Solar Eclipse on a March Evening

FadinSunset, "March 12, 2021" 2022.

*Solar eclipse on a March evening (SEOAME)*, is the sixth official album released by Billy Hill & The Optimists, appearing between *The Roar of a Distant Storm,* and *Twilight and Thunderstorms*. Solar Eclipse is in sorts a bonus album, being attached to Twilight and Thunderstorms in a sense that it is made up of extra tracks from it, similar to the other extras albums in BHATO's discography, similarly to *The Garden*. Although it is an extra album, it is still an official release, and it still has story connections which often differ from the tracks they were part of as well as their namesake. Although these songs do have stories connected to them, they were not attached until much later, only starting to be implemented after Barriers was finished, as well as the track art.

Although the track descriptions and art belonged to Solar Eclipse first, they were reused and given to the thirteen selected tracks from Exercises of Ambience that were chosen for the wide Youtube release, yet they do not appear on the full Bandcamp album. Because of these shared stories and track art, Solar Eclipse and Exercises in Ambience are the only two albums to share cover art, not counting compilation versions of connected albums (i.e. Barriers, Everywhere Away from Fading Lonely Despair).

## Background

Solar Eclipse is an extras album, similarly to All Things Forgotten, however Solar Eclipse has direct story connections while All Things Forgotten does not. Similarly to Barriers, more specifically Inserenity and Infernos, Solar Eclipse is split up into four parts, each with three tracks with the exception of part four containing a bonus track. All thirteen songs on the album have story connections, and most have connections to Twilight and Thunderstorms through samples, a few being directly sampled in Twilight, those being tracks 1, 4, 5, 6, 7.

The others are outtakes and alternate versions of existing songs, Remnants of the Emptiness specifically being an alternate of an alternate. A few of these alternates use old titles as well.

## Overview and Background

The story throughout tends to jump around quite a bit, taking stories from Barriers and all over the Trip Through the Wormhole storyline. The first part stays rather linear though, focusing primarily on the Gemenii storyline, however seen through different realities. Shadow and Stolen Heart focus on Reality T's storyline, while Agonizing Defeat is based around Reality N, although based off the point of view of the unnamed villain only referred to as 'Her'. Solar Eclipse aims to take different points of view on stories that have already been told, and all three of the stories of part one follow this.

Part two starts to jump around a bit, starting with Staring over the edge and Ocean of Souls being based off of a different angel, this one named Noyah who was created in a similar way to Starworld's cult, however it was made as part of a group of experiments that took place inside the building Mars got locked inside of in Chapter 5, where she met Elouen Oliver. The last story of part two focuses on Usko Reukie becoming hopelessly lost after escaping from the Petteri, a group who operates between realities and tortures everyone they meet if they cannot recruit them, or they see fit.

Jumping quite a bit, part 3 opens with the story of Maximus inside of Fort Yina in a place that could only be described as the void. Otherworldly Dread (alt) picks up from where Inserenity and Infernos part 12 leaves off, focusing on the moments leading up to the battle. Sunrise jumps to the beginning of Cassie's story, the morning after he fled from his home town and watching the sunrise from inside of a cave.

Part four opens up with the story of Josh in a similar way to the end of part 3, as it expands on a previous part of his story which was not told in Barriers. Melancholy tells the story of Nomad K who moved up to the north island of Telkomi and how it begun to eat away at him over time. Emptiness goes back and follows Usko after he finally escaped the place between realities, but after everything that happened, he doesn't even feel anything anymore, no emotion. The last song and bonus track is about Fury Niravia on his last day, knowing that in order for everyone else to be victorious, he will have to die due to his connection to the crystals.

The music throughout the album ranges from different styles presented in Twilight and Thunderstorms. It has drone music, pleasant piano songs, and some which differ from the others on the album stylistically. The style tends to change around quite a bit in the earlier part of the album and settles around the latter half to a more calming ambient style. The entire album is already ambient and calming enough, most of the tracks staying upbeat. Only a few songs stray away from this mood, and it is never in a harsh or creepy tone, these songs have a more somber and sad mood, though they still fit with the others.

Shadow, the first drone song is quite fast and upbeat, owing to not being scrambled. The reverb and effects on it are heavy and make one feel as if they are being crushed by the heavy weight of the song. The high bass causes audible distortions which make the song feel as if it is breaking apart. While this was not intentional, it makes for an interesting effect, although it can be overbearing at times.

Stolen Heart is a short song, consisting of a short piano piece. It is deep and calming, and the old piano has a nostalgic tone, sounding similarly to the one used in The End of Days and throughout Otherworldly Echoes on the North Wind. The piece is a bit muffled, but it is still bright and brilliant. The song focuses on the moments after resurrection, a pained and confused happiness, as Gemenii and Chester reunited. Just like in the story though, this moment is rather short lived.

An Agonizing Defeat Rewards a Futile Journey is about the same as the first part of Seraphic Seclusion, however it loops twice, rather than a single loop of the song before it cuts to the next sample. Agonizing Defeat also does not have the added short samples which follow the melody in the beginning (a callback to When the dawn breaks through) and it has some evidence of tempo stretching.

Staring over the edge is a more typical drone track, complete with multiple layers and scrambling. This song is a lot more mellow and calming with the highlights from the higher notes in the piano sample. The tone has an air of mystery and optimism, the music itself being reminiscent of Fiberglass and Flowers. Like others, this song is fairly long and due to a single sample it is not too interesting throughout, but the dynamic movement of the sample keeps this song interesting.

Ocean of Souls is very somber, mostly owing to the key of the sample. The distant buzzing also adds to this atmosphere created by the slow down and large reverb which causes louder notes to last for quite a while. The song is uplifting in points, but it is mostly somber, and like other songs on the album seems to play like how classical music plays over violent scenes, focusing in on one emotion and amplifying it while ignoring the fear of the situation and only on the somber atmosphere.

Over and over has a more somber and unnerving tone than the other drone songs, focusing more on the feeling of being lost. The sample breaks through at many more points, but the music is far less coherent. The weeping horns almost sound like a cry for help, which ties into the story very well. Compared to the other Empty Desolation drone segments, this one is more harsh and less low-key as appose to the drones in section A-a and section B.

The Silence Grows is a somber, mysterious piano song which not only seems very alone due to the reverb, but it has an ominous feeling attached to it. The low-key mood also adds to the emptiness that emanates from the song, and the jump from a long and loud drone track to this quieter, windy piano song which seems like the soundtrack to a lonely night during November.

The Alternate Otherworldly Dread is not too different from the one used in the full album sound-wise, utilizing different reverb, EQ, and added distortion which gives it much more of a gritty sound than the used version. The horrified anticipation of what is sure to be a suicide mission is the reason this version is much more harsh, focusing on the moment the dragon is seen for the first time and the weight of that moment.

Sunrise is the first of the four Release outtakes, all four of them capturing a bright yet longing mood, Sunrise being a great example of this. The song is peaceful and low key coming off of the harsh Otherworldly Dread, and the static sounds almost like falling rain, adding to this calming atmosphere. The song represents a disbelief, the fact that Cassie made it this far and seemed to so easily evade being killed was very relieving.

Pull of the Void is low and quiet, and although it is upbeat, it has a darker atmosphere hanging over it. The buzzing from the static is more noticeable in this song, metaphorical and reminiscent of the buzzing of fluorescent lights. Like others, there is also a mysterious or curious tone, representing the mystery of the facility under the library where Josh found himself trapped.

Melancholy is also low and quiet with static that is quite harsh and almost reminiscent of ripping. The shorter loop of this song seems to add up a lot over three minutes, being almost a short breath of insanity, the same feelings that Nomad would have felt being on his own for months, seeing all of the strange things he did. This track takes place specifically one year after he arrived, just before he would get some visitors.

Though Emptiness is bright and cheery and seems to not fit the mood, listening more gives off a much sadder feeling, this confused emotional state being a good representation of the emptiness Usko felt after everything that had happened. The loops aren't smooth like others, in fact they are quite harsh, almost as if the melody is dropping itself and picking itself back up; a confused state.

Beyond Comprehension is very ambient and distant, the loud hiss being louder than the music itself. The track is very longing and sad and the length makes one feel like they're anticipating something grand. The nostalgic key adds to this feeling of longing and waiting, portraying Fury's feelings watching the sun rise on August 1 in a similar way to Apollo, however Fury was not necessarily scared, only very sad, the rain-like hiss of the sample and the reverb creating a rainy atmosphere which adds to this somber feeling.