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Homunculus (masculine, Latin for "little man", plural: "homunculi"; from the diminutive of homo) is a term used, generally, in various fields of study to refer to any representation of a human being. Popularized in sixteenth century alchemy and nineteenth century fiction, it has historically referred to the creation of a miniature, fully formed human. The concept has roots in preformationism as well as earlier folklore and alchemic traditions. Currently, in scientific fields, a homunculus may refer to any scale model of the human body that, in some way, illustrates physiological, psychological, or other abstract human characteristics or functions.

Homunculus is a song by Area 11 released on 1st of May 2014 as a free track. It is based off the anime series Fullmetal Alchemist and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. It was released on 1st of May 2014 as a free track. It can be downloaded here . The new song was also released with new cover art (shown left) depicting the band logo within an alchemic transmutation circle, an essential plot device in the Fullmetal Alchemist series.

Later, a second photo was added (shown below) with the caption by Sparkles saying "For some reason the guys didn't like my first idea for the Homunculus art ". The following day Kogie tweeted: "Anyone figured out what's going on on the #Homunculus cover art? " that may suggest some clue hidden within it.

It has been theorised that the art resembles sound waves in a sonic boom.

Lyrics

U11l3b3

Balanced equation
Something gained something lost
It cost me an arm and a leg
But I won't lose you at any cost
As we abandon hope of comprehension
I can see something appear in the sulfur
Lines on the ground carry righteous intension 
Hoping to God
That theories hold up

I watched you slip away
As all our dreams turned into dust
Such a price to pay
Exchanging flesh for steel and rust
We stood and watched as the flames embraced
All we left behind erased
And I'm lost for words to say

Now I freeze; paralyzed
Terrified of what I'll find
In the shadows I hear the cry
Transmutation; Homunculi

Now I freeze; paralyzed
Terrified of what I'll find
In the shadows I hear the cry
Transmutation; Homunculi

Do you feel?

Lust, and Pride, and Gluttony,
Envy, Wrath, and Sloth, and Greed
Lust, and Pride, and Gluttony,
Envy, Wrath, and Sloth, and Greed

Humans are just weaknesses, that's what you believe (that's what you believe)
Now I have come to realize that's simply jealousy

Now I freeze; paralyzed
Terrified of what I'll find
In the shadows I hear the cry
Transmutation; Homunculi

Now I freeze; paralyzed
Terrified of what I'll find
In the shadows I hear the cry
Transmutation; Homunculi

Do you feel?

Now, now, do you feel?

I watched you slip away
As all our dreams turned into dust
Such a price to pay
Exchanging flesh for steel and rust
We stood and watched as the flames embraced
All we left behind erased
And I'm lost for words to say
(Now I'm lost for words to say!)

Now I freeze; paralyzed
Terrified of what I'll find
In the shadows I hear the cry
Transmutation; Homunculi

Now I freeze; paralyzed
Terrified of what I'll find
In the shadows I hear the cry
Transmutation; Homunculi

Do you feel?

Do you feel?

All the Lights in the Sky

Mixingdesk

The initial track listing for ATLITS posted on Facebook, showing differences from the release version.

Reddit
Reddit

On the 9th July 2012, a picture was released onto the Area 11 page during the creation of All The Lights In The Sky. The picture (see above) depicted a mixing station below a board of the band's progress through making the album. The chart contained checkboxes for each part of each song on the album , such as Vox, Guitar and Drums, as well as an initial tracklist for the album.

Curiously, the tracklist contained no mention of System; Start or Dream & Reality. In their place were two entries, [HUMAN IS DEAD, MISMATCH], and Homunculus.

Future of Homunculus

Sparkles* mentioned on Reddit that they are rewriting songs such as Homunculus.

On 21st April the Area 11 Twitter tweeted 'Now I freeze; paralysed / Terrified of what I'll find / In the shadows I hear the cry / Transmutation; Homunculi' Along with the hashtag '#Homunculus'. We could assume this would be lyrics from 'Homunculus'. Sparks also mentioned a new song that may be out in a week or two, followed by Kogie saying the song would be new for us but old for them. It is possible that they could be referring to Homunculus.

On 24th of April Sparkles* posted a 'secret' link to new song on soundcloud that is very likely to be a part of Homunculus. During this Sparkles* can be heard singing "Well it's a quiet shot, Something gained something lost, That's cause...? , But I won't lose you at any cost, Everything I've ever had *fades out*". "Something Gained, Something Lost." could be a reference to the Laws of Equivalent Exchange, a concept that is heavily featured in Fullmetal Alchemist. It also could be related to the line "There's a part of you you lose, and another you receive" from Bōsōzoku Symphonic. 

On 25th of April the 'secret' link hit 1,000 plays and Sparkles* revealed via Twitter that the track would be free and probably be released the following week.

Homunculus released

Homunculus was released on the 1st May 2014. You can now get Homunculus free here: http://www.reverbnation.com/area11band

Fullmetal Alchemist

POSSIBLE SPOILERS FROM FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST: BROTHERHOOD AHEAD

Homunculi play a heavy role in the anime/manga Full Metal Alchemist. In the anime, Homunculi are humanoid beings with bodies surpassing any human's physically. They are created when a form of Human Transmutation is carried out by an Alchemist. It is possible that Homunculus was orignally planned to be a song based on FMA. All of the Homunculi are personificated upon the seven deadly sins:

  • Pride - A young child who manipulates shadows.
  • Gluttony - A large, often docile, round creature who is feared for eating everything and everyone in its path. He even has a bottomless stomach connected to a mouth within his large torso.
  • Envy - Know for his jealousy, Envy is a shape-shifter who can take on the appearance of any form he desires.
  • Lust - She takes on the appearance of an attractive, young woman who seduces men with her appearance and wit.
  • Sloth - A slow lazy massive tank of a creature who can build up tremendous speed, and does whatever his master says.
  • Greed - A rebellious man who wants everything, and will even betray the other Homunculi to get it.
  • Wrath - An insurgent deep in the ranks of the military, who has extreme agility and combat skills.He can also, unlike the others, age like humans due to the fact that he was a living human infused with a Philosopher's stone.

Lyric Analysis

  • SPOILER WARNINGS FOR FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST*


"Balanced Equation, 'Something gained something lost'

In the Fullmetal Alchemist Universe, the world is governed by the laws of alchemy. The first law of Alchemy is The Law of Equivalent Exchange. This means that in order to create something, something of equal value must be lost.

"It cost me an arm and a leg, 'But I won't lose you at any cost'

Edward Elric lost his left leg after trying to ressurect his mother with a human transmutation. He then lost his right arm in an attempt to save his brother, Alphonse. 


"As we abandon hope of comprehension,' 'I can see something appear in the sulfur, 'Lines on the ground carry righteous 'intension, 'Hoping to God, 'That theories hold up"


In linguisticslogicphilosophy, and other fields, an intension is any property or quality connoted by a wordphrase, or another symbol. In the case of a word, the word's definition often implies an intension. The term may also refer to all such intensions collectively, although the term comprehension is technically more correct for this.

The brothers abandon hope of understanding a human transmutation although they go ahead with it anyway. One of the reasons they failed in their endeavors.

"I watched you slip away, 'As all our dreams turned into dust, 'Such a price to pay, 'Exchanging flesh for steel and rust"

The Human Transmutation fails, and Edward is forced to watch his brother be devoured by Alchemy, and their hopes of bringing their mother back from the dead are gone. Alphonse paid the ultimate price for the transmutation, his body had been exchanged in order to create the monster which was made instead. Edward then loses his arm by binding Alphonse's soul to a suit of Armor, becoming his new body.

" We stood and watched as the flames embraced, 'All we left behind erased, 'And I'm lost for words to say"

Edward and Alphonse decide to burn down the house in which they lived in. Effectively removing all memories of their past lives, especially those of the failed human transmutation.

"In the shadows I hear the cry, ''Transmutation; homunculi"

Transmutation causes a sound similar to electricity to be heard, and since true homunculi have the ability of regeneration (though not unlimited as is discovered) when harmed, they have the same cry of electricity whilst regenerating.

"Humans are just weaknesses, that's what you believe, 'Now I have come to realize that's simply jealousy"

This is a reference to the homunculus Envy's remarks about how Humans are imperfect, although in the end he realizes that is simply human nature.


483643 498732170176072 1285503919 n

The album art for Shi No Barado.

Shi No Barado

On the front cover of Shi No Barado designed by Adam Davis, a hidden message can be found in the bottom left of the album art. The message reads: 61646d696e/68306d756e6375317573, which is a message encoded in hex. When this is decoded it reads: admin/h0muncu1us.


Last.fm

Lastfm

The tracklist from Sparkles*'s Last.fm account.


A last.fm account assumed to belong to Sparkles* was found containing multiple albums, including unmastered versions of ATLITS and unreleased demos. One such demo called Homunculus was found as a listed track on the account.

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