1. |
The Last Emperor
04:15
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On an auburn hillside, backlit by the dusk
Three priests now stand before a horde of somber men
Surrounded by the relics of saints now long dead
Intimidated by the aura, they obey
Blessed are you, you who go to war
Blessed are you, you who fight for God
The winds are howling, crying out for change
The southern winds are baying, crying out for blood
Here I find myself, a sinner with luck
Never have I had to pay for my sins
Weary and weak, yearning for absolution
Burn! Feeling the blood course through my veins in a brief moment of respite
Now there’s a chance to redeem myself and bring some honor back to my name
Kill all who attack the flock
Maim all who occupy our lands
Burn those who stand in our way
Praise all who die for the faith
Settle the debt and clear out the past, that I might make it right with God
God surely wills it
He wills us to free every lamb that’s under the yoke
Rise, Knights of Bouillon! Rise to the task!
Stand up and fight for those who’ve been faithful and true — an unyielding frame
This is truly the ideal resolve
There, Jerusalem, a city of light!
This is the place where I shall find absolution, mercy divine!
This is the place where I shall die
Hold back all your tears, steel all your hearts
Wave after wave we shall deny
Never again we’ll abdicate another yard of Christian soil
Kill! All who hold attack the flock
Maim! All who devastate our lands
Burn! Those who stand in our way
Praise! All who die for the cross
Guitar Solo: Michael
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2. |
Take Up Your Cross
05:07
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Set the wheel in motion, unleash the wave
This is the wondrous crusade!
For the land is bleeding out in the east
And we shall wash their wounds of filth
Somewhere they suffer, somewhere they cry
Somewhere the children are misled, deceived
That’s where we’re needed, that’s where we’ll go
That’s where the holy light will shine again
Steel my shaking heart
Bleeding realm
Despite the courage I show, it’s fear that’s running strong below
No matter what they might say, I still can’t bring myself to cheer
Take up your cross, do not fear what’s to come
Never you mind all the pain
Live for today
This hand directs me, that voice commands
What choice then only rests with me?
On day of judgement, you cannot say “It was my order to do so”
Despite my calmness, I toil inside
There’s not a beam of light and I’m alone
God’s light has left me, I hear a hum
Nothing for me to sense but moss and stone
Somewhere they suffer, somewhere they cry
Somewhere the women are caged, held down
That’s where we’re needed, that’s where we’ll go
That’s where the holy light will shine again
Guitar Solo: Michael
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3. |
Raining Gold
03:56
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The air is thick with moisture on these greener pastures
We’ve marched for weeks and now our food’s almost depleted
Raining, cleansing waters fall on me
Hail! Hail our pageantry, welcome us as friends
Please support the march by feeding our men
Bring your Baron here to stand before the Count
Let the people gather all around
He told the Priest where all the Jews did live and frequent
And then we sought them out to take from them our payment
Raining, screaming, gnashing jaws of anguish
Tears!
Screaming children weep, sitting in the mud
Watch their parents mocked and beaten
Help!
Crying out for help, yet I still partake
Ignoring the pleas from the ancient pariah
Raining gold on muddy cobblestone
Raining gold
I feel ashamed — this ransom burns
Raining gold coins, trying to buy themselves some time
Girls on the second floor throwing down their gold
Trying to distract our comrades
Priest of the Hermit’s men now is telling them
That they may as well convert or die
Guitar Solo: Tony
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4. |
The Queen of All Cities
09:13
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The Kingdom! The savior will save us
The Kingdom! The savior will be our guiding light
For weeks now, it seems like we’ve traveled through limbo
And at last we see her shine, Constantinople!
Sinners and the saintly will kneel!
Sinners and the saintly will halt for Alexios
The saints reign from heaven
The saints!
Swear him oaths of fealty and he’ll open up the way
Cresting, the waves of crusaders
Spilling down from off the hill
Resting, the Queen of all Cities
Swear Alexios your word and then be on your way
Expanses we traversed, starvation
The desert, the hunger — it drove us to our breaking point
The horses were cut and, little by little, the poor things were drained until one day they collapsed to the ground
Sinners and the saintly will march!
Sinners and the saintly will go marching to their fate
The saints reign from heaven
The saints!
Spirit and the body unite when pushed to the edge
Left behind Constantinople
We swore to return what was theirs
Blessed be the Queen of all Cities
For all the lands and people lost, lost to Seljuk Turks
Far off in the distance, I see Nicaea
Far off in the distance, perhaps we’ll find relief
Fortress in shrouds
Shimmers on the lake
Head in the clouds
Coming down the hill
Long did I seek for a path to salvation
Never could I wash off the scales from my poor eyes
Long did I struggle to free myself from my chains
Never could I break off the bindings of my guilt and shame
Sinners and the saintly will fall
Sinners and the saintly are equals in the great abyss
The saints reign from heaven
The saints!
When I take my last breath, I hope I can laugh and smile
But how can I live with this burden?
How can I ease my heart before I die?
Grace to the ones we have plundered
I will never sleep the same
Grant me healing rain
Rain now
I will never be alone
Weeping, trembling at the throne
Golden eyes stare back at me
Guitar Solo 1: Tony
Guitar Solo 2: Michael
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5. |
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As you treat the lowest, so you treat The Lamb
But suppose it were so, that you were the lowest
Would it stand to reason that you should be kindest to yourself above all, as though you yourself were Christ?
Deus vult! Crying for reason
God’s will! Spiritual treason
Deus vult! No room for saints here
Gone asunder
This is the moment of decision
Every day’s a chance to be a righteous man
Now is the time for your salvation
In the end of it you must own what you do
Soft determinism opens up my life to accept what may come, but still allows me to try
I accept that I cannot change what is outside me
Grant me only the power to improve my perspective
This is the moment of creation
Belonging where I am, I only take what’s given
This is the time for absolution
I let the weight of all my shortcomings dissolve
Lay your burden down
Enter the water without a ripple
Sunrise, embrace!
Arms outstretched
Bless both friends and enemies
The walls before me, the walls within
Both will be shattered, both will give in
Life as machine, so unaware
I feel it draining like poisoned, dripping ichor
This is the moment of baptism
I cannot call my life a meaningless mistake
This is the moment of renewal
I preach to introduce democracy to heaven
Guitar Solo: Tony
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6. |
Antioch
07:50
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Stand alone among the throngs, I blaspheme silently
Nobody knows my private crime
Walk with me
Outside the city of Antioch
Crusaders patiently laying siege
Until the day came for Raynald Porchet
The knight was captured and paraded on the walls
“I will not plead or beg”
Upon the walls, there on his knees
He’s on his way back home
No ransom, don’t you pay for my life or lift the siege
You must persist
Please fight hard, I’ve seen that behind the walls they are weakened
Keep your resolve
On his knees before the general, who offered anything if he’d apostatize
The clever Raynald asked for some time to think about the proposition that he faced
For days on end, so piously he prayed unto his God
“I won’t apostatize”
He used the time to pray and ask for the strength to be prepared for what God willed
It wasn’t long before an interpreter found him out and saw he wouldn’t capitulate
Just like the Jews who could not sing their song of God on foreign soil
These blasphemies kept in my mind could turn into a cross to bear
On the walls, Raynald was paraded before us
Helplessly, I watched him kneel
One last time, a smile he offered to me before he died
The headless saint of Antioch
Guitar Solo: Tony
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7. |
Nothing But Blood
05:22
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Morning dew and beams of the sunrise
This is life! I’m one with the landscape
We’re on the hunt, just like our ancestors
Seal the bond between man and beast alike
Such silence, the moment is shattered by a helpless scream
Nothing but blood
United through the ties of common faunal bloodlines
Nothing but blood
A line of heritage woven through the fabric of life
Out of breath, and now paralyzed by the stunning sight of a brown bear so fearsome
Its cornered prey — a scavenging pilgrim
Pounding heart, adrenaline starts to course
Your moment, your window of opportunity to shine
Nothing but blood
I step between the two and stare the creature down
Nothing but blood
My blade is shimmering as the bear begins to charge
Flowing, the wounds of myself and the bear flow
You can’t tell whose blood belongs to who
The soil is steaming
It’s drinking deep the blood
A heaving, a straining
The wall of bones and fur falls down
Nothing but blood
My sword becomes a cane as I survey the carnage
Nothing but blood
The pilgrim has his life, but have I still the strength to lead?
Antioch — I’m grievously wounded
“Rest, lord! Your men will wait for you to recover”
Guitar Solo 1: Tony
Guitar Solo 2: Michael
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8. |
It Falls to Jerusalem
05:54
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On a silent, starless night Bohemond feigned retreat
On a silent, starless night Antioch bled from every pore
Helpless I watch, useless on this perch
My wounds have healed, but still I cannot fight
All that it took was one man’s betrayal
Open the gates, behold the wrath of God
Blessed are you, you who go to war
Blessed are you, you who fight for God
The winds are howling, crying out for change
The southern winds are baying, crying out for love
Such carnage, revolting
It’s hard to stomach all the gore
Mangled, contorted
It’s tragic, but alas!
They had a chance to surrender, and this is the way it’s always been
For hundreds of years we were the targeted Kafir, fighting to hold onto each parcel of land
The heart of the Jihad, pumping blood and destruction into the veins of Western nations
Bohemond, clever and sly, arranged to steal away command of Antioch
You’d break the oath you swore to return what was theirs?
I call you coward, to cheat Alexios!
Purged of my guilt and yet I feel no peace of mind
We share the same blood as the beasts
I feel it throb in every wound that I took on — balance me!
Jerusalem is where it falls to cut out the rot from humankind
Jerusalem is where it falls for us to choose to end the weakness in our hearts
Under my leadership we took Jerusalem
They offered me it's gold, coveted crown
How could I wear a crown of gold in the same city where Christ did wear a crown of thorns?
Lead as the King of Kings, and serve your fellow man lovingly
Jerusalem is where it falls to cut out the rot from humankind
Jerusalem is where it falls for us to choose between forgiveness and the beast
Guitar Solo: Tony
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Judicator Tucson, Arizona
Judicator is a Power Metal band formed by John Yelland and Alicia Cordisco after the two met at a Blind Guardian concert. They released two historical based albums as a recording project, and then evolved into a full band, signing with Prosthetic Records in 2020! Their 6th album 'The Majesty of Decay' full of epic and progressive power metal is out now! ... more
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