Song of the Day Redux, Day 66: Deranged

Deranged

It's been a little while since the last one. I'm sort of trapped in a work cycle that takes up all of my time and energy right now, but I have a day off, so here we go!

This is a song released in September 2011 for the Arkham City game soundtrack, and it's about Batman. More than that, it's the last song recorded that features Chris Pennie. Oh, and this and Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers are both after Mic parted from the band. I think it's probably Wes on bass here.

The Content: A twisted song from the Joker to Batman, taunting him and explaining his eternal rivalry, and illustrating their caliginous hate-love relationship. They each need each other; each is a force that necessitates the existence of the other. Both of them are deranged, insane in their own rivalry. This is an amazing look inside the mind of the Joker.

The Music: A muted series of arpeggios, suddenly met with some of the loudest drumming Coheed's ever featured. Chris Pennie CARRIES this song. (Though Josh does a great job with the drums when they played it live in 2012.) In the verses, especially, the guitar provides rhythm, while the drum is the key instrument and melody. A heavy but simple chord progression for the chorus, with little arpeggios on the other guitar. Extremely distorted bass, too. Then we get a brief clean solo before the shorter second verse. A bridge brilliantly punctuated by Chris' cymbals and drumming over power chords. Then we get a creepy "ooohhhh" chanting part over the intro arpeggio, before we go into the chorus again. The chorus gets heavier at the end, as Claudio goes into a near scream for "we're one and the same! Deranged!"

And then Claudio treats us to something he'd (almost) never done up to this point: "Ha ha! Ha ha!" A creepy, distorted laughter that hides something dark and sinister, getting right to the core of who the Joker is as a character. We get a quick "ha ha!" in Made Out Of Nothing ("Ha ha! I am the nothing you have saved) but other than that, I don't think Claudio ever made use of that before Deranged. We get it a few times later, though, because Claudio's damn good at it. Again in Domino ("ha ha ha ha ha hahaha" at 4:24 to punctuate the drum hits, and later "your message lost, ha ha!") and in Elm Street Lover Boy ("I am your night, I, I, I, HA HA HAHA!"). I think of Claudio's creepy laugh as almost as iconic as the "whoa-oh" segments as far as Coheed's sound goes, but relative to Coheed, it's a very new trick. And it's never better than right here in Deranged.

The Part: Absolutely Claudio's laughter at the end of the song. Gives me chills every time.

This city's lost it's hope, I repeat, I boast.
The strange will walk alone.
They scurry with their doubt, darkness shrouds, the sirens shout.
Against the concrete below.
Oh, this works all for you and me, it's all our being.
We'll burn this city down!

Who will be your pretty, little enemy?
When I'm gone your world will prove empty.
I promise you will always remember me.
The joke's on you, who poison me.
While you clean the streets of misfortune,
I pick the innocent from my dirty teeth.
We're one and the same... deranged.

We were our worst nightmares delight,
And I promised you,
As you always knew,
Our world's no paradise.

There is no me without you.
I will behave, I will be
An afterthought, you'll make bleed
Your darkest day, your friend in need 

Ha ha, ha ha

Next up: The Homecoming We're almost done! There's April Come She Will, Somebody I Used To Know and one or two other covers, and the Afterman demos. I'll try to do it more regularly than I have been doing it in the past week or so.