Apex and Abyss: The Journey of Immortal, A Journey of Self-Discovery
The Apex and Abyss albums by Unleash the Archers are more than just music; they are a profound, transformative experience. Their lyrics and narrative are exceptionally beautiful, and I find it astounding (and outright baffling) that not everyone perceives their depth. For those who truly listen and understand, these albums can profoundly impact your life. The final song, "Afterlife", is beyond description; it embodies the Tao – that which cannot be put into words. This ineffable quality is precisely where its beauty lies, evoking emotions so powerful they often bring me to tears.
I will attempt to analyze each song individually, explaining the meaning of each, but I'm unsure if I can truly convey the sheer beauty I experience when I take in the transformative Journey represented in this opera.
Apex: The Beginning of the Loop
The album Apex is our first introduction to Immortal and the Matriarch. It's a cyclical journey, a loop within the Soul Diver's Journey where we begin and return to The Witch's Forge.
Awakening: Immortal awakens in a mountain hollow - referred to as a suffocating embrace, a prison and a safe haven in one. I believe this represents the psychological protections and barriers we build around our True Self. From time to time, Awareness creeps past these barriers and "awakens" us to the truths of our existence, but these truths are often difficult to accept.
My interpretation may not capture every nuance, as I'm trying to explain something I intrinsically feel and see in my mind – a piece of art that transcends words. This initial awakening signifies emerging from The Witch's Forge with dawning awareness that something is calling you deeper into the journey.
We experience multiple awakenings throughout life, seeing the world and our lives more clearly, recognizing how we've been controlled, and understanding early life influences. However, we don't always act on these insights. It takes time to fully Awaken - honestly, I'm not convinced that full Awakening is even possible. Every human has levels of conditioning and programming that may not be possible to overcome.
Shadow Guide: This song marks the period between new birth (emerging from The Witch's Forge) and The Neverending War. A guide is necessary here, like a raven leading you into shadow work, into the depths of what you've suppressed.
"I wander aimlessly, still reeling from the change," perfectly captures the disorienting feeling of awakening.
"Shadow guide, you lead me to horror. Shadow guide, you harbour destiny" - It leads you to face uncomfortable truths, but it's all part of your destiny, guiding you back to who you were always meant to be.
The Matriarch: This is technically the first Standing in the Moonlight phase for Immortal, but the better description in this case is "Meeting the Dark Goddess" or the General of the Neverending War – it's confronting the dark and feared parts of yourself and being given the tasks of how to begin to deal with these inner demons. Though she appears terrifying, the Matriarch is absolutely necessary...for a time.
"The day she came to power, our lives forever changed," reflect the profound impact The Matriarch has. She brings necessary change.
Cleanse the Bloodlines: Here is the task the General, the Dark Goddess, gives Immortal. The Matriarch, I believe, is ultimately the incarnation of your anger – anger at yourself that has taken on a powerful form. This anger, while protective, can become destructive when unchecked or toxic when repressed. She tasks Immortal with finding her sons.
"My sons were born for one purpose only; their blood is my elixir of life. My reign must never end." She believes her reign is eternal, but your anger is afraid of dying because it's a cover for vulnerability and pain (more accurately: fear). Anger protects you, but always goes too far.
The Matriarch's Sons
These are archetypes within you, representing different parts of your ego – the ego you mistakenly identify with. You need an ego, but you should never identify as your ego...well, more correctly, the ego thinks it's you. The Matriarch, in a twisted way, is doing a good thing by sacrificing her sons; she's killing off those parts of yourself that you falsely believe define you.
The Coward's Way: This initiates The Neverending War and ego death (not something I recommend chasing after - slow reprogramming is far healthier and less shocking to your system. Severe "ego deaths" can result in psychosis). This begins the process of destroying what holds Immortal prisoner. This first son represents a cowardly, conniving, lying part of the self that you certainly don't want to identify with. The Matriarch is doing a good thing by eliminating this.
"Your seat of power is vacated for someone else," foreshadows the Matriarch's temporary control, but ultimately, Immortal (you) is meant to reclaim that throne within your own being.
False Walls: Another part of The Neverending War and ego death. This ego aspect offers false comfort, making us ignore reality and avoid the uncomfortable truths of the physical world.
Ten Thousand Against One: This song, also part of ego death, may represent an addiction or an addictive archetype that our psyche fiercely defends. Yet, Immortal's unwavering resolve ("It doesn't matter how many you throw at me, I'm coming for you and I'm getting rid of you") highlights our immense inner strength. Our core self cannot be killed no matter what our psyche or the world throws at it. Our True Self can be repressed, but never destroyed.
Earth and Ashes: Still on The Neverending War and ego death, this song reveals a painful truth: sometimes, we must even shed parts of ourselves we like. If they are truly beneficial, they will eventually return - though perhaps in a different form as we see happen in Abyss.
Call Me Immortal: This song, which I once struggled to understand, is now one of my favorites. Here, Immortal is unable to continue the quest; the curse has taken hold. He's stuck in The Neverending War loop, having ceded all power to his anger and inner darkness. He feels betrayed, believing the Matriarch has let him down. However, the Matriarch cannot exist without Immortal; she must make him believe she has power over him, not the other way around.
Apex: The album's title track signifies the return to The Witch's Forge. Immortal enters a period of dormancy until it's time to reawaken and finally take up his own power.
Abyss: Integration and True Freedom
The album Abyss picks up where Apex left off, marking a new phase of the journey. This is finally the breaking of a cycle that has gone on for untold eons. We can cycle endlessly as well. It could be for days, weeks, months, years, or decades. It is entirely up to you to break the cycles you fall into time and time again.
Waking Dream: Still in The Witch's Forge, this awakening is slower and more gradual than the sudden shock of the first. It's a slow building of power, a repetition of simple lines that gradually converge into a clearer picture of yourself, allowing you to understand your own burgeoning power.
Abyss: The album's title track, Abyss, continues The Witch's Forge motif, but with a significant difference: the soul has expanded. We are no longer operating in the old ways.
"My mountain is gone, I'm surrounded by steel. The strangest of structures rises ahead, seems to be held up by nothing," denote a shift in time. The medieval setting of Apex gives way to a futuristic, sci-fi landscape. This signifies a monumental change; the old is gone, replaced by something new. Your true self may have been dormant, controlled by the Matriarch or other dark aspects, but things are profoundly different now.
Through Stars: A pivotal moment. Immortal awakens, free from the constant whispering of his controller. He's not being pulled towards an external source or needing to do shadow work. This album is about integration, not working for the shadow, but integrating it.
Immortal realizes he knows "nothing of life beyond the blade, reflecting on a thousand lifetimes spent among the slain". He questions his identity without the constant fighting and bidding of others. For the first time, his mind is quiet enough to truly ponder.
"Though I feel that I've been here before," speaks to our primal innocence as children, before external voices and societal pressures distorted our perception. The entire Soul Diver's Journey is about returning to that state of wonder and becoming who you were always meant to be – then learning to live freely in the world as that individual, as that True Self. True freedom is an internal state not dependent on society, because no society, no external thing can provide you your Self (only an illusion of "self" or -isms to identify with).
Legacy: This is the true Standing in the Moonlight moment. This time a Goddess of Light - represented by the son Immortal beloved in Apex (Earth and Ashes) - that beautiful part of himself he had to kill for the Matriarch.
"And you are here as servant one last time. Together, we will bring her to the light" - the promise here is that one way or another, Immortal's time as a slave will end and the goal is to not destroy the Matriarch, but integrate her.
Return to Me and Soulbound: The Joker arises. Call her Trickster, call her Temptation, at this point the Matriarch is terrified, wanting to live and continue to control everything. She cannot have Immortal realizing his true power. These songs represent the temptation to continue the old fight, to continue The Neverending War, to keep the cycle continuing forever.
Faster Than Light: This is the Acceptance of What Was and What Is song.
"Finally I feel I can face up to all that I've done, And become something more"
"To forget your past, to move on at last," changes it to "To forgive my past, to move on at last". This shift from forgetting to forgiving is a powerful act of self-reconciliation.
The Wind That Shapes the Land: This is beginning of the Death, Rebirth, and Treasure process. Immortal stands on the precipice of a profound realization:
"From this moment on, I will not be the same. No more crying for the things I can't change. Here I will put this tale to rest. Finish what I started long ago. And though it may not be the ending I wish, only victory can bring me home." Immortal declares his resolve: to live or die here, to not return to sleep. This is Immortal claiming his power.
"I was never your slave for all eternity." It was ONLY for a time. At long last - at long, long last, Immortal fights for himself, not for anyone else, not for an external cause.
"I am the wind that shapes the land, old as time and twice as strong, oceans arise at my command, I alone can carry on" - These "oceans" represent Immortal's reawakened emotional core and life force.
"to break her chains" - it's easy to assume the chains are forged around Immortal, but this is not the case at all. The Matriarch herself is chained. Her Fear keeps all the parts of Immortal (and herself) from truly living and moving and growing.
"And watch as I drain the light from inside" - Immortal seemingly kills the Matriarch, but "I feel the stars above, Shining on the fragments that remain". The Matriarch is not gone, but integrated; her cold rage transforms into scattered fragments, allowing her to exist in a healthier way.
Carry the Flame and Afterlife: These are the integration moments. In "Carry the Flame," Immortal integrates his beloved's son within himself. In Afterlife, the Matriarch's e voice can still be heard within him, signifying her integration, not her destruction.
"Afterlife" represents the return after "Death, Rebirth, and Treasure." In our society, we often focus on becoming the hero rather than being the hero. While these albums culminate in a "Death, Rebirth, and Treasure" phase, "Afterlife" redefines the concept. It's not about the afterlife after physical death, but rather the life that follows a period of struggle, anger, and fighting—the journey back to the person you were always meant to be.
"Afterlife": This could be considered as the Mantle of the Mentor step of the Soul Diver's Journey, but a better view is perhaps to see it as a reset to a new World Weaver's Journey, returning Immortal to who they were before life veered off course. Immortal's gender becomes irrelevant (though often referred to as "he" and "man", the integration of Feminine archetypes cannot be ignored), emphasizing the universal nature of the journey.
The Matriarch's voice, now from within Immortal, still exists, tempting him with power: "With such power, think how you could rule." But Immortal responds, "Hold to your promise and watch over those in despair." She asks, "Why would you choose to serve when you could be master of all?" He replies, "Be true to your honor and fight for a world that is fair." This refers to fighting for a fair world within oneself.
When she urges, "Don't waste your chance to seek revenge at last," he counters, "I won't waste my freedom. Vengeance will not make me whole." Finally, she commands, "Fight back, you fool! Make them pay for transgressions past!" and he asserts, "Fear not your anger. Use it to rise up and free your soul." This demonstrates how the Matriarch, in her initial destructive form, ultimately forced him to fight for his soul. Had Immortal never taken control, the cycle of anger, hate, vengeance, and victimhood would have brought all to the grave.
All of these songs and lyrics evoke such overwhelming emotion that I cannot help but weep – not from sadness, but from the sheer, inexpressible beauty that floods my soul. I cannot make you feel it, I cannot provide you with my same experience, I can only shed light and hope that someday you will see it with all of your Being.
The Soul Diver's Journey
The narrative of this metal opera can be explored step-by-step via my Soul Diver's Journey model.
Awakening (The Witch's Forge): Immortal, a character representing us, has existed for a long time. We are Immortal, living beyond the story's confines. This awakening follows previous life experiences, marking a shift in awareness. We begin to understand what has been happening to us, perhaps without our conscious awareness.
Before "The Witch's Forge," we all start on the World Weaver's Journey. We begin in a "Perfect" World, experience a Death of Innocence, and often enter a stage of denial. We might make "Deals with Fae" that lead us out of this perfect world, leaving behind the "waters of love" and entering a "brilliant city" (or "dark city," depending on your perspective).
The Victim or Chosen One Loop: We all enter this loop, deciding whether to control our destiny or allow others to dictate it. If our "Death of Innocence" is too profound, or if we allow external control for too long, our emotional center can shut down. This is when we enter the Soul Diver's Journey, the "Mundane" World from which all Soul Divers must venture.
"Call of the Sea": This call urges us to reignite our emotional core, that lost part of ourselves, which is essentially love energy. When we ignore these emotional needs, we enter what I call "The Noose of the Pretender."
"The Noose of the Pretender": We often don't understand what went wrong, or even realize we've shut down our emotional center. We may feel emotions but unconsciously push them away, fighting to maintain a "normal" existence, especially if we've given others power over us. Sometimes, a "supernatural aid" coaxes or forces us back to our emotional center, pushing us "over the edge," into The Witch's Forge (where we began our exploration of Immortal's journey).
My name is Mark Stratton, this has been my interpretation of Unleash the Archers albums, Apex and Abyss, exploring the story of Immortal and the Matriarch from my rather unique philosophical and psychological perspective.
Remember, you already possess all the weapons and knowledge you need within yourself. You already are enlightened, you already are Buddha. You don't require external gurus or coaches to guide your life. Perhaps all you need is the right music, powerful lyrics, and a compelling story to help you find your way.
You are Immortal.
Goddess Blessings