I was meant to be working on chapter 7, but I ended up obsessing over how the life series songs by Evil Anvil do such an incredible job of reflecting the vibe of the season and its winner production-wise.
...And then i started thinking about what secret life, wild life and past life would sound like and now I'm obligated to share absolutely every single one of my thoughts.
Buckle up, this is a long one.
Each life series-season is defined by its winner, in my opinion — especially when you look back on them. 3rd Life had Grian as the last man standing, the loyal servant turned devoted partner. The green killer, killing the one person he'd spent his whole season protecting. In more ways than one, his 3rd Life arc links back to the overarching story of the server itself, the main connection in my opinion being his and Martyn's similar stories leading into the battle between the red desert and dogwarts. Neither of them were meant to stay with their partners, yet that's where they ended up — leading a war side by side, whilst knowing the both of them could never live but protecting with their lives all the same. 3rd Life's production has the hopeful, almost nostalgic sound of the intro representing this emotional depth, paired with the loud yet calculated sound of the verses and chorus. It never crosses the line of sounding grand, the way you'd expect a war to be — and it doesn't end with a big boom, but rather with a melancholic piano layered with the sounds of the two men apologizing profusely whilst beating each other to death. 3rd life isn't happy, but it isn't sad either. It's wistful.
Then, going onto Last Life, we have Scott as its winner. The main gimmick with Last Life was the boogeyman, a mechanic founded in players lying and betraying their teammates. There is an underlying air of deception throughout the season, and we never get the nostalgic, loving embrace of 3rd Life. Enter Scott, the player most known for his endless devotion to his alliances. As a player, he is the very opposite of the gimmick, and throughout the season, Scott suffers for it. He has his animals killed, his teammates chased by the boogeyman, and he suffers the boogeyman curse himself despite how against his nature it is. The deceit and lies are the main and constant threats, hanging over not only his but all player's heads. That creates a unique sort of isolation, where the players may have teammates, but the focus is still on the individual. To reflect this, Last Life has this sort of jazzy, mischevious sound throughout its production, one you'd typically associate with a scummy salesman or a dealer. But there is also something tragic about it, an underlying tension. It's multifaceted. Sinister, yet playful. Melancholic, yet impish — and that's what I think about when I look back on Last Life.
Double Life is another excellent example of incredible production. The main gimmick, the focus of the season is that each player is linked with another — but it is Pearl who wins. Pearl, the loner driven to insanity, couped up in a tower with only her wolves for company. From the other player's pov's, she is seen running around causing chaos and being a menace, earning her these nicknames — but if that's the way you see it, you'd be missing the whole story. Double Life's focus is soulmates. Every player has one, Grian with Scar, Impulse with Bdubs, Scott with Pearl, etc. It is the expected for each soulmate pairing to team up. It is the norm, yet that isn't what happens. Scott and Cleo decide to be each other's soulmates, leaving Martyn and Pearl — and then Martyn leaves as well. Throughout the season, Pearl repeatedly tries to make alliances, yet is cast aside, called crazy and referred to as a bad omen. The soulmate gimmick has alienated her completely. Double Life as a season was extremely fast paced due to the shared healthbars, and is therefore also the shortest out of each Life season — and like the previous two, the production reflects both of these attributes. The horns, groovy guitar, and the beat all reflect the fast paced side of Double Life. But throughout it all, there is a piano playing a doleful yet ominous tune, followed by foreboding whispers that 'something wicked this way comes'. And it does. Throughout it all, the piano is ignored. The whispers, the laughs, are all ignored — until the end. The flashy beat falls away, and the only thing left is the piano, Scott, Pearl and a final promise. Tilly Death Do Us Part.
Limited Life is the most recent song, and this is really one that's been driving me crazy. Limited Life was an even more fast paced season than Double Life, thanks to its gimmick being time. Instead of relying on a limited amount of lives, each player had 24 hours to live, losing one hour with each death. This allowed for a lot more deaths than what would be usual in a normal Life-season, which contributed to the fast paced aura of the season. Most importantly, there is a timer on screen at all times, counting down the amount of time you have left to live. It creates a sense of dread, and it creates stress. The production of Limited Life features an epic melody played on an electric guitar, violins playing with an intense fervour, and the relentless tick, tick, tick of your time running out. There is no time to stop. There is no time to breathe. The boogeyman is back, people are dying left and right, and every second spent waiting is your time left wasted. It is the most chaotic season yet — and that is why there is no more fitting winner for this season than Martyn. I see Martyn as a bit of a wild card in the life series. He isn't loyal, and he lies for the fun of it. The only person he's ever been loyal to has been Ren, and for this season, he is teamed with Scott — the most loyal player of all. Really, it couldn't have gone any other way. Picture the finale; the server dwindled down to its final few players. Martyn having just betrayed Scott, before going on a murder spree. Scott, Martyn and Impulse gathered at the center of the server, Impulse and Scott agreeing on ending the game in an honorable fist-fight between them. But Martyn has only ever been loyal to one man. Now, I'll be honest and say that I'm not too caught up on his Eyes and Ears AU, so I do not know the lore implications of the Ren section — but what I can say is that the game ends the way it always would. Martyn wins, stabbing both Impulse and Scott whilst they have their backs turned, refusing to end the season in a truce. The western sound of 3rd Life returns, briefly, before being replaced with harsh strums of the electric guitar. They're much slower this time, but they retain their impact. It's the sound of a decision made, in my mind, followed by said decision being carried out. A violent ending to a violent season. Exactly the way Limited Life should feel.
I should also mention that Limited Life is 60 bpm which is just... perfect, isn't it?
Now, I know I've been yapping for ages about the already existing life-series songs — but now it's time for my theories about the other seasons that have yet to have been scored by the mastermind that is Evil Anvil!
Secret Life to me is the season most defined by its winner. Mostly due to Scar's tendency to loredrop out of nowhere and then refuse to elaborate, leaving us all screaming and crying for further explanation while he laughs in our faces. A joke, of course, but still. Point is; Secret Life is the season remembered most for Scar's arc. And what was it? Well, I'll be the fiftieth person to tell you how Secret Life's gimmick did not work in his favor. He was — much like Pearl — alone during his season, his tasks making it nearly impossible for him to form any sort of alliances. That, paired with how isolating the gimmick itself was, all culminated to Scar's season playing out the way it did. Therefore, I think the Secret Life song would sound like a mix between 3rd Life and Last Life. Thematically, Secret Life aligns most closely with Last Life, since both gimmicks are centered around dishonesty and deception, and because of that, I imagine the music taking inspiration from spy-movie soundtracks — the kind of sound that feels sneaky, secretive, and a little mischievous. But Secret Life is also very different from Last Life, and that’s where the similarities to 3rd Life come in. While the two seasons aren’t alike on the surface, Secret Life shares 3rd Life’s sense of foreboding. Beneath all the flashiness and trickery, there’s an ominous atmosphere — the presence of the secret keeper, the mystery of the void, and Scar’s whole shadow people thing. To capture that, the song would need a balance between the secretive, playful energy of Last Life and the foreboding calm of 3rd Life. It should feel cinematic, in a way. Not loud or aggressive, but filled with a hollow kind of darkness. It’s the kind of sinister tension that never fully shows itself — you could almost ignore it if you wanted to — but it's there.
Wild Life is a lot more straight forward. Really, there is only one way this could sound. It'd be loud, it'd be flashy, and there'd almost be no need for it to be anything else. Each session had a different wild card, and Joel's base was a car, and he won the season calling himself Joel Toretto whilst roleplaying Fast & Furious. In more ways than one, Wild Life was... Well, wild. It was fun. They were all having fun. The Tuff Guys, the Bamboozlers, the Spanners, the family... I don't know, it has a special sort of aura. Obviously, for a season like that where the main gimmick is referred to as Wild Cards — there is no other possible sonic option other than going for a carnival/casino playful sound, maybe with elements of rock sprinkled in to reflect Joel and the Fast & Furious bits. Just because that's sick as hell, and Joel deserves to be represented by an electric guitar. Obviously, it is still a death game, and there were serious moments — but overall, I think this song has the potential to be the loudest and flashiest one yet, because it would actually make sense.
Past Life is... not finished yet! I'm writing this at 12 am on... Well, I guess it's thursday now (I've been at this for an hour god help me), so the finale (?) comes out tomorrow. This means I can't predict and theorize based on the winner — so we'll just have to work with what we have right now! Obviously, Past Life is very centered around Evo and the Watcher lore. There was a watcher symbol at spawn, there was an eye in the teaser before the season itself, and the gimmick itself is the literal premise of Evo. I think Past Life is the season that has the most unapologetically sinister aura. The watchers are looming over the players, and they're not bothering to hide it this time. This time, they want to be seen. They want the players to know that they're there. The most active way they make themselves known is by literally recycling the Evo premise, which is a thing that will follow the players throughout every single session. There was a literal watcher symbol at spawn, like I said — but there is also the secret society. That was something that only appeared for one single session, and it is the most watcher coded gimmick I have ever seen. Not to mention that Grian was hard-coded to be a part of it, which is just.... gah, the lore implications. Anyway, all of this culminates into two possible soundscapes which I honestly think could work incredibly well. Like Secret Life, Past Life carries this sinister aura — but once again, they're not trying to hide it. It's not hollow or subdued, it's very much in your face. We also literally have a team called the villies (the villains). The second thing Past Life has going for it, is the nostalgia factor. The gimmick is to travel through minecraft versions, starting in beta until you end up in the most recent version. These two factors together could really create a super interesting production that I'd honestly be super excited to see. It'd be like sad, but scary. Wistful, but incredibly menacing. I absolutely need that in my life.
Anyways, that was a little taste of the stuff going on inside my brain. I would write more, but it's 12:30 am on a school night, and I've been working on this for a full hour now. I am tired.
To finish this off, I'd like to say to any newcomers that yes I am a fanfic author as well as a songwriter which is why this ridiculously long post exists. If you're interested in more insanity, I'm currently working on my fic called "Withering Heights" and I am desperate for readers.
Congratulations if you made it through this whole post by the way. You are gods strongest soldier.
