Following the release of debut single Neurotic, Slung are back
with another brilliant effort.
The quartet’s newest offering goes by the name Fire To Burn, and
it comes with a spooky story of how it came to be…
“I fully believe that whatever divine intervention first brought
the seeds of this song into our lives was not going to let us form it
incorrectly, as our first attempts at completing it were thwarted,” explains Katie
Oldham. “Notably, this was very soon after we visited a museum of magic and
witchcraft whilst on tour. Throughout the whole process of writing this track
there seemed to be this kind of mystical guiding force nudging it away from
being anything other than what we ended up with. When the final vocal melody
mainlined into my brain from this mysterious otherworldly donor, I instantly
knew the lyrics needed to be about witchcraft.
“Our bassist Vlad
had recently learned a tale about an ancestor of his who was regarded as a
‘superwitch’ in her village and the townsfolk would go to her for healing with herbs
and medicines. That was until fear and hatred gripped the people and they
eventually turned against her, forming a mob to drive her from her home and
execute her.
“This
misidentification of a friend as a foe out of fear is something we still see
prevalent today, and I wanted to channel her POV into the lyrics. They
communicate her frustration and lament this misperception of her as an enemy
instead of an ally, detailing how the most important thing in the world is
being able to recognise who the real villain is. The song culminates in a final
warning to the people who wronged her, the mortal folk who live in fear of
losing their wealth and material goods when none of it will matter in the end:
‘It’s all about the coin you never thought that you would have to spend.’ That
final coin being the price you pay with your life, at the inevitable end.”
Check it out: