Stephen Wicks – The Doomsday Clock (85 Seconds to Midnight) (2026)
Taking inspiration from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ famous Doomsday Clock, Stephen Wicks offers a head-on confrontation with humanity’s existential threats with ‘The Doomsday Clock (85 Seconds to Midnight)’. Using driving instrumentation, he creates an urgent soundscape made more frantic by the lyrics and cinematic intensity. Addressing global concerns such as climate change, AI, geopolitical instability and nuclear proliferation, he is offering a vital message for all future generations.
Drawing on decades of live experience, Wicks has a unique perspective woven into his music. His musical journey is also an amazing example of artistic reinvention as the 74-year-old has transformed himself from property entrepreneur to compelling musician. Now fully dedicated to his musical craft, he is letting out a wake-up call set to music with this release.
The intensity of the single hits you from the first note as the strings get your heart racing. The siren wails and the vocals speak, setting the tone of the single before the rock guitar flows through. You can feel the threat building in the dark corners of the melody as they make you want to look over your shoulder as you move through the track. Each note of the melody has been crafted to build up the intensity and relentless ticking of time closer to the end.
As the tension coils in your chest to the rhythm of the melody, the lyrics and vocals shine a light on all the threats that are waiting to take out humanity. The lyrics touch on everything from climate change wiping us out to the general instability of the world of geopolitics. Whether you are worried about these threats or not, the flow of the vocals will turn your attention to them and make you start thinking about them.
As the single progresses, that siren and the spoken vocals come back to warn us again that we are very close to midnight on the Doomsday Clock. This injection is a great break in the overall flow of the track as it pauses the consideration of the threats and punches the urgency into your chest. Through everything in the song, you feel the intensity of the situation wrap around you and bring about the slightly bit of panic, but in a really good way.
Find out more about Stephen Wicks on his official website, Instagram, YouTube and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
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