Kassiopeia Weekly – 06/28/2025

This week we tracked final vocals for the sixth song we wrote for this album: “The Ides Aren’t in April.” It’s an energetic, triple-based song in B harmonic minor—something that leans more into our metalcore side.

I usually to prefer writing in 4/4 with triplets. That was my go-to approach in our previous project. But when we kicked off Kassiopeia with a slightly simpler band concept, I started leaning more toward straight 4/4, using 8ths and 16ths with what I call "fake triplets" (the dotted 8th–dotted 8th–8th pattern). It gives a syncopated, grooving feel, as opposed to the smoother pulse of straight triplets.

Bonus: this track actually has a swung palm mute section near the beginning that captures a bit of that classic triplet energy.

Structurally, it’s a simple one: a kind of A–B–C–something–verse–chorus, repeated three times with a breakdown bridge. But between the arpeggios, harmonic minor melodies, and pulsing triplets, this has become one of my favorite tracks on the album.

🧱 Origins & Arrangement

The song began life as a MIDI demo by Zane, which I reinterpreted for guitar and drums. One of Zane’s original sections didn’t make it into this track but actually got repurposed in “Immure Me Not.” We had already done demo vocals for this track earlier in the process, so tracking final vocals this week went smoothly. I’m excited to hear how Zane stitches them together in the mix.

🎸 Guitar Technique & Chorus Chords

A cool part of this track is the chord voicings I use for the chorus. One of the reasons I like drop tunings is so I can do these wide, almost string-skipping octave+third chords:

  • Root on the lowest string
  • Skip a string
  • Third one octave up

Playing this kind of shape high up on the neck of my MIJ Telecaster gives a slightly unstable, detuned feel. It adds a lot of character—perfectly matching the dark tone of the track.

🧪 Happy Accidents & Experimental Bits

There’s also this great accidental dissonant break before the final chorus. Zane had slowed down one of the scratch guitar tracks to 50% on one side and left the other side normal—creating this spooky stereo conflict that we ended up keeping in the final arrangement.

🗓️ What’s Next

We're hoping this track becomes a fan favorite—but we’re saving our three biggest hitters for the final stretch of the album.

Next week’s goal is ambitious: two tracking sessions to knock out final vocals for:

  • An Improper Sendoff
  • You've Always Been Wonderful

We’re tentatively aiming to release the album around October 13, 2025, which gives us a little time to finalize vocals, mixes, and promotional content.

Stay tuned.
- Wicky