Northlane honor late Architects guitarist Tom Searle with the closing track on their album 'Mesmer'
When Tom Searle lost his life after a three-year battle with cancer last August, the metal community both mourned and celebrated his genius.
For Northlane lead guitarist Jon Deiley, the inclination was clear: he would phone fellow bandmate and guitarist Josh Smith to write a song in Searle's memory (via RockFeed).
Deiley dialed up Smith and together they agreed it was the best way to pay tribute to the late Architects lead guitarist, who was highly respected among fellow musicians and the metal community as a whole.
Read More: Northlane surprise release new album, ‘Mesmer’
“Paragon” was the resulting song, and it's the concluding track on Northlane's brand new record, Mesmer. Listen to the song and read the lyrics below.
In a Twitter “tweetalong” in which Northlane broke down the album while listening simultaneously with the internet, rhythm guitarist Josh Smith delved into the idea to honor Searle using some reworkings of his own lyrics.
About a week after Tom Searle passed @jondeiley called me a told me we had to write a tribute song for him. I wanted to as well #mesmer
— Josh Smith (@northlanejosh) March 28, 2017
it was an extremely hard thing to do because we wanted it to live up to his stellar talent for songwriting #mesmer
— Josh Smith (@northlanejosh) March 28, 2017
I felt the only just way to do that was to reappropriate my favorite Architects lyrics #Mesmer
— Josh Smith (@northlanejosh) March 28, 2017
the lines in Paragon that aren't Tom's lines or reappropriations of his lyrics are from “architects” by Rise Against
— Josh Smith (@northlanejosh) March 28, 2017
Deiley further elaborated on how important the song was to him and the band, reiterating that the song needed to be “perfect.”
Paragon for me is super special, it was one of the only songs I had a heavy hand in the vocal phrasing and melodies. It had to be perfect.
— Jon (@jondeiley) March 28, 2017
Read More: Musicians honor Architects guitarist Tom Searle
The full lyrics for “Paragon” read as follows:
The last of our martyrs seeks no adoration • From his castle in the
air of eternal vibration • We won’t lose sight of the lasting words
he wrote • We won’t lose sight of what matters most
A shining beacon of wisdom • Armed to the teeth
fearless conviction • Now that he’s gone we’re going to miss him
Immortalised between the lines • Conceived by a human heart inside
He once said to us, my friend hope is a prison • But the hope his
chords sung only spread love In a hollow crowned kingdom
There are no fighters left here anymore • See you on the other side
of that open door
We wont lose sight • We wont lose sight
Of the lasting words he wrote
We won’t lose sight of what matters most
Northlane surprise dropped Mesmer last Friday, March 24 on UNFD. Listen to “Paragon” here.
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