“Set” is an electronic anthem likened to Technotronic’s “Pump Up The Jam” by Ambrose that details the rise to power and death of the Egyptian mythological god of the same name. In ancient Egyptian mythology, Set/Seth is a god with the head of an undetermined animal referred to as a sha, or Set animal (typically depicted as a jackal), who oversees storms, deserts and chaos. Set is most known for his role in the legend of his brother Osiris, a former ruler of Egypt. In a jealous rage, Set killed Osiris, scattered his body across the land, and became king. After Osiris’ death, his wife Isis and Set’s sister and wife Nephthys find the pieces of Osiris and resurrect him. Now reunited, they have a child, Horus, who goes on to avenge his father by killing Set to become the new king with Osiris becoming the ruler of the underworld.
“Set” was first released on October 3rd, 2023 as part of a triple single alongside “Theia”, and “The Silver Cord”, as the standard mixes (though “Set” continues about 1 minute extra into the extended mix) with a long music video from Jason Galea. In the “Set” section of the video, Stu and Ambrose dance and sing to the song in various locations with different color filters while wearing the Radio Eyewear ‘Gator Vision’ sunglasses. Some of the footage was recorded on August 17th, 2023 near Grand Bé in St Malo, France, when the band became temporarily trapped due to rising tides while filming. It was released as the third song on The Silver Cord on October 27th, 2023. It was later released as a limited edition 7” with the b-side of “Gilgamesh” for the Gorge record fair on 2024-09-14.
As with every tracklisted song on The Silver Cord, “Set” has two versions: a standard and an extended mix. The standard version comes in just under four minutes, while the extended version breaks off the standard outro to keep to the main rhythm with new lyrics for over ten minutes total runtime. “Set” corresponds to “Converge” from sister-album PetroDragonic Apocalypse, adapting a riff heard in its outro (4:59) into the main melody. The extended mix also features guttural chants of “Converge” as well as a reference to “Motor Spirit” and “Dragon.” The Silver Cord brings the god Set back for the longer “Extinction” at the end of the extended edition. Interestingly, the phrase “cut the cord” featured in this song as well as “Swan Song” was first used in the alternate lyrics of “Han-Tyumi, the Confused Cyborg.”
The song made it’s live debut on 2024-08-21 at the Budweiser Stage in Toronto coming out of “Extinction.”