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Depicting a journey into the subconscious, the lyrics show how the individual feels more confident and protected when disconnected from reality.

by Marcel Melo Queiroz

Certainly, the vast majority of Rock/Metal lovers in Brazil have already had the opportunity to listen to "Lovy Metal" compilations, or at least know what they are, most of them released by the Som Livre label. Excluding the fact that many of the bands aren't directly linked to Heavy Metal, which doesn't mean they aren't excellent, this was a great way to promote bands not so well-known to the general public, or that had been somewhat forgotten since the 80s and early 90s, as was the case with Kansas, Stryper, Nelson, and the subject of this text, the great Queensrÿche, with the iconic "Silent Lucidity".

After releasing the groundbreaking album "Operation Mindcrime" in 1988, Queensrÿche had finally established themselves among the top bands in the US, earning critical acclaim for their talent and achieving impressive sales figures on charts worldwide. While the band wasn't yet at the top, that would change in 1990 with the release of the multi-platinum album "Empire," which contained their biggest commercial success, the ballad "Silent Lucidity."

It's possible to draw an analogy with one of the greatest classics in rock history, "Comfortably Numb" by Pink Floyd.

Due to its pleasant and even relaxing melody, coupled with the fact that it was released on many compilations (many of them bootlegs—who doesn't remember the era of cassette tapes?) alongside ballads by Guns N' Roses, KISS, Bon Jovi, U2, and other bands whose ballads were played exhaustively at the time, many people ended up classifying it as just another romantic song. Analyzing the lyrics and its excellent music video, it's easy to see that this is a mistake. Just like on their previous album, Queensrÿche continued to release songs with lyrics of a very high level and complexity.

Depicting a journey into the human subconscious, the lyrics show how the individual, in this case the woman portrayed in the lyrics, feels more confident and protected when disconnected from reality. In this case, sleep functions as an escape valve from the world, and without it there would certainly be a situation of complete physical and emotional imbalance. As we can see, the theme of "escape," so experienced by the character "Nikki" in the previous album, is back. But escape from what? Here it is possible to draw an analogy with one of the greatest classics in the history of Rock, "Comfortably Numb," by Pink Floyd.

The entire concept of the album "The Wall" revolves around a major critique of the great evils affecting humanity, such as war, intolerance, and rampant consumerism, which led Roger Waters to create an emotional wall around himself, separating him from the rest of the world and driving him to a misanthropic, almost demented state, as so well portrayed in the film of the same name. Even though he is forced to submit to a state of alienation from the rest of the world, the character ends up feeling safer in this state, away from worries, practically acting as he did in childhood.

This is perfectly shown in the music video for "Silent Lucidity," with images of sleeping children supposedly protected by shapeless figures, mostly shadows, while the lyrics say that He will take care of them, protect them in the night, and help them until the end, suggesting that this kind of help comes from the human unconscious. These verses conclude with the affirmation of a distant voice that says it's all just a dream, but that if they want, they can take control of it.

Besides being undeniably two of the most classic ballads in music history, they feature incredible lyrics that make us reflect on how it's possible for the world to be in such a deplorable state that we need to alienate ourselves in order to endure it. Considering that one of the songs was recorded over 20 years ago, and the other over 30, it seems that little has changed since then…

*This text was written by a Wikimate and does not necessarily represent the opinions of the site's authors.