“Bending the Arc to Fear” by Trivium
“Bending the Arc to Fear” is one of the most complex songs on “What the Dead Men Say”. It deals with a number of topics, and the way they all tie together is, to some degree, open to different interpretations. Indeed in explaining this track, Trivium’s Paolo Gregoletto referenced subjects as diverse as the philosophies of Martin Luther King Jr. and the residential phenomenon known as suburbanization. Also the surveillance aspect of modern society is one of the dominating themes. And this is not in the sense of people being surveilled by outside entities so to speak. Rather it is our contemporary tendency to even fill our own homes with devices which in some way, shape or form keep tabs on us.
Moreover the boys feel that just as moving into the suburbs has a tendency to disconnect us from our neighbors, along a similar vein doing the majority of your socializing via the internet is not a valid alternative to actually “experiencing the world”.
So with all of that in mind, perhaps the simplest way to describe this song is as one which is critical of the internet of things. Or as alluded to the second verse, the singer apparently views the internet as “a web you can’t escape”. Moreover he conjures up the notion of conformity so to speak, as in the internet being the type of tool which those who do not fit in are met with scorn. And to some understanding that also appears to be the idea behind the title of the track, i.e. individuals going along with these type of questionable schemes due to “fear” of behaving otherwise.
Conclusion
So once again, this song is not one of the easiest to decipher. But in summation it seems the main thing the rockers are ranting about is an overdependence, socially, on the internet.
Writing Credits for “Bending the Arc to Fear”
“Bending the Arc to Fear” was written by Trivium.
Date of Release
The track is featured, via Roadrunner Records, on the band’s ninth-studio album “What the Dead Men Say”. And the producer of the entire project is Josh Wilbur.
“Bending the Arc to Fear” was officially released on April 24th, 2020.
