“A Voice in the Violence” by Wolves at the Gate, Tuesday, May 14, 2024

On April 8th, people from around the world crowded the path of a rare total solar eclipse that spanned from central Mexico to Newfoundland. The celestial event lasted at most 4 minutes and 28 seconds. In the eclipse's direct path, businesses charged excessive rates for tourists to stay, dine, and enjoy themselves before and after the short main event. Many recall the 2017 total eclipse when then-President Trump looked directly at the sun without protective glasses, leaving experts aghast. As the 2017 and 2024 total solar eclipses were less than seven years apart, why the hype and international travel? While the two solar eclipses happened only seven years apart, the last total eclipse before 2017 in the contiguous fifty states was on March 7, 1970, and the next total solar eclipse after 2024 is not until 2044, but only be visible in the north-midwestern states around sunset.

I SEE THE NIGHT SLIPPING OVER. The cosmic phenomenon of the sun being blocked by the sun’s light being blocked by the moon is now a predictable event. Even still, eclipses are eerie to us in modern days. In ancient times, an eclipse might be seen as a warning of an impending evil or misfortune. The April 8th solar eclipse followed a rare 4.8 magnitude earthquake in New York City on April 6th, which prompted Georgia House of Representatives member Marjorie Taylor Greene to post on X, “God is sending America strong signs to tell us to repent. Earthquakes and eclipses and many more things to come.” The appeal to “turn to God” when natural phenomena present themselves is a confirmation bias Christians have had since the writing of the apocalyptic book of Revelation was canonized. And with climate change amplifying every year, we’re in danger as a human race to fall victim to a nihilistic Christian interpretation that wants the end of the world “to come quickly.”

YOU’RE FALLING IN LOVE WITH THE SILENCE. IT’S TELLING YOU ALL YOU WANT TO HEAR. Back in 2019, Wolves at the Gate released their fourth album on Solid State Records. The album was called Eclipse and several of the songs were informed by the political situation in America. On the Labeled Podcast, lead singer Stephen Cobucci says that “when people stop and introspectively look at themselves and what the issue is and [understand that] there probably is a better solution than a political affiliation.” Light and darkness are motifs on Eclipse and in the redux follow-up EP Dawn. The band is unapologetically ministry-oriented, which Cobucci talks about on Labeled as a deterring factor in the band’s success compared to less evangelistic bands. The biggest single from Eclipse, “A Voice in the Violence,” is a song about a dark night of the soul, or about the negative voices we hear when we are alone. Some of those voices are confirmation biases, solidifying our doomed thoughts about ourselves or others. The album feels absent of political bias compared to Watashi Wa’s 2022 People Like People. There’s Christianity subtly implied by the lyrics. But what feels most relevant even today is the band’s intense delivery. These are intense times, and the escapist pop and folk protest songs either avoid current issues or preach to us directly. Eclipse from 2019 to today is an album that expresses the anger and disappointment in what’s turned out to be a dystopian world, but the lyrics don’t tell us what to think about it.