"Hell must know 

there have been worse things I've done"

Now I was really surprised. And perhaps even a little disappointed. Why I was I'm not entire sure, but I think it had something to do with the song NOT being instrumental. I guess I had been hoping for a rendition of the theme from the other records. Plus, I didn't find "The Reaping" to be all that good by the time it was over. However, after looking back on it and listening to it many times since 2007, the fact the song isn't an instrumental makes it more appealing. When realizing that No World for Tomorrow is the last record, it's important to remember that it's also the second part of the Good Apollo volumes. Together, the previous record and this one make up the ending, not just this album alone. So, the reason for the theme being played at the beginning of FFTEM signified that the story was coming to a close. And thus, NWFT doesn't need an instrumental. Instead, it needed something else. A sort of summary, if you will.

Which is what I believe "The Reaping" really is. I'd like to make the point right now that most of what I believe is going on in this record is very much speculation. I had evidence to prove my thoughts on previous records, but No World for Tomorrow has always been a little harder to figure out, partly because the songs were written on a much more personal level. But, I'll give it my best shot.

In terms of the story, there's not much going on in this song as it's but a simple acoustic piece played solely by Claudio. From this song, I think the character Claudio is speaking his mind about both past events, and the final events that are to come for Heaven's Fence. In this way, it almost helps to make Claudio Kilgannon and the real-life Claudio Sanchez even more parallel to each other.

The song is very short, clocking in at only 1:15. But even then, there's enough for the listener to get the idea what the album's going to be like. Of particular note is the piano piece played alongside the guitar during the second verse. According to the credits, Claudio and Rami Jaffe both play piano and keyboards on this album, so I'm not sure who provided it on this song, but I just want to point out that I love that bit of piano. It's just as mournful and solemn as the rest of the song.

The beauty of this song, really, is that it might be short, but there's much going on in it musically. It's a fitting beginning for the final stretch of narrative.