"The Djinn" was the original working title for the exotic-sounding opening riff. At the time, I was reading a translation of "The Book of A Thousand Nights and A Night" and was captivated by the fascinating tales of Arabian mythology and folklore.
This was in late 2012 when I started to put together ideas for the second HeKz album. As my writing sessions progressed, I became interested in writing a conceptual album about the positive and negative attributes and endeavours of mankind. The title for the concept was "Progress & Failure" - half of the songs would be about humanity's greatest achievements, while the other half would focus on its darker side. The concept would be held together with a trilogy of songs concerned with the need to balance the two extremes of our personality; Progress & Failure, The Black Hand and Journey's End.
And so "The Djinn" became "Atash Adaran," a song about man's discovery and utilisation of fire, and its vital role in the progression and development of our race. It would have been the second song on the album, after the opening salvo of "Progress & Failure."
In case you're wondering, Atash Adaran is a phrase from the Zoroastrian religion, which places great importance on different grades of fire. Atash Adaran means 'Fire of Fires' - a perfect title for this subject matter, with the added bonus of being an unusual word (a must for every HeKz album, it would seem).
I must confess that I was never truly happy with the lyrical direction for "Atash Adaran" - the idea seemed better than the execution. Nonetheless, I will let you decide, as you will get to hear two different versions of the song in this month's download.
The first is "The Djinn", for which I wrote a new set of lyrics around the idea of a djinn who attempts to deceive and subvert with the wishes it grants - a story lifted all but directly from the pages of "The Book of A Thousand Nights and A Night!"
The second is a slightly shorter version of the song with the original demo performance of 'Atash Adaran" from November 2012.
Musically, the song has been updated with a new drum performance, a new guitar solo and some additional keyboard parts, including a somewhat angular synth solo very much inspired by the maestro Keith Emerson.
The original rhythm guitar and bass parts have been retained and updated with some new tones, thanks to my trusty Elevenrack.
It's probably the most simple amp modeller out there, but I find it intuitive to use and full of fantastic presets!
Zealot and Acolyte tier members can click here to redeem their exclusive download of "The Djinn / Atash Adaran"