Crescent Lament 官方部落格　

  Behind the Lethal Deceit is a conceptual album released by Crescent Lament. The story recounted in the album inspired by the wars in former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, with a connection that the band tries to build to the military threat from China that Taiwan faces today, to express the band’s anti-war ideas.

※ For the origin of the ideas described in the album and Taiwan’s historic background, please see - "Band Info for Crescent Lament."

Ideas behind the album:

 Crescent Lament’s first album Behind the Lethal Deceit recounts the story of a bloody war in a cold country. The album condemns the foolishness of violence while lauding the pricelessness of harmonious coexistence through the eyes of ordinary people trapped and suffering in the war. Though a made-up story, Behind the Lethal Deceit was inspired by the wars in former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. What happened in the Balkans at the time—ethnic conflicts and military threats—were similar to the current situation in Taiwan. In the war-torn region during the period of time, greedy dictator of a strong military state attempted to silence the calls for self-determination. Tens of thousands of mal-informed young people were into the bloody battlefields to fulfill the desire of an intolerant dictator as a result. The cover image of the album tries to deliver the message that, when the statue praising the war has collapsed, and everything terminated in silence and death, the authority that relies on military might will eventually end in destruction, leaving behind those young people deceived by the dictator, struggling in a foreign land afar. Only at this moment would ordinary people realize the greed of an authoritarian regime, and understand how foolish violence is, and how precious peaceful coexistence is. For Taiwan today, military threats from China are still chains imposed upon the free nation. In the album Behind the Lethal Deceit, the band Crescent Lament tells a war story meant to make people think about peace. It portrays the issue that deeply relates to Taiwan through melancholic melody, screams with grief, and torrent of rhythm.

Storyline

Music in Behind the Lethal Deceit was composed by Crescent Lament drummer Komet, and recorded by keyboardist Warose. It recounts a sorrowful story in a war-torn era via nine emotionally connected songs. In track 1 Intro: to the Freezing Hellgate, the steam whistle of the train sends Joseph, a country boy, away from his lover Kate, into the frontline afar along with his brother Alfred as both were drafted into the military by the government. The pair of young men firmly believed in the empty promise made by the country’s dictator that the war would soon be over before winter.

However, the wars only got worse. The spirited melody of the following tracks Pathetic Scenario, Victims of Discrepancy, and Fearless Assault hint the danger behind lies of the dictator. On the other hand, Kate, who lives in her quiet hometown, expresses her worries about her beloved one separated from her by the war in the song Orphaned Warriors.

The war got out of control before the winter comes. The melody of Silent Night slowly echoes in the song Expiation as Joseph laments the death of Alfred on his kneels on the ground covered with bloodstained snow. He sadly recalls the beautiful past, however, as The Deepest Despair describes, he finally realizes that in the frozen battleground, he could only fight for his own survival, alone.

At the end, Joseph’s life was swallowed by the torrent of war, and the songs Don’t Forget Me and Compromised Wills recreate the saddened atmosphere. Under siege in his final days, Joseph looks back on his life, only realizes that he was merely an ignorant, disposable chess piece under the manipulation of the state. Whether he survives or sacrifices is not a question at all in the eyes of those in power. Under the carefully crafted beautiful lies of the ambitious dictator, there is only endless suffering and death.