Being the first band to introduce Neoclassical Symphonic Mathcore to the world of progressive music enthusiasts, Oracle’s Eye, a band from Kolkata, India releases their second offering in the form of a Mathcore Ballad. ‘A Savior’s Dream’, the second track of ‘The Cognitive Octet‘ (I.e., the first phase of the band’s musical timeline) is an 11-minute-long narration-based storyline which after the bold 14-minute-long debut track ‘A Thousand Doors’ seems rather normal. Despite of the rather intimidating first impression, the song tries to deliver a soothing yet powerful, melancholic yet uplifting, steady yet adventurous experience to the audience with its melodic progression twisted so subtly with theoretical intricacies, keeping the journey interesting throughout the whole span. Like the other seven songs from this initial phase as they call it, this song also portrays a state of mind, a human emotion which in this case is pride

The track progresses as the story unfolds in a war-ridden country in the context of the medieval period, where a warrior narrates his journey as he fights to seek the very meaning of pride. A concept that constructs his very own existence, one that defines heroism, yet somehow contradicts the definition of a savior. A savior, maybe that’s what his father wished to be when he chose to save a life instead of taking one during a war, an action that stained his name with treachery, an action that ruined the lives of those he loved the most. An action that after ages led his own son to the battleground craving for that pride that he always heard stories of but never had for himself. But would history repeat itself this time?

“This song I think even deals with a lot of distorted conceptual standards we still hold in our society, thus our intention was to give our audience something that they can relate to their own life experiences and become one with the character and draw his own unique conclusion to the story”, says Prince (vocalist/guitarist/lyricist) when asked about their motives behind the theme of the song, with Baron (drummer/supporting vocalist) adding,” We generally prefer the narrative approach as it puts us in the shoes of the character”. Talking about the length of their songs Ron (bassist/classical guitarist) comments,” Sometimes we do think of making our compositions shorter but our songs being story-based as they are, we must prioritize what the song demands”. Talking about their future goals, the band members stated they would like to compose for movies or any series one day if given a chance.

Talking about their roots and musicality the band members say, “Back in days when we were working with other setups individually, we conceptualized this to be a prog studio project but while getting under one roof and putting together the pieces, we figured those thoughts and emotions needed a bigger, wider, more complex and sophisticated base to convey their meaning and depth to the listeners, so here we are now.” According to the band, each member comes from slightly different genre influences like jazz, classic prog, hard rock, metalcore… etc., which apparently helps them even more crafting new ideas and creating diverse soundscapes. Starting their journey from January of 2022 this comparatively very young group of boys have already started to see their names in the columns of some regional, national and a few international journals and blogs with their debut track. The band members proudly share the names of their inspirations, names like King Crimson, Dream Theatre, Opeth, TOOL, Porcupine Tree, The Dillinger Escape Plan, The Aristocrats, Plini, Animals As Leaders… etc. Being the very first of their kind from their country, Oracle’s Eye stands tall with ambitions to pioneer a new wave of modern progressive music in India and hopefully, leave their mark on the pages of world music as well.

Press via Prince from Oracle’s Eye.