With their fourth full length, “Lethe”, Hamburg based muscular post metal act CALEYA have immersed themselves in a set of emotional feelings in the fight against forgetting. The title is a reference to a river of the underworld of Greek mythology – who drinks from his water, erases any memory of an earlier life. Lethe urges his listeners to face the vortex of this raging river, finally reaching the shore. To understand more about this epic release, we asked the band’s vocalist Tobias Brand to shed some more light on the lyrical content of “Lethe”, but his poetic soul obviously forbade him to serve an easy explanation :)
Since its inception, CALEYA has performed over 300 concerts, numerous festivals and support shows, including for DEAFHEAVEN, OATHBREAKER, FJORD, PIANOS BECOME THE TEETH, THE HIRSCH EFFEKT, AMENRA, ENVY.
… What remains are only traces
they lead from here
to the house of your memories
every picture, every wall
another turned stone
heavy in your chest …
1.) Lawra
This first song describes the direction this new record is leading to. Lyric wise it tells about the longing for nature itself, regarding concrete walls and human conditions in urban places, the fear of losing oneself in this environment and striving to escape it until a point of no return.
2.) Golem
An artificial creature without self awareness or free will. Just an object which is controlled by its maker to follow his/her commands. In context to the song, it’s about personal struggles, self optimization in this day and age, where modern technology/social media lead one to his/her own demise.
3.) Trostland
A very mean and vicious song in which you’ll have the feeling of being nailed to a wall. A wall of someone’s memories, pictures, images, shadows of losing family, friends and loved ones. An enclave of despair.
4.) Heym
A song about time not spent with a person you hold dear, where flaws, failures and broken promises lead to distance, the struggle of letting go and understanding that nothing in this world could change what has been done.
5.) Freilicht
The insight of a person that is standing on the edge of a waterfront longing for it’s cold embrace before sinking deep. Like lovers entwined on a tangled shore, waiting for the waves of salvation and the endless sleep.
6.) Trophäe
This is the last song on the album and a devastating one too. It’s about loss and failure, about holding the ashes of someones image, where you feel his/her last touch with fingers running through sand. It’s about pure loneliness and the struggle to find a way out of this misery, being isolated with no light at the end of the tunnel.
