lot of metal circles. They go for a treble or mid-tone feel on the guitar, instead of the deep distortion that rumbles your soul. This makes the guitar a lot more pleasant to hear if you aren’t a metalhead, but also gives Gonzalez space to build the opening with complex riffs. The rumble common to metal isn’t lost though, as the Bass provides a constant growl of support.
Then, the guitar and bass fall away to give way to the centerpiece of Ok Goodnight: Casey Lee Williams. Their vocals are natural, as if they didn’t need to be taught to sing, but instead found out they could. Their voice is angelic yet angry, a perfect tone for this song. They grow in intensity as the song goes on, the disgust with their subject building as they do. The chorus brings this to the forefront, mostly through lyrics, however, you can feel her sneering at you without even seeing her face.
Instead of continuing to explode however, the post-chorus drops to a calmer synth section created by Martin de Lima. This drop gives the song time to build again, as if the fight the characters are having has ended, but the problem hasn’t been solved.
The second verse and chorus are the argument growing again, this time the opening guitar riff comes back with a backing track to cause dissonance. Then, the bridge comes in, a final accusation before the chorus finishes the fighting.
The lyrics of the song tell a story of confusion, a relationship rotting, one of them refusing to admit something is wrong. One is wanting the relationship to continue, the other just wants them to acknowledge the problems. It’s not obvious if the subject is out of the narrator’s life, however, it’s clear that these feelings percist.
This song isn’t their best lyrically, but it’s a perfect introduction to Ok Goodnight. Great musical composition used to manipulate your emotions for storytelling, combined with the excellent irreplaceable vocals of Casey Lee Williams leads to something entirely unique. The energy, talent, and skill apparent in this song is also apparent in every other track Ok Goodnight has produced. If you want more, I suggest going into “The Fox and the Bird” or “Under the Veil,” but all of Ok Goodnight’s catalog is worth checking out.
