| Disc 1 | ||||||
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| 1. |
| 4:01 | 
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| 2. |
| 4:22 | 
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The mirrors, the mirrors
That hides the hideous Me, the others Banned and forbidden From of your world Alone and cold Watching in silence So close, still aeons away... Touch the surface, cold and smooth You see me as I watch you... When you move, I move too, But is this you or me who moves? Who are you and who's the reflection? Crush a crack, feel the connection I am you and we will win. Crush the mirror. Let me in! A little crack is all it takes. Drop the mirror, let it fall Because every time you smash a mirror, I steal a little piece of your soul The mirrors, the mirrors That are between us Me and you Separated, delirious You... beholder, Seeing. We Are watching, observing You still when you are not Touch the surface, cold and smooth You see me as I touch you... The borderline between me and you Is a vast prison for both of us two And you know what you must do To get us out of this celestial's zoo [Solo] Crush it, crack it, smash it to pieces Of your sick, pathetic world Little fragments of yourself and me. Flickering, see it twirl! Destroy the pure, transparent shroud Don't listen to your doubts Let it break, smash it now Let me in! Let me out! The mirrors, the mirrors / are locked like doors Me, alone / behind what's between us Hidden, unseen / admired and adored Aware, unknown / brinked with mistrust Watch the mirror, broken and scarred Seeing me as who you are Your eyes are mine, and I look at your hand... ...and I see blood. [Behind the mirrors - Comments] [The Mirror-song-lyric was finished the same day as we recorded it, and with it's rather experimental way of writing, it delivers a punch I never thought it would do. As I wrote the lyric I wondered how short I could do each line. I wanted every line to punch like the little freeze you get down your spine when you see a mirror that you didn't know was there, or suddenly see something strange in there, so i wrote: "The mirrors / The mirrors / That hides / The hideous / Me / The others / Banned! / Forbidden!"] [I think mirrors are one of the most spooky things in my house, and I never stop being fascinated by them. Horror movies like Poltergeist 3 and the Changeling was good inspiration and hard fuel for a spooky boost. I think the song has quite some good punchlines, and really enjoyed working them out.] [- Narrenschiff] |
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| 3. |
| 5:06 |
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At the brink of Hell an island swims in lakes of fire by the darkened plains
Deserted and dead it declares its place By spewing it's magma like blood from its veins and covering the island In a black, poisonous haze This was the first spot where the angel Lucifer set his foot And claimed and declared this view as his home He came from the north, and alone was he not But joined by the followers from the roads he had roamed Here he set his haven. Here where angels die Here he baptise the newcomers in fire. On the Devil's own Sinai. [Female] "Sinai roars as your frail brittle bones viciously torn, mutilated and scorched. Bleeding lava pulsating like blood, 'neath your skin as it withers and burns" Still the damned gather here to hail Amidst burning smoke beneath black skies Hellhounds bark at the northern pale view... This is the common abyss for all alike Where the red, melted stone fl ow a scorching river Into the day in north, and in south... the night. And here (Here you are) on the outstretching fields (On Elysium grounds) Far away (Far away from life). God (God) is out of reach Here they gather to spit and curse and bark From the south of heaven where angels are told Not to approach nor to look nor to set foot Where the truth of Armageddon will unfold Here they sacrifice the captured saints . Here is where the torture awaits Here is where you abandon your faith. On the Devil's own Sinai... They wait and wail in ghastly pain While digging deep inside, insane. Inflict a wound you heal in vain As blood pours black from pierced veins They crush and cut, the dark stone stained A ribcage opens, a hole that frames A soul unstained and struggling sane Beneath the burning rain ... ...cast into the fields of evil pleasure. Discovering the abyss' deepest hidden treasure Bending borders of emotional measure Cast far into the fields of evil pleasure... [Solo] It's always been there, and forever it will Stay untouched by the tooth of time Standing with majestic intimidation Bat-winged creatures surrounding its peak, High above Hell they all fly Forever screaming in demonic celebration And here (Here you are) on the outstretching fields (On Elysium grounds) Cast into the fields (Cast into the fields) of evil pleasure Forever (Forever) awaiting only to (die) [Cast into fields of evil pleasure - Comments] [If you can imagine a spot in between worlds where one side describes the positive (yin, summer, daytime) and the other describes the opposite. We take the basic elements: Heaven and Hell. Then you imagine that the hordes of Hell have conquered this spot, and that from here they can see Heaven again, but don't really dare to go any further. This was the borderline, and now they are standing closer than ever, maybe to break loose on Heaven's green fields, maybe ready to stay on stand-by forever.] [I think the idea of the song was just to make the borderland, but then I tended to fill it up with all kinds of nasty figures. ("Here they sacrifice the captured saints, here is where the torture awaits, here is where you abandon faith: The Devil's own Sinai"). I liked the idea of the Devil's Own Sinai, and if I was the Devil and wanted to poke God in the ribs by making my own Sinai, where would I build it but the brink of Heaven, just to say: "Yeah? Well look what I've got!". But I think my favourite line in this song must be " This is the common abyss for all alike, Where red melted stone flow a scorching river, Into the day in north, and in south; the night." I kind of like that image.] [And here, while being poked in your guts, you can still see Heaven shining north of where you lie strapped down. Quite depressing, huh?] [- Narrenschiff] |
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| 4. |
| 5:03 |
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| 5. |
| 4:37 |
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The sun sets at last, sliding slowly and silently down
'Low the horizon in the west, where a small house lies... The puppet-man is ending his workday, as the starlight peak through the clouds He's worked all day and says goodnight to his dolls before he close the door He lives alone in this house, and it's his home and a way of living Though he thought he knew all the secrets of his house, there's more... 'Cause tonight... the puppets are roaming the room In spite... of being creatures of iron and wood They live as well as you and I Though driven by other forces inside And tonight the creator's biggest pride Will make his way through the door and charge to take the puppet-man's life Now the doll runs through the living-room And he's hiding in the dimly faded gloom Now he's approaching the bed And won't leave until the body is dead But the creator awakes before the doll can fulfill the task And he's paralyzed in amazement as he sees his hand-made mask Of the horrifying devil he made Once so many years ago And he cannot even scream as the knife Rips through his throat He'll never again be put back on that shelf "Kill the flesh! Kill the flesh!" screaming to himself The doll is standing above the puppet-maker's corpse The devil-mask covered in blood and gore Silently standing, looking down With the dripping knife still in his hand Now he turns and he sees the door He's tasted blood and is thirsty for more The rain is cleansing his mask as he runs through the night alone He's shaking in tension as he's heading for the town. [Solo] 'Cause tonight... the puppets are killing in town And the villagers are lying in bloodstained nighting-gowns And now as they all have become alive They are immortal and cannot die And tonight the creator's biggest pride Will run into the world and try to take mortal men's life He's hunting at night. Watch out for open windows He's hunting at night. Perhaps you should stay inside? He's hunting at night [The creator's biggest pride - Comments] [A most funny song to work on. It turned out quite infant and childish, with the sheer wickedness and evil which are found in classical King, Fulci and Argento movies and with a pinch of Tales from the Crypt. I don't really have a clue why the lyric turned out like it did, but I have a sneaking feeling that the song made me do it. It's just perfect how the doll sneaks trough the living-room and hides in the dimly faded gloom...] [- Narrenschiff] |
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| 6. |
| 1:43 |
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| 7. |
| 4:29 |
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Pools of black eternity
Sweeping down on brightly burning fires When comes the righteous ones Bringing the servants of leechy throngs Angels, remembering every promise Black vise crushing the feathers white Come pain deliver us in darkness Unknown, the promise of their demise Intercepting a world Dwelling in disbelief Were able to exterminate You Down-to-Earthlings With truth that would toss you into suicidal grief What renaissance this hour will bring Dark grimoires of sorceries Filled with spells of cursed conjurations Bring down the witching hour From earth to ashes we all shall fall Those eyes, ebony enchanted Pass on the undenying truth Of youth there isn't any left What came from this insanity? Bring on pain and suffering The answer for crimes Plead as much you can You liar, you fucking liar Pools of black eternity Sweeping down on brightly burning fires Bring down the witching hour From earth to ashes we all shall fall Free men, shall come as the unwanted Forcing the old ones to leave in vain At last denial bringing justice Cruel fate, they are forever slain [Bring down the witching hour - Comments] [This lyric was done as a sort of homage to all the witches that died at the stakes in medieval Europe. The lyric was done some time before Narrenschiff joined the band, but it was a lyric that both he and I liked a lot so we decided to keep it as it was.The lyric is all about how the righteous people of the church killed all these women and the masses loved them for it. But now, today the witches are returning in great numbers and today we have no hallowed men to slay them for their knowledge. In the studio we found that it could do with a couple of lines and Narrenschiff added the final touch, so it's basically a joint effort. The title itself is partly inspired by Anne Rice and her Mayfair Witches.] [- Tobias] |
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| 8. |
| 5:40 |
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By the hands of violent winter, his fate was sealed
Crawling on the icy slopes with limbs frozen cold Memories of untold torture, in his mind Waking from the endless slumber leaving him numb Creeping worms they eat his mind Feelings blind this clouded time They took his soul, so they could find The truth Feeling hate for usurpers gone mad Reaching in for the power he had Wanting more than he could give But they would never falter In his mind only memories of hate Planted there by the monger's of fate Reaching out for sanity But hope is ever fading Looking for the answer Why did they do this to me? Leaving me deserted I never asked for this hell Reaching out for fires burning, in his eyes Hope is still a trusty friend but fires burn low Snow keeps falling all around him, as he screams Seemingly the only answer is from the void Defeated and forsaken, he lies in fields of snow Only sign of life his eyes, in panic seeking solace Sun, rising high Bringing, warmth and energy again Waking up from a steady state Of suspended animation Blinded by these rays of light Hailing from the sky Senses now return to him Tribulations feeling dim Now a sordid memory Impeding doom approaching As he run, try to shake off the vice No one hearing his desperate cries The usurpers are hunting him Hounds barking and wolves closing in His escape was a futile attempt He is hunted by common consent Now returned to the bleak white cell I hope that dying is the end of this hell [Solo] Looking for the answer Why are they doing this? What is it I have done? To deserve this living hell By the violent hands of winter, his fate is sealed Dying by the hands of strangers leaving him cold Memories of untold torture still in his mind Never more awakening, this time it's the end Defeated and forsaken, his peers would not let go The trial was an endless one, and death did not yet show Come, reap my life Now, it's the time of my departure Afore of him a shadow stands It's glowing with eternal might "I am one of many names And one of them is bringer of light" [By the hands of violent winter - Comments] [The idea for this lyric came from and old horror-movie, that I can't remember the name of. But it was about a guy who had his memories shared with those of a cat. He got away from the scientist guys and ran and ran but they caught up with him in the end nevertheless, and all the time he had these flashy images running through his mind that he knew wasn't his own.I wrote it because I found it a scary though that you were being experimented upon and you could do nothing about it. And in the end dying is not even a relief.The lyric was written together with Tyr, before Narrenschiff joined the band.] [- Tobias] |
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| 9. |
| 4:35 |
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Frozen constellations, now we are,
Forever trapped by illusions of fate Arising from the ashes of fires, Burning low in the shadows of hate You and I, we are blinded by, Hatred flowing from years of denial As we cry, forever asking why, The blind is following others in vain Scorn these jubilations, by blinded ones, They are a picture of bruteness and pain Mourned by bygone years of exclusion, Are forever the loss of our sin Cursed, by shame and suffering Our lives are but a memory of reason Now it's time Time for us to come crashing, Down the broadening lanes of life Trailing froth and illusion, Showering others in the truth of their condemning lies You and they, shall forever pray, The common wish for a leader of man Now and then, changed forever when The old and powerful, slain was by man Flowing tears, showing the world All the pain and the fears The old is here, and this time There'll be no one spared Frozen constellations, now you are Forever trapped by delusions of pain Real life breaks again bringing foolishness You never know what tomorrow will bring [Frozen constellations - Comments] [One of the last songs I wrote, this one is about the Old Norse gods coming back to life and sending the Christian god running like hell... Not much to it, but a fun little lyric that I enjoyed writing. Don't think too much about this one.] [- Tobias] |
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