1. |
Devastation
06:01
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Fire swept across the roofs at dawn
The woman's screams deafening amidst the howling of the dogs
Awakened in terror
Blade in hand he ran through the streets
Slaughter through the mists he saw
Striking left through the choked alleyway
Towards
A pinnacle of iron above the flames
A spire above the smoke
A child consumed by the flames, writhing in agony
A god-fearing man lynched from the statuary
The gates torn asunder, between the mighty stone
A pool of blood spreads from within, down to the gravel below
Fire swept across the roofs at dawn
A fragile form lifeless in his arms
Through choking tears he screamed as he fell to his knees
Enclaved by reliquary
The sounds of cruelty faded into naught
The fires slowly fell
Wreathed in ash he finally rose
With eyes that held that inferno in which he was reborn
An avatar of vengeance and discord
Destined for loss and for tragedy
He chased the butchers of that hateful dawn
A vision for blood alone
At nightfall he reached their encampment
Where torchlight and war drums filled a narrow gorge
He hefted his blade and lifted a flaming brand
With singular mind
Striding through the blackness
He struck aside the guard
Throwing a torch into the canvas
Spread fire throughout the savage horde
Arrows streaked across the night sky
As he ran for his life
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2. |
Betrayal
07:41
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The North awoke with blades in hand with the news that came that spring
One thousand ships of the southern foe had been emptied from the sea
The gods had granted respite from the legions of the Ark
The devil's pass unguarded, and a strong wind from the east
A promise beyond
A promise of a better life, and riches beyond dreams awaited them beyond the sea
The hammers never rested and the forges fired to life
The sound of ringing steel filled the towns from dawn to night
A young man felt his heart swell as his hands began to shake
Though he feared his death and loved his home, he sailed at first light
The currents deny winters hold
My elders beckon me to war
I know not why she weeps at night
But to me her eyes grow cold
I fear she bears a son that is not mine
As she urges me to go
Never to return, I leave my home
And to my right is the man that I see her smile to from afar
Better armed and armored
He stammers, and I see the fear behind
He wants what is mine
They beseeched the spirits of the blackened sea, and demons beneath the waves
Long days later we see land upon the horizon
The stars have led us to our quarry
He jumps into the surf with axe in hand, and I soon behind
A lone christian warrior stands on the beach before a road
This warrior crushes the first of us, and the man I follow swings his blade
The Christian lashes out violently, leaving bloody ruin
I smile as I see my woman's lover fall, and I strike heavily
He crumples beneath my blade
And I realize that I will never love the child
And he will never know
Still I smile, as I urgently charge the road
Seeking to forget…. forlorn hope of this child.
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3. |
Violence
05:42
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Even in the dead of night when the wolves scratch at the sill
I fear only the pain of failure
When their faith in me has faded
And the energies of my life have long since passed
In a struggle I did not have the will to win
Terrified by nothing more than twilight
Deep shadows in the night
And not by shattered shields nor searing pain nor torture on a rack of coals
But save me lord from all that isn't real
He saw the ships approaching at the new dawn
He saw their grinding sterns rake up the shore
And seizing his crucifix, he made peace with God in Heaven
Drawing rasping steel with a muttered oath, he met them with his battle weary sword
No time to warn those he loved as the first men disembarked, wielding axe and torch the Norsemen sought the road
Where he stood, with dire face, his back to the sleeping town
He risked his life to hold the attack, and prayed the noise would wake them
Striking fast the first man fell, torch guttered in the sand
While overhead the warrior heard the rushing winds of death
He crouched and lashed out savagely, felt the parting leather snap as pulling his arm aside the sword bit deeply into cloth and into flesh
A reckless courage bore his voice to a staggering echo then
“Go Godless to your end!”
As an avatar of fury, he strode atop the dead
Encircled now he saw a land fairer
And as the last blade fell towards him he smiled for its edge
And knew that in battle he had defeated his terror
At the rising of the sun, as the Norsemen took the road
He lay fearless bleeding out upon the sand
His loved ones faith was justly placed
And the energies of his life were rightly passed
In a struggle that took his whole lifetime to win
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4. |
Redemption
06:20
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He saw his death looming, as blood stained the soil
He lay by a tree to rest
Deeply he drew in the fast-cooling air
And ripped the first arrow from his shivering chest
And so it comes to a desolate end
A fugitive cast from the light
But who bears my judgment...a God or a Man
When distant I die from my creator's sight?
Where to begin?
A life filled with beauty then ravaged by sin
Our weakness exploited on a cursed winter's dawn
A smoldering chapel and the bodies within
But God must be here
Even in this foul and blackest night, ridden with fear
He must have seen and thought noble my deeds...
My plaintiff cries, he must
Hear me now
At the hour of my death I command your ear
Tell me I am more than but a vengeful man
Justify all of my loss, justify all of my tears
Hear me now
But the winds blew no harder, the skies did not part
The cold moon gazed down on a dying man's heart
Which just in one moment was ruthlessly broken
And his mind finally open at the hour of his end
Death be my crucible
Fatherless I fall
I spread wide my shoulders and imagine the place where I'll wake
When this long night gives way to peaceful dawn
True love and beauty for eons to come
A warmer rain falling and a fast rising sun
A peaceful life far from this savagery and conquering
Better people living peacefully in heavens of their own making
Truth love and beauty for eons to come
A warmer rain falling and a fast rising sun
Though God had long withheld joyful disincarnation
Just at the end, he finally, finally found one
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Lyceum Concord, California
Lyceum was founded in early 2010 by the former members of three Bay Area metal bands.
The name Lyceum
refers to the academy of Aristotle, the teacher of Alexander the Great, dedicated to Apollo Lyceus, pivotal in the history of western aesthetics, education, and philosophy.
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