SOLITUDE AETURNUS LYRICS Through The Darkest Hour (1994) 1. Falling 2. Haunting The Obscure 3. The 8th Day: Mourning 4. The 9th Day: Awakening 5. Pain 6. Pawns Of Anger 7. Eternal (Dreams Pt II) 8. Perfect Insanity 9. Shatter My Spirit 1. Falling "I walk in the sands of Eden Where the blue pyramids sleep I close the world behind me For my future soul to keep longer than I want to know them Spawning dirges fill my veins A ritual reaction I drop the face and play the game I growl at familiar strangers The sands are needles there The dust will crawl in anguish Like the bones inside my lair [CHORUS] Move You fall And we die Move into the circle You fall on your knees And we die here waiting You fall on your knees Won't somebody tell me why Somebody please show me where I lost that dream sensation In this bitter midnight air We melt inside of centuries Awaiting new arrivals Dressing in lost shadows like costumes for the dying" [This is the dark side of drugs and black magic, an appropriate addition to the Darkest Hour.-Lyle] 2. Haunting The Obscure "Emerald figures shining in darkness Forty souls are locked in stone A thousand eyes open to see The wolves of ruin devouring me Dying hearts of unkown voices leave my hope under fallen stars Their beating echoes only pain Their blood red lips call out my name Specters of somber sullen face Piercing pale dry light of fire Mirror's like silver maryrs Falling from the sky The clouds that line the bed of sleep Pound with thunder underneath My tired eyes that strain to see All that reigns inside of me [CHORUS] Haunting the solace Of the sleeping world The darkness falls like lead Haunting the Obscure... Specters of a somber sullen face Piercing pale dry light of fire Voyeurs in my hour of darkness When is it that they will rest Like kings they come in deepest night A crown of thorns for lack of sight To rule with voices cast in lead Echoing forever in my head" [Nightmares.-Lyle] 3. The 8th Day: Mourning "Draw the curtains It's time to sleep Everything is not as it seems Silent hands of winter winds Are drawing near... Fold the tension slowly Wait beneath the tear The tarnished gold Through the window pain Lies dead upon the floor While unseen eyes Crouch low behind The walls so thin... The pious curse the holy So evening curse the day [CHORUS] And on the 8Th day... I should have known its name years consume the hours Turning black to gray Light the fire My dreamer's son You are the only one To walk alone In this desperate maze Whose price has just begun Drowning lies In bottles of time Shipwrecked for no one to see Reaching as far To other worlds Besieged by numbered days Besieged by numbered days..." [After we receive the gift of life we inevitably grow old, giving birth to new] [life in a desperate attempt to preserve some part of ourselves for] [eternity.-Lyle] 4. The 9th Day: Awakening "The day has dawned But not the light Clouds like black ink Spill through the sky I feel an anger Pulsing through my veins All injustice Driving me insane Another novice dark soul Crawls into sight Twilight hands of murder Carve faces in the light Distant new worlds Whispers of their names Stand up for battle Time to make a change No tomorrow... [CHORUS] Strombringer hear me Down for days The rain will end Strombringer hear me Down for days Free again Blind lead the blind Devoid of truth Disharmony of madness An orchestra of doom Can't believe you let them Tell you what to be you've locked away tomorrow and given up the key" 5. Pain "I've seen the pain before Teardrops in their eyes Others that we've torn To take away their pride I've felt the pain before Tearing skin and bone To evil we conform Weakness we have known [CHORUS] Feel the Pain I've heard the pain before Another hollow tie To escape the cold Whisperer of good-bye I've held the pain before The agony en masse Melting arms to mourn The beauty of the past When I see the darkness below me I hear the weeping of the damned My spirit flies from the shadows Into the forest that we share Never shall the winds betray me Only you will know me as I am I turn from the eyes of winter And cast away the burden that I bear... I've seen the pain before circling our laughs Like vultures whom we scorn In the vengeance of our wrath But somewhere in the black Crystal hearts adorn The wings of yeaterday So I can be reborn" 6. Pawns Of Anger "Distant faces Cold dark eyes Another lonely place to hide False intentions Vague disguise The veil of fear you stand behind Forbidden fruit Frozen time Blind ambitions draws your line Awaken Arise Or never break these ties Deception lingers like pain you always harvest the lies you make believe [CHORUS] Another lie from the pawns of anger Midnight sons of death They ring the bells of darkness Breath the burning air... so go ahead and kneel or bow I will choses to stand Until the end Until the end... There's blood on the walls A mask in the hall A killer in your midst Pray he does not wake Before the dawn" ["If you listen to fools-the mob rules." Ronnie James Dio 1981 -Lyle] 7. Eternal (Dreams Pt II) Somewhere a shadow I shall be Existing inside eternity Finding there my every move A world without a need for time Forever I walk where others hide A burning thirst I feel inside Strike me down-my soul to fly [CHORUS] Eternal The infinite wasteland Immortality's great demand Alone in desperate salvation A vision in ghostly dreams Unknown to light or darkness I possess the void in between Can memories replace my existence Does it matter in the end? Which eternal path we've taken Be it truth, deception, pain or fear" [This song is part II of the "Dreams" trilogy. It explores the darker side of] [immortality and even asks whether it is ultimately desirable. To live forever is] [to have no hopes or dreams, nothing more to be gained, only endless] [existance....-Lyle] 8. Perfect Insanity "Sinister formations Laughing in my head The thorn of your existence Drives me to the edge Vile sweet serpent Slither trance begin Such a pitiful submission Seduction fighting sin [CHORUS] Perfect insanity Into oblivion Into oblivion... Don't blame me For all that's happened I love it where I am Beside this crimson lamplight Flickering in my head It's better here alone No one will ever hear And when the darkness Blinks the eye of the sun It will be me standing at home And you... Beginning to run Exhume the force conception Bodies dead since birth Your life is prostitution It's payment is a curse Bathe the souls in talons Prison the world in bonds You dogs of Sodom Raping the angels of gad" 9. Shatter My Spirit "Leave me now my weary soul Like the rain of sorrow falls Through the cracks of crumbling stone Deep within my walls See me now my empty life Throw away all your lies The tears for all the angels Will never reach the sky [CHORUS] The shadow and the sun Are no longer one Have I lost the light? Shatter my Spirit tonight I've given all that I can give It never seemed enough My blood is in this fire Burning all my trust Another face of a sunless day Another moonless night I must surrender to the dream I can no longer fight I cannot pretend... This is the end So leave me now my weary soul My sorrow here is spent These foolish lies that we deny Are taking all we give" (a short passage by Lyle Steadham) Through the Darkest Hour was written during a time when the band was involved with a label change and uncertainty plagued the future. The music as a result grew darker, harder, and more experimental. The lyrics also reflect this time of despair. Songs deal with the aspects and experiences of depression and anger, sometimes keeping an eye on the light at the end of the tunnel, but often times not. I tried to create different types of dark imagery in much of the lyrics instead of always trying to necessarily make a point. These lyrics are by far the most personal to myself and the other band members. We hope to identify with those, like us, who have been through their own darkest hour.