Bye Bye Babylon

"Bye Bye Babylon"
Single by Cryoshell
from the album Cryoshell and Bionicle: The Legend Reborn soundtrack
Released	July 27, 2009
Format	Digital download
Recorded	2008–09 Hansen Studios - Ribe, Denmark
Genre	Alternative rock symphonic rock
Length	3:41 (single version) 4:37 (album version)
Label	Cryoshell I/S VME
Songwriter(s)	Mikkel Maltha Kasper Søderlund Christine Lorentzen
Producer(s)	Jacob Hansen
Cryoshell singles chronology
"Bye Bye Babylon" (2009) "Creeping in My Soul" (2009)
"Bye Bye Babylon" (2009) "Creeping in My Soul" (2009)
Music video
"Bye Bye Babylon" on YouTube

"Bye Bye Babylon" is a song by Danish rock band Cryoshell, released as their debut single from their self-titled debut studio album on July 27, 2009.

Co-written by all three initial members of the band - Mikkel Maltha, Kasper Søderlund and Christine Lorentzen - the song was recorded between late 2008 and early 2009 and produced by Jacob Hansen. It was primarily used by toy manufacturer Lego for their Bionicle Glatorian and Glatorian Legends toy commercials in 2009 and as a licensed soundtrack to the animated film Bionicle: The Legend Reborn.

Two music videos for "Bye Bye Babylon" have been released; while one serves as an official video for Cryoshell, the second includes alternative scenes and clips from The Legend Reborn and serves as an extra on its DVD release.

Background

"Bye Bye Babylon" was written by Mikkel Maltha, Kasper Søderlund and Christine Lorentzen in late 2008 and was recorded in the winter period of 2008 and early 2009 at Hansen Studios in Ribe, Denmark with producer Jacob Hansen.

As of 2010, three versions of the song exist; the original released as a single, a version featuring a slight lyric tweak featured in the toy manufacture Lego's Bionicle franchise, and an extended version which is included as the second track on Cryoshell's self-titled debut album.

Promotion and media usage

"Bye Bye Babylon" was prominently used in the advertising campaign for Lego Bionicle's Glatorian and Glatorian Legends waves of toy sets released in the winter and summer periods of 2009 and featured in commercials promoting the sets as well as various online games featuring the Glatorian and Glatorian Legends characters. The song's lyric tweak version was released as a free download from the official Bionicle website on August 27, 2009 and is the fifth and since the original cancellation of the theme, last song by the band to be used in the Bionicle franchise.

"Bye Bye Babylon" also features in the ending credits of the 2009 animated film Bionicle: The Legend Reborn. The track's "Bionicle" music video is included as a bonus feature on the film's DVD release.

Reception

Rocktopia gave the song a positive review, applauding its "cascading riff and textured keys" and "bombastic chorus" and its sound of "an almost Egyptian-esque melody before a verse that drops in density with soft, chiming guitar". They also praised its upbeat-ness and how the listener "[would want to put the track] on full blast and walk around the day job office encouraging everyone to let it rip".^[1]

Music video

Two music videos for "Bye Bye Babylon" were directed by Josh Nussbaum and shot at North Copenhagen Harbor on May 14, 2009. Cryoshell's official version premiered on their official website in mid-August 2009 while an alternative version, featuring clips from Bionicle: The Legend Reborn, was released onto the official Bionicle website the following August 31 and is included on the film's DVD release as a bonus feature.

Synopsis

Band version

Described as "An epic, musical quest through a post-apocalyptic industrial wasteland. A day of trash, dirt and muddy water," the video begins with a dirt-soaked lead singer Christine Lorentzen rummaging through piles of disused equipment in the harbor and finding pieces to various kinds of musical instruments (e.g. a drum stick, loudspeaker, etc.). As she begins to sing the first verse, Lorentzen drags an amplifier tied up to a piece of rope through the harbor before finding a broken guitar from one of the heaps and throwing it into a pool of muddy water. As the first chorus starts, Lorentzen is seen with her band-mates Kasper Søderlund and Mikka Maltha, also wearing dirty and ripped clothes, collecting parts to a drum kit. Lorentzen is later depicted to be standing and looking down on her band-mates from a girder beam.

As the second verse commences, Lorentzen scavenges the wasteland again and uncovers an object hidden in the rubble unveiled as a guitar, before it is set on fire. The final chorus sees the band, as well as drummer Marcus Busborg, performing with their instruments in an arid landscape, while scenes of the three initial members performing the song on girders are also shown. The final scene sees the band abandoning their instruments and walking off into the distance, as the camera pans up toward the sky and a graphic of the Cryoshell logo is projected.

Bionicle version

The music video produced for Bionicle: The Legend Reborn features the same setting of the disused harbor and follows a similar narration to its primal variant. However, favors alternative scenes from the original as well as clips from The Legend Reborn. The video starts with Cryoshell already performing in the arid landscape, followed by Lorentzen singing the first verse from inside a disused boat in the harbor. The first chorus then sees Lorentzen, Søderlund and Maltha (the former two playing lead and bass guitars respectively) performing on the girder beams, while the last half of the video highlights Cryoshell performing in the infertile setting again and concludes with the members walking away from their set.

Track listing

Digital download

• "Bye Bye Babylon" - 3:41

Credits and personnel

• Songwriting – Mikkel Maltha, Kasper Søderlund, Christine Lorentzen
• Production, recording, engineering, mixing – Jacob Hansen
• Vocals – Christine Lorentzen
• Lead guitar, bass guitar – Kasper Søderlund
• Keyboards, orchestral arrangements – Mikkel Maltha
• Drums – Marcus Busborg

Release history

References

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics