A Thousand Shards of Heaven - Lunatic Soul - Music

In my previous post about Lunatic Soul's Mariusz Duda, and his main project, Riverside, I spoke of his and his band mates' grief at being blindsided by the death of their guitarist, Piotr Grudziński, who died suddenly at the age of forty, leaving them devastated.

They called off the concert tour they had been about to embark upon, at the time of his death, as they simply couldn't do justice to the music or their fans in their state of grief.

But they picked it back up the following year, aided greatly by Maciej Meller, who stepped as guitarist and, according to Duda, "has approached Piotr's guitar parts with huge respect, retaining the atmosphere and character of our music."

As I mentioned previously, the band has opted to remain a trio, and to perform and record with guest guitarists.

Grudziński's death hit Duda especially hard, as the album they were about to tour in support of, "Love, Fear and the Time Machine," had been written in large part as a response to his grief over one of his best friends dying in his sleep at age forty-four; and he suddenly found himself thrust right back into the darkness from which he had so recently emerged.

Duda had approached creating that album as a way to work one's way out of the grief, into the light and into life once again, but according to his statements on his website and on Facebook, he unexpectedly found himself back in a much darker place than where he began.

When he began writing and recording the latest Lunatic Soul album, "Fractured," Duda poured his anger and his grief into the music, working through it all to try to once again come out on the other side whole, and he has said that it was a great catharsis for him. The album itself is a masterwork of going through the steps of grief musically.

At times angry and hard, at others lyrical and delicate, this is once again a demonstration of the work of a songwriter and performer of great depth, character and discernment. Lunatic Soul has always been music of great diversity, passion and experimentation, as well as emotional depth and vulnerability, and this album if anything takes it a step farther; and yet, for those who have lost someone close to them, there will be a familiarity, and perhaps even an aid to healing.

Like all of Duda's albums, with Lunatic Soul and with Riverside, there isn't a bad song on the album.

This song is the sixth of eight on the album, and while the whole song is excellent, it has a bridge I absolutely love, and can totally relate to, from my own period of profound grief:

I want to feel what it’s like
when sorrow turns into strength
I want to feel what it’s like
when there’s no screeches in my head
I want to feel what it’s like
when dreams of mine don’t leave a mark
on my battered heart

I have to admit that I also found it familiar, and amusing in a very human way, when Duda described the atmosphere when the remaining members of Riverside first re-entered the studio to continue work on their electronic album, "Eye of the Soundscape," which had long been a dream of Grudziński's.

Duda said that the first day they just talked, which is completely understandable, and I think what most people would do. But then from the second day forward, in addition to talking about, and directly to Piotr, he said they also told him off for not finishing his guitar parts before he died, which I can completely relate to, having gone through something similar myself.

And that is a completely normal and healthy part of the grieving process.

Lyrics (from lunaticsoul.com):

a thousand shards of heaven

you can say that i belong to
all the moments
that i couldn’t let
sink into my oblivion
you can say that i’m yearning
for something that’s already gone
but i’m not a prisoner

i want to feel what it’s like
when sorrow turns into strength
i want to feel what it’s like
when there’s no screeches in my head

you can say that i’m chasing
something that is unattainable
so you know my way to survive
you can say that i’m surrounded
by the ruins of my previous life
but i am not a prisoner

i want to feel what it’s like
when sorrow turns into strength
i want to feel what it’s like
when there’s no screeches in my head
i want to feel what it’s like
when dreams of mine don’t leave a mark
on my battered heart

you can say that i belong to
all the moments
that i couldn’t let
sink into my oblivion
you can say that i am yearning
for something that’s already gone
but i am not a prisoner

i want to feel what it’s like
when sorrow turns into strength
i want to feel what it’s like
when there’s no screeches in my head
i want to feel what it’s like
when dreams of mine don’t leave a mark
i want to feel what it’s like
when what i lost comes back to life
to heal my battered heart

a thousand shards of heaven
staring at the stars

a thousand shards of heaven
drinking coldness from the night

i collect my story
under the fragmented sky
traveling through my wasteland
praying for the rain to come

i need your every tear to save my life
i need your every tear to save my life

Interestingly, at least to me, Lunatic Soul just announced their forthcoming album, "Under a Fragmented Sky," which is now available for pre-order, and will be released in 25 May 2018.

Initially intended as a single as an accompaniment to "Fractured," it then became an EP, and finally, a full-length album. I'm getting my pre-order in soon. How about you?

http://lunaticsoul.com/
https://burningshed.com/store/kscope/related-stores-kscope/lunatic-soul-kscope
https://www.mystic.pl/produkty.htm?search_text=lunatic+soul+under
#polish #art-rock #world-music #mariusz-duda

All words are my own. The image shown is the cover image from the album. The video, sourced from YouTube.com, is the intellectual property of Mariusz Duda and Lunatic Soul, and the rights belong to them and to K-Scope Records and Mystic Art Productions.

It is my sincere hope that, by posting this music video and the links with which to purchase the album, Mariusz Duda's and Lunatic Soul's music will become better known worldwide, and that his fan base will grow, as is so richly deserved.

Resteeming is welcome, you may link to my post from your own website or blog, and you may use excerpts and/or images as long as you credit me, Cori MacNaughton, and link back to this post.

Please ask for permission, before using my work without linking to this post, as all rights are reserved.