Hic Sunt Dracones

Here Be Dragons

Hic Sunt Dracones by Mass Theory

"Between the vocals and the guitar in this song it just deserves to be heard."

So, uh. I'm pretty hyped because it's the first time in a while that I'm doing a song I've never heard before. That music video has literally has 1,178 views as I write this post. Not sure why.

I admit that I don't have a lot of experience producing music, but the recording sounds clean and incredibly professional to me. The music video has a bit of a low-budget garage-band feel at times, but, like, 80% of music videos are crap anyway, even in the big leagues.

(Yeah, 80%. You can quote me.)

This is a solid alternative rock track. The guitar mentioned in the quote by whoever recommended this song is top notch, sure. The vocals are good, too - intense - and the melody suits the song well.

It's a fairly lengthy song at 4:42, but it somehow held my attention the whole way through. The instrumentals are too energetic to lose me completely, for one. Plus, it manages to surprise you (listen to the way the guitar line ebbs and flows and transforms throughout the song) while also giving you a nice hand-hold to grab onto with the repetition in that sailing awayyyyyy section.

Pay special attention to this wonderful nonsense during the bridge. The drums chill out a little bit, and everything gets a bit softer. The guitar (I think?) is doing some cool stuff with the bending of notes during these funky riffs.

I didn't expect to like this song as much as I do.

Real talk: When I realized that the title of the song translates to Here Be Dragons and I could barely find anything about it with a simple Google search, I guessed that it was going to be some nerdy song from a video game or something.

I'm still not convinced that anyone enjoys alternative rock the way losers do, but anyway, it's pretty cool.

Upon further research into the title, Hic Sunt Dracones is actually a reference not to magic, but to cartography. If you've ever looked at an old map, you've seen the sea monsters that they draw out in the oceans.

(The original phrase was HIC SVNT LEONES, but things change. x)

Explanations range from mythological references to the idea that the dragons were meant to represent komodo dragons.

That said....it could still be a nerdy thing (as if history isn't nerdy) because the same phrase is used "to indicate sections of particularly complex and obscure passage of the source code" or "to indicate end of playable environment" in freeroaming PC games (x).

Anyway, the whole dropped in the equator 'til we find our way line from the song seems to lend itself to the first description.

Overview:

Genre:
Alt Rock

Favorite Lyrics:
I wanna be lost at sea.

Verdict:
I wish this song was more well-known so that I could find the lyrics online. Because, as often happens in this style of music, I have no idea what words this guy is singing.

Bonus:
These guys recorded an acoustic version. You can hear the lyrics better.