Pt 1
There was a sudden burst of light
One grabbed his pen to write
How it shined through the black of night
This brilliant orb so bright
Sub-create!
A mortal yet strives in his fallen state
Blessed is he
Who hears yet the strains of the song eternal
Maker of myth with your rhyme you weave
A tapestry of tales untold in recorded time
And though the shadows draw near
He writes as if he sees the world bathed all in sunlight
Can he keep the fear at bay
In hope of day eternal
He's dreamt of a paradise
Ruled by a thing infernal
Sub-create!
A mortal yet strives in his fallen state
He fills his world with monsters
They hide round each corner
Plotting wickedness, wreck and ruin
He fills his world with monsters
For monsters filled his world
Maker of myth, shaper of starlight
Into words and thus to worlds
Healer of hearts, night will fall
Though you sing of the coming dawn
For you have seen beyond all sorrow and suffering
In such times we tarry
Till the breaking of the world
When at last the veil is parted
Pt 2
I saw the light undimmed in ancient glory
Refracting it, it birthed in me a story
I wrote of kings and queens
I wrote of things unseen
Of castles never dreamed
Whose towers ever gleamed
For that is where my heart led me
And ever just ahead I saw that brilliant star
It whispered through the night
Its secrets, pulsing bright
Telling me of tales which were my own
The more I wrote, the more the star would show me
The more I wrote, the less the world could know me
It laughs but I care not
I wrought what I would wrought
The world soon lost its hold on me
Some could hear, some could see
For those I would persist
Stand proudly in their midst
The world will pass away
And all its thoughts are dust
Pt 3
Some see afar unto a place more fair
And leave behind that thing we must beware
Not in retreat, but triumph
Do not be dismayed my brothers
Sisters do not tremble so
Fix your eyes on yonder star
It may burst forth in brightness
And your heart be filled
You may see a thing most wondrous to behold
“From mirrored truth the likeness of the True!”
Find the truth...
The album takes off nicely with David Longdon's "The Strangest Times", but then gets into immediate free fall and deeply underwater for the next few tracks, quite unexpectedly. Fortunately, it recovers with Nick D'Virgilio's "Apollo" (hey, this guy CAN write good music, although he hides this ability most of the time) and the remaining three tracks, one of which is another Longdon masterpiece. So in the end the final impression is somewhat in the positive range. Sven B. Schreiber (sbs)
The Long Island metal band's third album etches arena-sized hooks into their jagged compositions, deftly balancing experimental and poppy inclinations. Bandcamp Album of the Day May 12, 2022
In the wake of buying the Welcome To The Planet I also went for this older "EP" (clocking in on 70 minutes a rather big big EP...) as a final farewell to a very bright bright star that sadly doesn't shine anymore. Carsten Pieper