ACT I – Stand Tall and Shake the Heavens
It is the end of days. Government has shut down all video game devices and has been issued orders by the president to destroy any remaining games, both past and present. Gaming as the world once knew it will cease to exist. Violence in gaming has led to outrage among parents and adults.
A small coalition has formed in the wake of the attack on gaming. Calling themselves “Trigger Thumb,” the faction of four begins an underground movement to attack the government and reclaim all forms of video gaming once again.
Managing to hack into a top secret government database, Trigger Thumb uncovers a secret project titled “Code.” Code is a female cyborg who has every video game in existence uploaded into her database. Whether the government intends to use Code for good or evil remains a mystery, but Trigger Thumb realizes that Code is their only chance of restoring gaming to the world once again.
Code has been locked away in a tomb underneath Point Nemo in the South Pacific. It is said that only the “Eight Beautiful Melodies” of gaming can open the tomb and free Code from her prison. As Trigger Thumb begin to discover more and more clues to these melodies, they travel to Point Nemo to perform them, in hopes that Code may be free and gaming will be restored to the world once again.
Trigger Thumb take the identity of four different tarot figures: Judgement, Lover, Death, and Hanged Man. On route to Point Nemo, the group discovers a lone mercenary claiming to know the exact location of Code. Lost and with no other leads, the four members have no choice but to pay the mercenary’s fee, which leads them to the outer core of Point Nemo.
Being a heavily guarded area, Trigger Thumb infiltrates the facility undetected with the help of the mercenary. Only armed with their respective instruments, Trigger Thumb and the mercenary eventually stand before the tomb of Code, and perform each of the eight melodies they had uncovered through their travels. As the facility begins to crumble, a bright light fills it entirely. Having lost each other among the chaos, Judgement desperately searches for an exit. Just as he is about to be crushed by a massive pillar, the beautiful cyborg Code narrowly manages to swoop him up and carry him off, blasting through the structures ceiling.
Lover is captured by a group of government agents as she attempts escape. Whisked away in a jet, she is brought to an underground base near the Capital, where she is cuffed and interrogated.
Death awakens battered and bruised. Above him stands Hanged Man, threatening to end his life with a jagged rock. Stunned at this betrayal, Death rolls out of the way, dodging Hanged Man’s attack and sweeping his legs from underneath him. As the two stumble to their feet, Hanged Man charges into Death, who manages to swing the traitor around impaling him on a nearby stalagmite. With Hanged man dead, Death is left searching for an exit.
The mercenary is nowhere to be found, but is this truly the last time he will be seen? Can Lover escape the grasp of government agents? And what will become of Death as he seeks escape from Point Nemo?
Perched in a lush forest atop the trees, Code explains to Judgement that everyone is now in great danger and the real battle has just been set into motion. It is now time to stand tall and shake the heavens.
From engineer Justin Taylor, creator of one of the most beloved VGM tribute albums of all time, "Gaia's Bane", comes Codename Trigger Thumb's debut album. Featuring eight melodies from eight different games, this heart wrenching collection of songs spawns everything from Final Fantasy to more obscure titles such as Fatal Frame IV. Featuring unique arrangements crafted by Joseph Tkacz, Nick Doane, Angela Tkacz, and Christopher Ridley, the album tells the story of Code, a cyborg who has been captured by government agents and contains the data of all video games within her. Only the eight melodies of gaming can free her, and restore gaming to the world once again.
"These songs are incredible" - Justin Taylor/Knight of the Round
"Buy this album." -
openingturn.com
"Codename Trigger Thumb's first album, Stand Tall and Shake the Heavens brings a great new sound and style to a genre with very little slow-paced, thoughtful musicalness". - Recurring Fantasy
Codename Trigger Thumb is -
VIII Judgment – Joseph Tkacz
VI Lover – Angela Tkacz
XI Death – Christopher Ridley
IX Hermit - Nick Doane
released September 13, 2013
Mixed and Mastered by Justin Taylor of Knight of the Round
Tracks 1 and 2 featuring synth written by Mateo John Marshall of Those Who Fight
Track 3 Featuring Synth written and performed by Matt Baros of Rare Candy
Track 7 Featuring Guitar Solo written and performed by Kenneth Reichelderfer of Gimmick