Track 1: “The Trenches.” Underscored by ambient whistling, rifle shots, and single notes struck on a piano, Brad Birzer’s voice fades in softly at first, repeating, and echoing over itself. He speaks C.S. Lewis’s description of his experience in World War I: “The frights, the cold, the smell of human excrement, the horribly crushed men still moving like crushed beetles…”
Then, cue an electric guitar intro, a chorus of “This is war!” and, finally, drop in some heavy metal drumming.
These are the opening lines and sounds of the progressive rock epic chronicling the meeting, developing relationship, and, ultimately, failed friendship between J.R.R Tolkien and Lewis. Birzer, professor of history, wrote this seven-track album, “The Bardic Depths,” in collaboration with progressive rock musician Dave Bandana.
— Read on hillsdalecollegian.com/2020/02/brad-birzer-writes-lyrics-for-progressive-rock-album/
Spirit of Cecilia 