Immersed Zine

By Kayla Prokop

Have you ever heard of the Wilmington local psycho babble, shoegazy, riot girl band called Delos? You will be learning in this review who they are, what they stand for, and my opinion on their newest release Heretic. Here’s the rundown on the members, their names are Abby, Cas, Sylvia, Kai, and Jake. Abby is the vocalist, Cas is the bassist, Sylvia is the guitarist, Kai is the drummer, and Jake is the rhythm guitarist. I would describe their overall look by telling you Abby, Cas, and Sylvia are always decked out in corsets and intricate outfits. Kai plays wearing a custom balaclava hood, made with red and black yarn and has devil horns. Jake is a very stoic looking guy who wears jeans and a tank top or t-shirt. To wrap up the introduction of who Delos is, let’s discuss the meaning behind their band name(s). The first band name they had was Asteria. Asteria was the titan goddess of falling stars, dreams, and astrology. She was the mother of Hekate the goddess of witchcraft. Asteria’s story was after the fall of the titans Zeus chased Asteria across the sky. Asteria escaped Zeus by turning herself into a quail and diving into the ocean, becoming an island called Delos. The story of transformation inspired them to take Delos as their new name when members were establishing their places in the band and the caliber of their sound changed. 

Delos’s newest EP, Heretic,was inspired by the band’s four seasons of their year, one season per song on the EP. The songs on the EP in order are called “Void,” “Common Enemy,” “Eternal Rumination,” and “Mediators Curse.” In my opinion, I would say I associate “Void” with winter, “Common Enemy” with spring, “Eternal Rumination” with summer, and “Mediators Curse” with fall, after seeing them perform the songs and listening to them many times. To look more in depth at these songs individually, I’ll analyze what they mean, and discuss what I like about their instrumentals, vocals, and lyrics.    

The first song on the EP, “Void,” is about feeling like a bottomless pit of despair and loneliness in a room full of people. It starts with a calming, ethereal guitar lick and angelic vocals. The tempo builds and adds in drums in towards the bridge before the chorus. When the chorus hits you hear the alternative rock sound they’re known for and the emotional words, “You forced me into a vicious cycle/wondering if anyone would ever love me/ or will they just love the void/ the void created for me.” I love those lyrics because the listener can heavily relate to a situation of being stuck in a pattern you’ve made for yourself. 

The second song, “Common Enemy,” tells the history of the vocalist Abby’s past friendship from her hometown, Fayetteville. This ex friend was seemingly close to Abby at first almost trying to be her and she quickly became jealous of Abby. When the friendship began to crumble and fall out the ex friend made up many fabricated stories about Abby to turn others against her. A good piece of lyrical evidence for this would be “I’m not the first or the last that you’ve hurt” and “I was never your nemesis yet you continue to make up shit in your head to take yourself down.” I personally love the drum breakdown at the end and the rhythm to two-step to the outro.   

The third song on the EP, “Eternal Rumination,” is my absolute favorite. This one is definitely a headbanger and moshing song without a doubt. It’s impossible to not move your body to this song. The lyrics are about ruminating and wallowing in the heat of your trauma, being tired of it and finally letting it go. The first verse says “can’t escape it/ or push it down/gotta let it all come out.” Then the second verse says “let him hurt you/ leave you for dead/ pull it together or break apart/either have to stop this/ or just restart.” My personal favorite part is the breakdown before the chorus. The sound gets heavier as the music gets louder. 

                       The fourth, final and longest song is “Mediator’s Curse.” It begins with shoegaze-like sounding guitar riffs, operatic-level vocals, and light drum beat. The song starts to emerge from slow tempo and relaxing sound to louder, faster, more raw and whining tone. This dramatic switch up occurs around halfway through the song. Hearing the music louder and more energetic, it fills the room with vibration and moves the audience. To physically show this change of pace at their last show, the band and the audience kneeled down on the floor for the first half. Then stood up and danced around when the song began to switch into overdrive. 

          Now that I’ve described what these songs are like to listen to and what the lyrics are about, we’ll look at a brief interview I had with Delos. I opened the discussion by asking what the EP was about. Sylvia replied by explaining the four elements of the band and how the four seasons represented each song on the EP. I followed that question with “What does the future hold for Delos?” Abby replied by sharing her dream of making it big in the music industry, continuing her storytelling through songs and pursuing more activism. She also mentioned wanting a movie based on one of their albums or a biopic film. The final question I had for them was “What is your favorite thing about the local scene here?” They all agreed with an answer explaining, “the love of our close knit community and the Wilmington scene; in particular, the sense of justice and our mission to keep creeps out of our safe space.“
      To conclude my analysis of Delos and their newly released EP, Heretic; I’ll summarize the songs, what they’re about, and why you should listen to their EP. “Void” is the opening song on the EP and it’s a recognition of a pattern you make yourself. Being stuck in a void of suffering and wondering when you will be pulled out of it. In short, “Common Enemy” tells the story of a friendship that turns sour rather quickly and lies being spread. “Eternal Rumination” refers to pushing down your traumatic experiences, growing sick of doing that, then letting it go. Lastly, “Mediator’s Curse” is a dramatic ballad about breaking a curse someone has put upon you. Reading this summary should make you want to check out their amazing EP, but if you’re not sold already on listening to it, I’ll remind you who they are and what Delos stands for. Every member of Delos wants the local scene to thrive and prosper. They also believe in advocating for what’s morally right, attending protests, and speaking your mind on pressing issues. Abby, Cas, Sylvia, Kai, and Jake make up a band of individuals who are musically talented and outstanding people. I sincerely hope you the reader will support them, stream Heretic, and come to their next show. They are great friends of mine and I know they’ll succeed.