Track listing
- The Water's Edge & Ident [0:54]
- The Guardsman [1:41]
- A Day in the Life [2:13]
- Firestone Bay [2:23]
- Pain [1:55]
- Abuse [2:12]
- Night's End [1:46]
The Guardsman is a short film shot at Royal William Yard, a former naval supply yard in Plymouth. Photographer and collaborator Rick Stear worked there in its heyday; he returned to provide photos of our story about a guardsman who suffers one bad day... and the consequences when he goes looking to release his pent-up frustrations.
The album features a mixture of film cues and additional material. It opens with the short introductory statement covering the initial shots and the usual Wingless Films ident; the film continues on into "A Day in the Life" (track three), though the album features a full playing of the main theme ("The Guardsman", track two), which was one of the first tracks completed for the project. Track three is an extended version of the film cue, featuring an outro that descends further into the low ranges as the guardsman approaches his injury.
"Firestone Bay" is the album's second bonus track, composed in response to the view across the bay of the same name at the mouth of the tunnel featured prominently at the end of the film. "Pain" and "Abuse" cover the second half of the narrative, plunging into darker territory as the guardsman suffers through his injury, and takes it out on a passing drunk (played by James Cotter). "Pain" features a brief, distorted guitar twang as the guardsman takes painkillers; the same sound was associated with drug addiction and poison in Chase the Dragon and Desert of Two Devils.
"Night's End" provides an adagio for shots of the bloody aftermath and leads into the credits with a cello-and-viola rendition of the main theme. The outro covers the brief post-credits scene of the guardsman taking in a view of the night-time cityscape, and reflecting upon his actions.
The album features a mixture of film cues and additional material. It opens with the short introductory statement covering the initial shots and the usual Wingless Films ident; the film continues on into "A Day in the Life" (track three), though the album features a full playing of the main theme ("The Guardsman", track two), which was one of the first tracks completed for the project. Track three is an extended version of the film cue, featuring an outro that descends further into the low ranges as the guardsman approaches his injury.
"Firestone Bay" is the album's second bonus track, composed in response to the view across the bay of the same name at the mouth of the tunnel featured prominently at the end of the film. "Pain" and "Abuse" cover the second half of the narrative, plunging into darker territory as the guardsman suffers through his injury, and takes it out on a passing drunk (played by James Cotter). "Pain" features a brief, distorted guitar twang as the guardsman takes painkillers; the same sound was associated with drug addiction and poison in Chase the Dragon and Desert of Two Devils.
"Night's End" provides an adagio for shots of the bloody aftermath and leads into the credits with a cello-and-viola rendition of the main theme. The outro covers the brief post-credits scene of the guardsman taking in a view of the night-time cityscape, and reflecting upon his actions.