American multi-instrumentalist Erick Duran Manard of South County, USA presents a tender track “Lament of the Weary/Light So Shine (Isolation Kills)”, inspired by Matthew 5:14-16. This song has a strong message of how as followers of Christ we are to shine for the world even when we are confronted with scary messages of doom. The music and songwriting is storytelling at its finest as Erick shares his own experience about agoraphobia, and traveling from fear to faith.
The song has also a very obvious theme – people being afraid, but there is a hope and courage to overcome it through God’s word. Erick demands his audience to come out from the dark and to find joy in life as he speaks to those sufferers who are incarcerated in self-made prison. But all in all, this song perfectly expresses faith and redemption – his own personal experience comes through in every word and tune of this song.
Singer, guitarist Erick’s music is the perfect blend of classic rock, progressive rock and orchestral, which is innovative in a retro sort of way. Inspired by such groups as Petra, King’s X, or Riverside, the musical direction involving quite a bit of rock with some orchestral elements adding to this experience, is fully distinct.
This is Erick’s biggest single to date and it was released on December 13, 2024. “Lament of the Weary/Light So Shine (Isolation Kills)” is an ematisation, where he urges people to cast the fear aside and have faith and live ahead. But Erick’s story is an indication that no matter how bad things can get there is always a way of shining again. This is not just music with a message, but music which not only changes people’s lives but is created for that purpose.
