Ah yes, Into The Lion’s Den. Track 4 on the Seasons album might be a surprise to many followers of the band….
I was tempted to say this song marks the first time a 7-string guitar features on a Forest Field track. but then I remembered Time from Pioneers Of The Future. Yet there it has a more supportive role and here it surely takes the lead with heavy riffing on the B string. But it is the first FF track to feature the great shredding of UK guitarist Vince O’Regan (ex-Bob Catley, Legion, Pulse). The idea to invite Vince came of course from Legion mate Phil, who sent the track to Vince without me knowing it. Vince just put the track on, hit record and shredded away. I was assured I could use what I would see fit, so I did 🙂
The combination of the riffs and the solos make for a pretty powerful track. So it’s a good thing that the lyric is rather tongue in cheek. That combined with another tasty chorus and a groove that ties everything together, makes the track hard to resist. At least in my humble opinion. Phil wanted to keep my voice in the middle part, so here’s another chance at hearing the original idea…
I was worried about recording the bass line. But then it turned out I had to relearn and redo the basic riffs on guitar anyway, so that prepared me for doing the bass too. Lots of low end here. The inspiration for the middle section came to me while I was goofing around on the guitar. It is by no means typical for me. Works great though.
The end part is inspired by bands like Dream Theater or Vanden Plas. I love keyboards playing counter melodies to guitar parts.