Phoenix Terra
for tuba and fixed media (heavy metal band)
PERUSALSCORE
PERUSALSCORE
ank you for talking on this mammoth of a piece. Phoenix Terra is one of my prouder achievements as a composer, and it is the longest and final track on e Human Element, my solo heavy metal album.
e idea behind this track was to take the rough narrative of the entire album and find a satisfying way to conclude the story. I wanted to end the album on a contemplative note, but I also wanted the energy of the final track to incorporate all the emotions and ideas from the preceding tracks. is is how I came up with the title Phoenix Terra: a planet reborn from fire and smoke.
is piece is bookended by two large sections dominated by acoustic guitars. Actually, the form of the piece is somewhat of a mirror image of itself, like a rondo form missing some repeats of the “A” section: ABCBA. Of course, this is not a hard and fast truth, but it is the general structure I kept in mind while writing. e heavier riffs take inspiration from classic doom metal and thrash metal, the two genres I became obsessed with in middle school when I was exposed to Black Sabbath and Metallica.
I hope you enjoy this one. If you’ve made it through the whole album and are now working on this, or even if you just purchased this piece to perform, I want to sincerely thank you for your support. I could not do what I do without people being interested in my music, and I always dreamed of creating a project like e Human Element. ank you for being a part of that journey.
Instrumentation
Solo Tuba Heavy Metal Band* (Rhythm Guitar, Electric Bass, Clean Guitar, Lead Guitar, Drums)
Duration: 9:33 minutes
PERUSALSCORE
2024
*A backing track covering the heavy metal band parts is available from the publisher; the work is typically performed in a solo tuba & tape configuration.
Copyright © 2024 Evan Zegiel (ASCAP). All Rights Reserved. Published by Just a eory Press | www.justatheorypress.com First printing of this edition, March 2024
— Evan Zegiel