This is BREKDOWN where we break down the structure of epic pieces of music. Today we're doing "Lord Abortion" -- the 5th track in the album "Midian" by the English band Cradle of Filth. This was their 4th studio album, released in 2000.
"Lord Abortion" consists of 11 unique sections in less than 7 minutes! Out of these, 3 parts are repeated once, and 2 parts are repeated twice. Here's how it goes:
- 1. synth intro 1
- 2. synth intro 2
- 3. pre-chorus
- 4. chorus
- 5. thrash bridge
- 6. verse
- 7. breakdown
- 8. possessed verse
- 9. breaks
- 10. medieval verse
- 11. romantic part
You can hear the chorus only twice, at which point we are not sure if it's a chorus at all? Nonetheless, it's the most memorable part of the song and contains the words "Lord abortion", so that's why we decided to call it that. As a left-to-right timeline, the track looks like this, with the repeated parts highlighted in colors:
1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 5 • 4 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 9 • 11 • 3 • 5 • 6 • 5
If we break it down in root notes, the song is written in G and D. "Lord Abortion" sets strong expectations in G, but then defies them brutally by switching to D, and only turning back to G to get a release from that sweet hook. Here are all the 11 parts again, highlighted in green where the root is G, and in yellow where it's D:
1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 5 • 4 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 9 • 11 • 3 • 5 • 6 • 5
As far as chord progressions go, there are overall 9 of them, if we're not nit-picking some negligible differences. It sounds like they are in the G Natural Minor and D Phrygian, with a few additional intermediate notes. Here's the dissection, again, but this time, the repeating chord progressions have been highlighted:
1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 5 • 4 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 9 • 11 • 3 • 5 • 6 • 5
There's a lot going on! If we simplify and only show each chord progression from 1 to 9, with no regard for the different sections, it looks like this:
1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 3 • 2 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 7 • 9 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 3
The main progressions are 2, 3, and 4. And you can notice that the song begins with "2-3-4-3" and ends in the same sequence, thus bringing all the pieces together. In the middle, there are 5 more harmonic progressions to follow, but they are generally rooted in the same key and scale, which makes them sound at least somewhat related to the main ones.
And that's how you have an abortion!
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