Hive Mind by Keor

Hive Mind is a Progressive album inspired musically by early Heavy Metal, Progressive Rock, Ambient music, Folk/Ethnic music and Movie Score, and thematically inspired by ancient philosophy, mythology and esotericism.

STORYLINE :

(WELCOME SONG) It all started on a dark autumn afternoon. Drops of rain fell lightly on the pavement, and a vast cloud of fog had shrouded the whole town. As usual, you were daydreaming by the windowpane, and watching the ravens gather on the branches of naked trees. A gust of wind slipped through the door and blew out the flame of your candle, but something else was holding your attention : Somewhere behind town, on the top of a distant hill, you could perceive an unusual light, glimmering in the penumbra. It was faint and yellow, and travelled slowly towards the lonesome highlands : the home of witches, trolls, imps and magicians, according to stories for children. Nonetheless, that thought made something sparkle within you, and you suddenly felt a momentum : You had to follow that light. You jumped into your boots, put on your coat and went on your way. But climbing the hill was long and difficult. Wet rocks slithered under your feet, the cold wind froze the water in your hair, and by the time you made it to the top, the light was gone, and the sun was about to set. You looked back at the distant roofs behind you, and heard the echo of the bell ringing the seventh hour, while it reflected the last sunbeams. Eventually, all faded away, and you were left alone in the night, the silence, and the mud.

But soon after, a sound emerged from the nearby forest. At first, you mistook it for a bird, but as you moved closer it seemed to be… a violin ! You decided to follow the music and let it guide you between the lowering oaks, while thinking about what sort of creatures might be observing you, sitting in the shadows. And there you saw it again : Glowing across the leaves and branches : your guiding light. You made your way through the undergrowth, and ended up facing a mysterious dwelling, glittering with light and music, and its wooden door narrowly open. This place seemed strange, and forbidden… But you where already lost and unable to find your way back, so you took your chances… And stepped inside…


What was inside, you couldn’t have expected ! As soon as you walked through the door, a large gathering of small human-like beings welcomed you in song. “The chosen one has come” they said, and they asked for your help : To save their dying master, the Alchemist, by fetching them the philosopher’s stone. The small beings didn’t let you the

As they gathered around you, they repeated “ Break the salt ! Break the salt ! Break the salt ! “ and you started to stagger... (DESTRUCT)

You slowly woke up in a rustic bed, realising you had fainted. The glow of dawn warmly shone upon the various trinkets and gewgaws displayed on shelves that were covered by cobwebs, and you felt unusually light.

One of the small beings entered your tiny room, and told you it was time to begin your journey. He handed you a cloak, a purse, a compass and a map, where your path was indicated. You would have to reach the Home of Mysteries, a place far up north ; and the very first step, was the unholy "Grand Quagmire”. Travelling in the highlands was rather enjoyable. The smell of damp wood and grass, the gentle wind in your hair, and the peculiar atmosphere of the forest made the first hours very short.


(THE GRAND QUAGMIRE) At twilight, you came upon a way less charming scenery : In the middle of the forest, lay a sea of mud, appearing to be several feet deep and sinking into the mist beyond sight. An old raft was waiting near the shore, lit by a small lamp, but when you tried to reach it, a voice arose from the fog : “Hey !” the voice said, “Step out of my mud, scoundrel !”. You asked the voice to identify itself, and an ugly old man broke out from the depths of the quagmire. “I, am the Mudkeeper” he said “And this is all mine ! If you want to cross through, I’ll take you on my ship… Assuming you can afford it”. You asked him what he would do with coins in this place, and he answered : “None of your business ! You either take my offer, or you get lost, like all these fools who keep wandering forever… giving their souls to the mud…” You handed the purse to the Mudkeeper, and set sail. When you passed beside the lost souls of the grand quagmire, he was telling you about, they contemplated the faint light behind the raft, without ever trying to reach it, and before sinking back in the mud.


(HARMONICES MUNDI) In the middle of the night, the Mudkeeper woke you up “We’re here”, he growled. You had reached the far end of the Quagmire and of the forest as well. You stepped out of the raft, and as he was turning back, you asked him if his people ever return to their homes. He said “Never. Why would they ?”. You, then leaned back against a tree, and witnessed a rain of falling stars. What a sky !


When the morning came, a falling pinecone woke you up, and you were fortunate to find yourself near a berry shrub. The next days of travelling took you across splendid wide valleys, where life seemed almost untouched. The small beings' map suggested that the next step on your road was a high mountain pass, surrounded by white peaks. But there was a short cut… Across the domain of the illustrious engineer Magna. Magna was a talented and enigmatic woman, who once lived amongst other humans, in town. Repelled by the greed, pride and vanity of her fellow beings, she went into exile, and decided never ever to share her visionary inventions with a human. Surprisingly, you found the gates to her grove open, but a warning sign was displayed. It read :
“ A tinkering in your ear
A shiver on your skin
It’s catching you here
My guarding machine “


(MACHINE BREATH)

After the machine caught you up, you were escorted to Magna’s gardens, where she was waiting for you. “There is our intruder”, she said. “It’s been a long time since I saw a human…”. You explained that you were on a mission to save the life of the Alchemist, and a discrete smile loomed on her face. “I know”, she answered. You stayed silent, doubtful.“I can feel his servants have performed their ritual on you.” she carried on, "You are no common human, anymore. I know, for they have done the same to me, long ago.” She offered you shelter and help, and you had a long talk near the fireplace, which you enjoyed greatly. When the dawn came you met on a plain, and took off on her latest mechanic wonder. The sun glowed orange over the frosted valley while the silver moon remained high in the sky. At this magic moment, it was almost as if you were one of them.


(FIRST INTERLUDE) At noon, Magna landed near a dark crack in the earth. “This is the place you seek”, she told. “Good luck”. The way was overcast by an ark of trees and led to a stairway sinking into the rift. Downstairs, where the light of the day struggled to reach, an ancient stone bridge joined the other side, and on each side giant statues, whose feet sunk deep in the abyss, guarded the entrance.


(HOME OF MYSTERIES) You found yourself in a majestic, vaulted hall, carved into the earth. It was lighted by bright spheres, levitating in the corners. While moving forward, you took the time to admire the columns and the engravings, which depicted symbols such as you had never seen before. At the far end of the hall sieged seven mysterious tall men, in giant stone thrones. They seemed frail, but yet powerful, and their eyes glowed faintly in blue. When you arrived, the one in the middle rose up and proclaimed “Behold, the new hand of the Alchemist, who has come to our hive mind in search for the stone. Let his true journey begin”. The dwellers invited you to lie on an altar, gathered around you, and started murmuring in a tone that echoed in the hall as well as your head. In no time, all turned into a blur, and you fainted… But not in no benign way… You were transported to the top of a hill behind your town, on a dark autumn afternoon, with one of the light spheres beside you…

(DEAD TREE SEEDS)

You surfaced on the altar, like a suffocating diver. A sea of questions was swirling in your head, but you felt heavy and numb, unable to speak or move. One of the dwellers leaned over you. He whispered “You must find the stone within “, and you dived again.

(OBLIVION) Truly, what was the meaning of this experience ?
Did the small beings cast a spell on you, as to force you to save their master ? Or perhaps it was you, attempting to escape the benign, in the effervescence of an adventure. Slowly, a new vision came to you : your town was drowning in a sea of mud, and people kept wandering through the streets as usual. You saw the Mudkeeper navigating on a ship, and you asked him a question. His answer was “why would they ?”.

You noticed that you held in your hand a heavy dark stone, which weakly started to glow.
The voice of a dweller descended from the sky of your dream and, in a thunder, declared “Thy stone shines bright in the hands of heroes”


(EGREGORE) After a time admiring the sceneries of your inner world, you decided to slowly come back to the altar. In your hands, the stone was now translucent, and flashed brightly in a pure white color. For a moment, after you opened your eyes, they gleamed similar to those of the dwellers. Suddenly, the enigma became clear : Your brought yourself here. You did it not because of a spell, but because it was right. But how ? When you tried to recount your experience to the dwellers, you found yourself unable to. Your mouth could articulate, but your mind was incapable of expressing the new realms of thought you were accessing. Anyway, it was time for you to return the Alchemist’s. The engineer waited for you outside and took you on the long flight.


(LAST INTERLUDE) Magna’s machine landed at midnight. The small beings waited for your return, but this time in a solemn way. They formed a row, showing you the way to their master’s stand. You found him almost petrified on his armchair, with his grey eyes starring into the great beyond... His skin had turned to ash, and his hands held a stone, similar to yours, but weakly sparkling in a crimson color. You exchanged stones, and the breath of life returned inside him.
Suddenly, it was as if magic was taking its course on the house. Lamps and candles lighted up by themselves, books of all colours started jumping back on shelves, and chairs danced around the long table as the small beings gathered around their master to witness his revival. The alchemist lived. But still, you were unable to speak ! So he handed you a gift. The gift of metamorphosis. He gave you a crystal sphere, similar to a black eye ball, and you had your final vision.

(RAVEN'S EYE)

Process-driven young ♰✠ 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃 ✠♰

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