The artist JYC Row has released a composition titled “No Victory, No Surrender,” which is an album with five short compositions that tell a sad story about war and sacrifice. “No Victory, No Surrender” is twelve minutes long yet offers a lot of insight into the bleak work JYC Row has built.
For the entire video (available on YouTube), two goddesses, Nerath and Aqasha, are shown in all their pride, power, and glory. The sky in the background is covered with dark clouds, so only the eclipse can be seen through the grey clouds. The scenery is fantastic since it sets the tone nicely. As for Aqasha and Nerath, I feel that any new viewers not familiar with “Infinite Eclipse” might mistake Nerath and Aqasha as allies fighting together, which is not true. Quite the opposite, the two alicorns are why the war is happening. I feel like the art could have been better if it showed Nerath and Aqasha glaring at each other with hatred, or showing something visually that tells the viewer that they hate each other.
However, the art does serve its purpose of showcasing the new designs of the goddesses. JYC Row has said that the character design changes were intentional; it was to show how strong the goddesses have become since the beginning of the war. Nerath and Aqasha’s new designs definitely do a better job of representing the characters and what they stand for. The contrast of body types gives the sisters more personality than their previous incarnations, yet they’re still recognizable. My one critique with the new designs is the muzzles, I think the way the noses were drawn are not quite horse-like enough because of how round they look. Especially Nerath’s muzzle; her face doesn’t look that horse-like to me.
Overall, the artwork for the thumbnail is solid. Another cool detail about the video is that each song has its own time bar color coded to fit the “Infinite Eclipse” color theme. The time bars are helpful since it can be difficult to determine when a track begins or ends.
“Unyielding…never abandoning the fight…”:
The first track is very reminiscent of JYC Row’s older music. “Unyielding” starts off with a rhythm that mimics the sound of armies marching on the battlefield. The marching stops then continues in the middle and end, supposedly to resemble the sound of reinforcements from all sides coming to aid their armies. It should be worth mentioning that the “Infinite Eclipse” is actually a three-way fight: Nerath versus Aqasha versus the United Equestrian Pact (UEP), and the songs are in the perspective of the UEP’s side. “Unyielding” is constantly pounding the eardrums with crescendos that resemble how war can escalate, which is why “Unyielding” is the longest and the most intense track in “No Victory, No Surrender” and is also a great musical hook.
“Defiance…even in the face of the most horrific trials…”:
If I were to use one word to describe “Defiance”, it would be resilience. This track starts with melancholy piano and violin, but the intensity picks back up and plays a melody similar to “Unyielding”. The reason I chose the word resilience to describe “Defiance” is because of how it makes me feel and imagine. In the beginning, “Defiance” sounds like whoever is left on the battlefield looking around at the death and destruction around him or her, but then being caught off guard by an enemy, and the battle is starting to build up again. “Defiance” is very immersive despite being less than two minutes long. If you allow “Defiance” to take you away, you will see yourself as a UEP soldier on a battlefield.
“Resurgence…the dead rising, but not as allies…”
What makes “No Victory, No Surrender” so intriguing is how each track builds off from one another. “Defiance” borrowed the melody from “Unyielding,” and “Resurgence” borrowed the piano notes from “Defiance”. Though the description of this song is sad, since its premise is about old comrades coming back from the dead to fight for either Nerath or Aqasha, “Resurgence” is not even the saddest track. At first, a pan flute, a violin, and a piano play a sad harmony and a slow tempo, but the intensity picks back up again midway through. “Resurgence” is not only focused on the dead betraying their friends against their will; it is still focused on the war as shown by the crescendos and the dramatic violins and synths. While “Resurgence” is a sad song, I appreciate how it doesn’t give up the built-up suspense to focus on the depressing tone. It is a good balance between sadness and bravery.
“Martyr…the sacrifice for the cause and the loved ones…”:
“Martyr” is one of the shorter tracks, but it is also one of the most powerful and impactful sections of “No Victory, No Surrender”. “Martyr” tells a story within a story; “Martyr” takes place right after “Resurgence”, and so the few UEP soldiers who are left are still mourning the deaths of their fallen allies, as presented by a soft pan flute and a gentle piano. But suddenly a choir of voices begin to sing again, and sadness is replaced with fear. The music grows stronger faster, as someone’s friend is in grave danger. A soldier sacrifices themselves for their friend, then the music goes quiet and ends abruptly to show how quickly someone can die in war. “Martyr” is the most important song in the entire track because it emphasizes the loyalty shared amongst the UEP, while also hinting at how fruitless their efforts are fighting against the goddesses.
“Unbroken…in the final moment, the spirit endures…”:
“Unbroken” combines the themes of vengeance, determination, and grief together, and has the most dynamic changes out of all four tracks. At one moment, the mood is sad and melancholy, then “Unbroken” transitions back to the climactic, epic build-up. Crescendos and decrescendos are constantly shifting, much like the unpredictability of war. “Unbroken” has beautiful soft moments where it sounds like the music is focusing on several remaining soldiers and their thoughts all at once, reminiscing about better days, and swearing to never back down and to bring back harmony. “Unbroken” is overall a nice little bow for this experimental track.
In conclusion, if you’re looking for something different music-wise wise I highly recommend “No Victory, No Surrender”. All five compositions are creative, emotionally moving, and excellent at storytelling without any words. Each song connects with each other seemingly perfectly, and could easily pass as one twelve-minute song. “No Victory, No Surrender” is definitely worth listening to.
