By: Carlos Lima-Lopez

Flying Lotus’s new single, “Coronus, The Terminator”, is no doubt an unsettling piece of work. It’s very dark and downright bone-chilling considering the emotion it evokes. Not only that, but the choir and Niki Randa’s vocals provide an awesome, yet spine tingling sensation. Never has the concept of death, or knowing what death feels like, sounded so real.

This song is pure black; pure, black, unadulterated death. It feels black but if you can still hear the choir singing for you as you are about to exit this plane of existence. Of course when I say black, I don’t mean for it to sound ugly or frightening. That is just how it feels to me. I speak from experience, or maybe a dream. Without getting too personal, I remember having a dream where someone kills me, and everything turns to black. I remember fighting for my memories, and in the end, I am revived through electricity. Scary, huh?

“Coronus, The Terminator” is minimal in its musical approach, but huge in its emotional scope. Imagine a funeral where everyone is dancing a ritual for the deceased, sort of as a final goodbye or maybe a transition to the afterlife. The deceased, of course, sticks around to bear witness. It’s perhaps the last time this individual will see everyone he or she loves so much. And just as the song suggests, the deceased moves on toward another life, whatever that new life may be.

I know this song might scare off a few people because it is so exceptionally dark; however, it isn’t emotionally morbid. Death is natural, and in this point in our lives, we have accepted we will die. However, before we do so, why not live? Why not experience the beautiful life we have now before we leave physically to something new and exciting? Flying Lotus’s new hit is something you should not miss, and his new album, “You’re Dead,” is going to be something to behold.