Melodius and the Soulforge (MATSF) is a devinmoore.com multimedia project initiated on December 28, 2007, and will include a screenplay, images, and music. The story is loosely based on a dark reimagining of the Greek myths of Orpheus. The screenplay can be used to make a movie or play using the music as a soundtrack, and the images can serve as a storyboard for either a movie, play or game. I started this project with the intention of making the coolest metal opera album possible, but I quickly realized that the story and images necessary to understand the creation of the soundtrack were the equivalent of a screenplay and movie storyboard. Thus, Melodius and the Soulforge will eventually be a complete Metal Opera experience. My goal would be to sell it to a studio for production as a movie, but even if that never happens, I would consider licensing my original materials for production or development in parts by whomever feels a connection to the story.
Current Demo Track Listing (02-20-10):
Act I - introducing some melodies. Medium paced, traditionally structured songs
| Selected Demo Tracks: 1 - 2:07 - intro to album 2 - 2:03 - harp intro in church 3 - 3:03 - work theme 4 - 3:46 - secret in my mind 5 - 2:46 - melodius theme 6 - 2:25 - composition on a mission 7 - 1:06 - shot at dream 8 - 0:32 - act II preview 9 - 3:02 - frozen harmless | Buy the CD now! |
Act II - overall more modern and softer sound than Act I, with more structural variance
1 - 2:44 - intro act 2
2 - 2:28 - school flyover scene
3 - 1:44 - Melodius melts
4 - 2:37 - clean up progression
5 - 3:26 - friends of angelica
6 - 0:51 - fight scene (placeholder)
7 - 1:48 - melodius love scene
8 - 2:53 - melodius band practice - the black door
9 - 2:04 - life worth while
Act III - the hardest and most epic progressive of the three Acts
1 - 1:39 - intro act 3
2 - 0:44 - alone again
3 - 0:49 - bell lead with fade in (placeholder)
4 - 1:57 - please sing it to me
5 - 3:09 - Be without you
6 - 1:28 - take me home love
7 - 3:31 - take me to where i want to be
8 - 1:12 - interlude
Story References:
For the story, I turned to both older texts that might give a window into medieval life, as well as more modern mythology and art history.
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Ovid's Metamoprhoses, Book X Orpheus and Eurydice Le Morte D'Arthur Aesop's Fables Aladdin and the Magic Lamp Celtic Myth and Mythology |
The Element Encyclopedia of Secret Signs and Symbols The Encyclopedia of Alchemy and Mysticism Brunelleschi's Dome The Judgement of Paris Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling The Redwall series The Robin Hood Project at the University of Rochester |
Audio References:
For those unfamiliar with metal opera-type music, here are some bands I consider to be good examples of where I started out researching what the music for MATSF might sound like.
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Avantasia: The Metal Opera Pyramaze: Immortal Rhapsody Firewind Blind Guardian |
Nightwish Symphony X Live365.com's Warrior Radio channel Sikth Galloglass |
Visual References:
Not every movie that influenced this project has elements that directly relate to the final product, but some of them just have plot devices in the movie that I felt made for a great story. Other movies influenced more in look and feel, although I anticipate a fairly significant evolution in the cinematography for certain scenes. For this metal opera to work, it had to have a story and a visual as epic and over-the-top as the music.
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Immortal Beloved The Phantom of the Opera (Movie) Back to the Future pt.I Braveheart The Lord of the Rings pt. II Edward Scissorhands Constantine Sweeney Todd |
Underworld - Rise of the Lycans Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Highlander I Bram Stoker's Dracula Van Helsing 9 Hellboy II Pan's Labyrinth |