(Instrumental)

The murmur of war upon the lips of fiends

Clandestine plots grown from subtle seeds

Blossomed into amorphophallusesque ignominy

Too late to turn back from its lethal reach

The tick-tock of the doomsday clock

Creeping ever closer to the final stop

Harbingers of death vaunt in utter delight

As mass fear and panic begin to spread worldwide

The incredulous urge us, “Come to the light!”

And as the darkest days roll out overhead

We mourn in silence upon our tragic end

This is not the final countdown we expected to face

Empires rise and Empires fool

All beneath in droves and even those who rule

Either readily or once consumed by greed

Self deceit appeals more than reality

With heavy heart and enervated sigh

We succumb to disquietude before the eternal night

Even the incessant Rapturephiles quieten down

In a reflective moment before certain death

We curse the antiquated past we were unable to shed

A flat finale for this series of unfortunate events

At the end of days as the fires rained down

And decimated ruins were left to smoulder

We watched it all burn, crashing down around us

Amidst the choking smoke and sulphurous odour

And I distinctly remember the last words, you asked:

“How did your temperament become so much colder?”

And my answer to you? To turn my back and walk away

From the apocalypse over my shoulder...

The clingers on steadily drop like flies

As we near the fiery, fissured finish line

A choir of whistling missiles bid us adieu

A thickening haze suffocates the world

Still we try to place blame whilst our brethren burn

This was not how we envisioned our own demise

Yet the thunder rumbles on without respite

Catastrophic repercussions erupt across fault lines

All bridges both figurative and literal burned

As time runs out and our fractured planet is hurled

Like a vexatious pest swatted from the universe

There is reasonable doubt our lesson was ever truly learnt...

Do you remember the time

When you and I joined forces on that night?

The words we cast tearing through the past

To find a way to win the fight

And the way our tales entwined

Refined the prowess of our tongues

Finding a voice, our rallying call

Let no fret remain unsung

And with that the deed was done

The war of the words begun

Changing the game with inventive ways to quell our foes

Finding the silver lining ‘neath our broken psyches stranglehold

The malignant assailed, sniping our opposition from on high

A light forged from their darkness gleams in your Autumnal eyes

Entrenched in this sardonic romance

Two thorny hearts as sharp as glass

There was a time when you and I

Lay beneath the dreary rain misted skies

Replete with words which cut so deep

Into the fools that had passed us by

Those old foes who chose to oppose our prose

Finally faded from our minds

Obscured beneath the shadows

Now but a mere sneer as we roll our eyes

All their vicious work undone

The tide of the battle turned

Taking our aim we fire into the rotten core of those

Immovable forces which had kept us so indisposed

Unloading our traumas, shooting down our enemies one by one

Whose burns will never heal from the warfare of our tongues

Fading away, no longer tearing down our foes

Losing the cohesion which had kept our two halves a whole

Infused with intrusions from across the enemy line

That was the way we finally let the laughter die

And so ends this sardonic romance

Nothing so glib could truly last...

Bemused and waylaid

On a precarious cliff

We walk a fine line

Above the gaping abyss

Tensed, clenched fists grasp

For a mere sign of hope

Finding nothing but razor-sharp winds

As we’re cast to the jagged rocks below

Never before in our lives

Were the consequences so high

FIGHTING

For a future

CLAWING

To survive

Tethered to these ancient ties

Whilst our streets are streaked with blood

Striving to leave behind

This insidious past where it belongs...

Bruised and flayed

Shattered through and through

Thrashed and maimed

Yet relentless in our pursuit

With moonlight as the only guide

We wander side by side

The silence growing deafening

I dare not catch your eye

The bluish hues surround us

Casting shadows on our shame

To mask our true expressions…

Our journey has led us this far

Into the murky dark unknown

Casting out the doubts, we hide

Together, never more alone

Despite our best intentions

Every effort remains in vain

All the trampled, jagged pieces

Can never fit back together again

Time rolls ever on regardless of

The shards left in our open wounds

Winding on through all the noise

And the silent ones gone far too soon

Memories left, fading away

A cruel mockery this mortal game

So claim a draw whilst it’s there to breathe

Then bury the regrets with the rest of me

But until that day dawns it’s final rays

We will close that tome on an empty page

With moonlight as the only guide

We wander side by side

The silence growing deafening

I dare not catch your eye

The bluish hues surround us

Casting shadows on our shame

To mask our true expressions:

Empty, shallow, grave

We continue upon this path

The far less travelled road

Passing by the warning signs, still blind

To the destination unknown

In spite of our best efforts

The outcome remains the same

All the fractured, jagged pieces

Left in the wake of our mistakes...

So little left, traded away

For a handful of scars, ancient runes

Yet we still convince ourselves in the dead of the night

All the lies that we wish would come true

The brooding moonlight’s soothing light

A spotlight on the scene

Of the long dark night of the soulless

Succumbing to the need

The prose tinted glasses shattered

Revealing the endgame

Expressionless we walk away

Empty, shallow, grave

Every dead end diverted

Still the sequence remains unbreached

Passing by our past mistakes and ties

All our vanquished hopes and dreams…

Despite our best intentions

Every effort remains in vain

All the trampled, jagged pieces

Can never fit back together again

In spite of our best efforts

The outcome remains the same

All the fractured, jagged pieces

Left in the wake of our mistakes...

Secret sects are formed by the power craving kind

Fleeing from their failings, finding comfort in denial

This benighted growing swarm a cult of the blind leading the blind

Flocking into further fantasy converting fools into their tribe…

Bow to the King, kiss the ring

Bathe in a deeper meaning

And thus become a God, the knowledge sought

Was always yours for the taking

You behold the truth, that so few knew

Watch the layers peeling

Follow and you will thrive, become the hive

A faithful soldier in the making...

Throne to the wolves

The howls of umbrageous obedience

Now bowing to a different master

Doused in a fresh coat of ignorance

Unsustainable

These tall tales, mere whispers on the wind

Catching plausibility once in a while

You start to see the mounting gaps in between

You found out how the product is made

Assessed the man behind the curtain

And now, betrayed, with a reddened face

You’re set free still you remain unchanged

To save face with those who warned you away

Unable to admit that you were deceived

Now bound between a rock and a hard place

You double down and bite the hand that feeds...

...YOU!

Whilst each “revelation” turns to ash

The congregation still bow to pray

Hoping it wasn’t all completely for nought

That the trust was not misplaced

Yet even with the torch extinguished

The facts seem unbearable to face

The swollen sting of being swindled

That plummeting fall from grace!

Each time logic thwarts them and belittles their assertions

This quicksand cult mentality provides perpetual motion

The plague of paranoia spreads with no sign of decline

Rearing minacious content within conspiring minds...

It is never far away

That stalking, ever creeping dread

Embodied by the venomous

Cretinous shadow which lies in wait...

Peer into my eyes and ponder

What goes on inside my mind

How the cogs whir counterclockwise

And lines are crossed, borders intertwined

Where truth meets with pure malice

My warped reality gestates

Forgoing fact for fallacy

The difference soon dissipates

The rumour mill keeps churning

Rotting from inside

Listening intently

For the bavardage it seeks

They’ll never learn

Or see through the disguise

Lapping up all falsities

The truth despoiler speaks

It feeds upon attention

That fiendish force of malevolence

Engorging itself on tension

It is he who tugs upon the thread...

Hear me now willing fodder

As I lay this long, plotted path of lies

A trail that winds deep into the trees

With the forest lost to those inside

Wherein truth becomes obsolete

My deceit is free to manifest

Befouling all fact with fallacy

For those ensnared within to ingest

Don’t… look… into… its eyes

Don’t… believe… the fables… the lies

Watch... out… for the web… it weaves

Choke it... deny it… the putrid air… it breathes...

Pt. I: Staring Into The Void

Staring into the void

This impenetrable fortress

Of solitude forged

With defences rarely breached

Buried by time and dust

The vault long since sealed

Sailing blindly into the storm

Rudderless, dashed into the depths

Of the oceans endless gaping maw

Each gasping, hurried breath may be

The last grasp of a life quickly slipping

Further out of reach...

Amidst the murky cold starkness

All of time and space stand still

There is a peace in this nothingness

Until…

The ever quaking ache of waking up

To the breaking dawns pervasive rays

And so begins another weary day

Where trepidation pulls tightly upon the reigns

The haggard, weathered face is breaking up

Every frown a jagged crown of thorns on display

And sobered by the cold light of the morning haze

The creeping apprehension overtakes

All grandiloquence now dulled

As the swirling madness grows

Uncrowned and dethroned

Plummeting further into the vast unknown

A sunken vessel wreck

Found its final place of rest

Stranded and alone

This ransacked treasure trove

Deeper, deeper, deeper down…

Pt. II: The View From Here

Deep, silent, complete

Unlocked and finally free

Rid of self, all emotions healed

Until I surface, again, then breathe

Upon the highest point

Overlooking the vast majestic scene

Surveying the view from here

Such endless beauty

Untamed nature at its primal peak

Transfixed by the endless zaffre seas

The sudden rush of endorphins

A wave of madness forming

To drown out every memory remaining

Blinded in a moment of pure rage

An unthinking, reactionary state

The panic itching to escape...

Pt. III: The Great Unravelling Entropy

Uncaring, the world goes on

Then, now and forever

The page must always turn

Each new story builds intrigue

Text becomes faded and illegible

The notes in the margins smeared

Flicking through nearing the end

Reaching empty chapters

The culmination still unpenned

Each blank, unwritten verse may be

The last glance at a future quickly slipping

Forever out of reach...

The lone voice in the darkness

A cold, phlegmatic speech

Warned the struggle would prove fruitless

The internal ennui…

Succumbing to the truth our time is nearly up

The refulgence in the sky, an undeniable blaze

Trembling below we shuffle on in our malaise

No longer blind to our inevitable fiery fate

This bedraggled flesh prison is seizing up

Counting down the slipping seconds of every day

Humbled by the final morningrise we face

The end of our tale together, rewind and erase...

All magnificence now dulled

As the universe slowly unfolds

Unwound and outgrown

Plummeting further into the vast unknown

This sunken, broken husk

Will return to scattered stardust

A mere speck in the spectrum

Insignificant all we’ve loved and loathed

Deeper, bleaker, weaker now…

The breaking point

A hot white flash sets the scene

For the great unravelling entropy

The end of beauty

As it all begins to fade to grey

Mourning those long gone zaffre seas...

Garbed in crude shadow she stands before me

Pale like supple marble, a statue of purity

Innocence even drifts from twixt her milky thighs

A scent so sickly sweet a spell of giddiness arrives

Taking away my breath I find myself upon the floor

Staring up to heaven, her pearly gates and more

Thrashed upon a bed of velvet, crushed and needing air

She pounces upon her prey like a plague, my passion predator

Her blank eyes stare through me

As with her lips she parts them wide

Her fangs strike deep into my core

Spewing for her my life...

Garbed in moistened crimson she sways above me

Inebriated by my blood she breathes debauchery

Caressing my chest with her fingers like sharpened knives

Waning from my blood-loss a spell of dizziness arrives

Taking away my life I feel her lips upon my skin

I stare up to the heavens to escape her eyes, her sin

Splashed upon her mouth congealing stains, my scarlet gore

She rolls her head towards the skies and parts her lips for more

Her bare skin grinds upon me

As I writhe with a final rasp

I know I'll die this moment

Here in Pestilence's pleasant grasp...

Even as she tears my throat and the room begins to turn

Upside-down and insides out I can see my stomach churn

I still feel the wretched plague in my ebbing, risen core

I would give up anything to hold her just for a second more

And so now I've reached the end of the line

As she rakes her cold claws down my spine

Pulling the cord the light finally dies

Plunged into darkness yet I still feel her eyes

Through the ear-splitting silence I can still hear her sighs

Close my eyes and my mind as I reach my demise

And her wicked laughter still spreads like disease

Even in death my soul will never rest in peace...

The faltering flame, it wanes before my eyes

As darkness finally conquers Lady Bastet's Holy shrine

A grey day overhead as her death is mourned

This betrayal of the Gods whom took away her refined form

Will raise the wrath of slaves taken in by her dark charms

Wresting 'twixt the fabrics which kept her men from taking to arms

A Holy war now beckons like a plague upon the Nile

With Deathlike crooked fingers pointing scythes unto the sky

Unto the skies...

Goddess of the flame no longer flickers fervent eyes

The Lady of the East no more with the Sun shall rise

Our perfumed protector, fallen to protect her kin

Shall see her legend carried on a War of Deicidal Sin

In her name and against her will, the powers shall be slain

"For glory!" and "for Egypt!" and to ease the pain

To ease the pain...

Under scarlet evening skies I sigh

Opening my undead weary eyes

Ready to walk into the night

As the final light of the sun recedes

I catch the scent of her

My solemn dream, my only need

She sees past my disease

My lack of humanity

Making this curse feel as real

As a dream and it would seem

This is the seductress for me

I reach from the dark

Her I seek to fulfill my heart

Rising as the dusk

I give in to my lust

I beg: "Set me free

Of this passion tearing me

Encompassing all light

Like the coming of the night..."

Finally we meet

Hungering our darkest needs

Gently she disrobes her seams

And instantly my soul is redeemed

In her I trust my never ending lust

From lust to dusk...

Through mist veiled night she comes to me

Dressed in furs with eyes of grief

"Destiny!" she barks at me

Through flesh torn fresh from the throats of fiends

"Those like me whom upon night feed

On flights of lust and debauchery"

Is this the nature of the beast you seek?

- silence -

She is lost to me...

I see the darkness in your eyes

The sullen tears welling up inside

The fury of the beast you try to hide

Will be unleashed tonight

I fear the hope in you has died

Too late my dear to reconcile

Your rage like the glowing moon will rise

Reveal your Lycanthropic guise

Arise...

Bathed in blood you pounce upon your prey

With snarling fangs and jagged claws

I see perfection in swift decay

Waged in war you falter in reverie

With longing eyes and primal sighs

I wish for you to stay with me

And rid your mind of the impending prophecy

You are not what you wish, but what you are

Beyond the beast there beats a frail heart...

Deep within you always knew the truth

Behind those (Autumnal) eyes where sorrow blooms

You bare your fangs at me tonight

Will you take my life? Or will you decline?

Will you take a chance and see it through?

Or take the path of Loup Garou?

I feel your spirit rise as with the moon

Will you see sense? Or red in hatred's hues?

I'll ease your metamorphosis

Bearer of the light, your nemesis

Resist the passion in our veins

The silver lining still remains

The night is young, the hate is strong

In you the fallacy that longs

To be released from deep inside

Reveal your Lycanthropic guise

Arise...

Rising from deep slumber

Losing the crystal lake

Shattered dreams like fallen stars

Disappear as I awake

Howls in the distance

Beckon reality

Somewhere a siren whispers

Calling out to me...

Dreams are lost 'twixt life and sleep

Spiralling away with speed

Tears are shed into the night

Endless and without peace

She always hears and soothes the fears

With passionate embrace

Take me now my silent guide

Lead me through the blackest veil

Always shall I follow

Her radiance through the gloom

And never will I cease

Gazing upon the harvest moon

No matter if the shadows consume

Everything of worth

As the light fades once again

And stars shine upon the earth

She will rise and take her place

Ascending to the throne

The regal jewel of the night

Come to take me home

Always shall I follow

Gazing upon the harvest moon

Come enlighten me

Lend me your noble gallantry

Bestow me with your ancient gift

To always penetrate the darkest mist

This is my only wish...

Arriving at the precipice

Peering into the sea below

Gazing out beyond the shore

Bathing in her glow

Her face fades into the twilight mist

Whispering of her leave

Departing as my weary lids close

Drifting into endless sleep

"Good things come to those who crave

Passionate moments in warm embrace

Always awaiting the next congregation

Overwhelmed by this undying elation..."

Her darkened shadow and pallid skin

I caught a glimpse of through forest limbs

The twisted boughs and whistling winds

I traced her tracks deeper still

Steeper I clambered beyond danker woods

Until her eyes I met 'neath shadowed hood

"Take my hand and come with me"

So her hand I took, though cautiously

We ran through thickets, I lost control

She took my body and stole my soul

By gnawing fangs deep into my throat

This evening forever ours to own

I watched her glide, her wondrous gait

My deepest lust she would gladly sate

We lay together by the moonlit lake

Until dawn approached us to seal our fate

The sunrise... seared my veins...

Full of fire... set ablaze...

To her castle we fled in throes

We crept in darkness and shadow

Into her coffin our bodies heaved

Until the sunlight had duly ceased

I watched dusk settle into night

We kissed under the pale moonlight

I graced her skin with my lips

From nape to navel my solemn kiss...

"I walk the land of dreams

Take my hand and follow me

Through forever with it's shining light

To see the wonders of this coming night..."

The symbol of Death reflected in her eyes

Feelings of remorse suggest a shattered mind

Remembering how she let the flame expire

Watching the line drawn deep beneath the mire

The flames grow higher illuminating her lies

But for one last time her true beauty shines

Under the shadow of her wicker tomb

She seeks reconcilement with the one she slew...

Once the back is turned the deed is done

As ceremonial pyres light beneath the setting sun

Time grows short as the Pagan chants arise

Emotionless she stands with only Karma by her side

The waning sun barters with the night

As the embers below begin to rise

The lick of flames drown out her cries

Until only ashes blow into the mourning skies...

The wind has blown so cold since her demise

Howling through winter skies

Hanging onto the thin threads left inside

He yearns to give her life

In the corners of his study (and his mind)

The answers he will find

Chasing dragons in excess he pines

For her...

He adores her dress and slowly drifts away

As a profound change and altered state he takes

Stalking in the night long shadows pave

For her safe passage to the prey

Unwitting "poor hoars" reeking of high pay

Who would miss them in any case?

In dark corners kept for sinful embrace

Each night his knife inscribes

His signature, a gothic font engraved

In them...

He discards the dress and dons a mask of pain

Shocked and in awe as his heart begins to race

Locked away he swears to wrong his rites

Each a blood drenched sacrifice

With a potion to bring them back to spite

And free him of the guilt knotting inside

In the corners of his study (and his mind)

The answers he will find

To unlock the secret formula of life

For them...

He abhors the dress with vehement disdain

Yet the Ripper's ruby kiss will rise to strike again!

At the toll of twelve he slips into attire

(Dressed to kill)

Fully risen and peaked, brimming desire

Veiled by cheap frills

This femme fatale prances deep into the night

Unaware of the crowd behind

Assembling on the horizon with vengeance on their minds

For him...

They cast his husk upon a stake then spark a flame

Engulfed in fire, ablaze, the Ripper's ruby kiss is tamed

From the vast and deep seas she comes

A moan of ecstasy, elation!

Flooding us with her tidal wave

Causing worldwide devastation

Tsunamis dance over civilised lands

And cobblestone Victorian roads

Across the desolate desert plains

Tearing  through the woodland groves

Her wrath they say could bring the end of days

And catastrophic Armageddon

The path she paves with her abysmal rage

Strays ever left from our salvation

The scrolls they wrote of prophecies in prose

"Atlantis in extremis..." it reads

Of Earth in throes as the ocean flows

Amassing rivers into great seas

The Nile is shamed by it's minuscule frame

The fury of Mother Nature scorned

The Atlantic outsized by the global tidal rise

The Pacific made insipid by dawn

Her cult they say warned us of this day

And cataclysmic Armageddon

The past she laid to rest in ocean graves

As she bows below to thunderous ovation!

"Love" still lies deep beneath the seas

Clutching onto Biblical tales

His dying smile now ravaged and vile

Bloated 'neath the ocean he pales

Yet still holds hope for the faith he chose

A self-belief in self-deceit

That she will reveal her passionate zeal

Three words from her are all he needs

Beneath the waves he waits and grieves

As time passes by and all hope leaves...

I crept my way through the thicket leaves

And the pouring rain, you marked the trail

And in your face I saw the pain of a thousand frays

I left your gaze and met the skies

In hues of grey, the clouds exhaled

Your trance-like gait held me in sway

As I followed you led the way (I led the way)

You danced with the strongest winds tempest

My Angel midst the storm (amidst the storm)

I heard you sing a song for me

That I would swear (sounded wolves to call)

A howl to the moon and how she shone

Her brightest light (upon our path)

Golden with romance we strolled our dance

Deep into the night (as we fade to white)

And at last I could see your hand reaching out to me

But alas this dream was not to be

You floated away on the breeze (Fade away)

Higher you swept becoming a ghost above the trees... (Fade to white)

(Take me)

I crept my way through the graveyard gates

In the pouring rain (to where I lay)

And no longer in your face could I see the pain

Of your final days (snuffing out the flame)

I left in a haze, would we meet in the skies

Those hues of grey? (where we will remain)

In trance-like state, hold me and sway

Take me away (take me away)

Sunday is gloomy my hours are slumberless

Dearest the shadows I live with are numberless

My frail white flower will I never awaken you?

Not where the black coach of sorrow has taken you

Angels have no thought of ever returning you

Should they be angry if I thought of joining you my love?

Side by side

I waited 'till dreams like my heart were broken

The flowers all dead and the words unspoken

The grief that I knew was beyond consoling

The beat of my heart was a church bell tolling

My eyes could not see one I wanted to love me

The Earth and the flowers are forever beyond me

The bell tolled for me but the wind whispered "never!"

It's you that I love and I bless you forever with

Gloomy Sunday tears

For you

Gloomy is Sunday with shadows I spend it all

My heart and I have decided to end it all

Soon there'll be candles and prayers that are sad I know

Let them not weep, let them know that I wish to go

Death is no dream, for in death I'm caressing you

In my heart and soul I'll always be missing you my love

My dying bride

Slowly as the guests arrived to dance

We embraced, our bodies entwined

Composing our verses under amorous trance

Waltzing in wonder we waited to dine

Her hair flowed free in the midnight breeze

Her body gleamed bright under Diana's beam

At one with the Earth and at peace with her soul

Ritualistic redemption was hers to behold

In darkness they pledged their lives to the cross

And put faith in their texts with all context lost

To align with the crimes and accuse of devilish rites

In the name of "Love" and "Glory" they rode into the storm clad night...

Coldly as the collective espied

A mere glimpse of her glorious figure divine

We made our way to the heart of the dance

A rapturous ovation arose as we arrived

Her mind drifted skyward to reach inner peace

As her body lay motionless she ascended with ease

She felt the embrace of the lunar five-fold kiss

Enrapture her soul and moisten her lips

Under cover of darkness they stalked their prey

Now curled beside a fire the Sinning mistress lay

They charged at once wielding the power of light

In a bout of sheer violence they took her defenceless life...

And there she lay in a shallow grave

Hidden by their shadows in her own blood she bathed

Proudly they stood 'neath the glorious storm

Majestic thunder rumbled, surely a sign from their Lord?

Marked with a cross they swiftly buried their loss

One of their children so needlessly lost

To Witchcraft and sin, those carnal delight

Laid to rest now and cleansed from that terrible blight...

Potently as night drew her veil

Of sleek stormy black skies and their cloud laden trail

The waltz wound down under spell of the wine

A slow grinding gait the throng came in time

Arriving at last at the vast labyrinth estate

Death had left her kiss, such a vile aftertaste

They entered the halls for their heroes return

They slew the Dragon and then watched her burn

They killed for their Lord a blasphemous wench

Returning to find that all truths were bent

Their hosts bore warped faces, snarling fangs and red eyes

The tables now turned it was time to plead for their pious and pitiful lives...

Candles flicker guiding me

Through the rusted iron gates

Licking in the soaring winds

Dancing with enchanting grace

The ground beneath my feet heaves

Shifting, rifting, splayed

As I move along the undead throng

Beneath me in their graves

I see glimpses of them

From their monoliths and tombs

Their claws grate heavily against

The ancient marbled ruins

I hear their sinister laughter

Echo through the starlit night

I see their shifting shapes and shadows

Sweeping through the isles

Creeping through the cemetery

Passing by the burial mounds

The wind carries ghastly laments

Whispering their depraved sounds

Peering through the cobwebs

And the twisted branches of the trees

Stumbling across the demonic rites

On the night of a Samhain feast

Scaled Sins tear at my skin

Passing me through many hands

Taking me and taunting me

Preparing their torturous plans

Skulls litter their lair

Alongside rats and broken bones

No matter how loud my screams resound

I cannot surpass their moans

The candles are snuffed at once

With a final tempestuous blow

They clamber with their cobwebbed toes

Into their abode below

Sacrificed to Devils

I see their festive fires light

Frightening figures of fervent Evil

Ushering my demise

Congregated Demons

With red eyes stare right through me

Chanting dark and twisted words

At I, the Samhain feast...

...I, the Samhain feast!

Bleakness churning in the dark

The skies above me dismal and stark

Betraying the earth with icy rain

Washing away all but the searing pain

This midwinter eve

Before the beauty of nature took her leave

Forsaking every moment of the past

To the barren blizzard of a stone-cold heart

Ice-cold blasts burning my skin

Cannot compare to the aching within

Foolishly searching through the drift

To find the way back to that perfect wish

That midwinter eve

Before the beauty of nature took her leave

Forsaking every moment of the past

To the barren blizzard of a stone-cold heart

Weakness showing in the cracks

The never-ending winter recedes back

Thawing the untainted world beneath

From a thousand years of nightmarish sleep

Those midwinter eves

When the beauty of nature took her leave

Forsaking every moment of our past

For the emptiness of a broken heart

...my heart

Blood!

Blood rains from the skies

The day their messiah dies

And Demons hail once again

The Sovereign Evil begins

The scythe digs in as Death is unveiled

Digging deep as they're impaled

The crowds disperse as bodies rip

Sinews are torn as blood runs thick

Darkness cometh...

Darkness cometh...

...Darkness ensues!

(Instrumental)

Sometimes you may find

I can’t look you in the eye

Because it’s not easy to hide

Such a besotted state of mind

So I feel it’s best to say

Nothing which may incriminate

Or unveil the foolish truth

I can’t help but think about you

In your eyes I see a dream of such vibrant life and prosperity

And even though it’s no place for me, when you’re there I’ll know I can

R.I.P.

Every day you seem to be

Closer to perfections peak

Making it hard to contemplate

Much else when I meet your gaze

And I know I’m not the only one

To be entranced and come undone

But I claim something unique

I know you’ll thrive in life regardless of me

In good time we’ll see your dreams become a part of life’s rich tapestry

And although you’ll reach it without me, I want you to know that I’ll

R.I.P.

Once upon a time

There lived a worthless wretch

A social cactus spines unkempt

And in this thorny heart

Where the final throb resigns

Every flower wilts and dies

Through late September skies

And all the endless rain

I never dreamt those fallen leaves

Would ever match your eyes again

I can never take my word back

I will stand and fall by your side

This is not a choice that I made

Something keeps me lost within your eyes

Your golden eyes

Your eyes like Autumn

In the coldness of the night

The words I dare not speak

Are far too much for me to keep

But with the morning light

They're unveiled for you to see

Et le mien seul â se sentir

Through long October nights

Where I would count the days

Until I could catch a glimpse

Of your magnificence again

They'll always haunt me

Your eyes like Autumn

Memories from those years gone by

Every day that we lost brought a sleepless night

We glimpsed into a brave new world

Frightened to see its tail unfurl

The first embrace it burnt like fire

My shivering frame dialogue unrequired

Just smile and sigh and let it all pass

The night is still young so raise your glass...

Midnight chimes ring out again

Beckoning the twisted nightmares to descend

Upon me and deep into my mind

To prey upon stray rays of hope left dying inside...

My gothic heart cries to be set free

From darkness (my mistress), and her reverie

I yearn to feel pure rays upon my skin

To forget the brooding shadow brewing sin...

Somewhere I know you hold the key

The sacred prose, the words to set me free

Wolves cry unto the moon outside

Calling their brethren to take my life

Will you help bring about my demise

As they tear my flesh and feast on me tonight?

My gothic heart cries to be released

Before darkness reaches out her hand to me

Will she take me deep into the night

To forget the love, the torch that burnt so bright?

Her voice still calls to me

Like a distant dream

Buried ‘neath a

Thin veneer I scream

The decadence of “Love”

Took Her away

Her innocence was

Taken to the grave

Rid me of the fire

Burning deep within my soul

You scarred me with these wounds

And let your web of lies unfold

Give me back my passion

Your cold-blooded sacrifice

You raped Her of Her faith in life

And left Her strung to hang that night

Her jewelled eyes

Still glisten in the gloom

Moistened from Her

Begging mercy of you

When the pieces fell

Like shards of dripstone stalagmite

And your poisoned flock

Put to death my only light…

I renounce the love of Light

And the lies proclaimed

Your crusade is unjust

And “Love” is hate’s masquerade

I beg you, find me guilty

Of these occult “crimes”

And slay me in cold-blood

To be by Her side

In the darkest corner

At the deathly side of night

Still haunted by his past

The Count deplored without respite

Lit by candelabra

Sifting through tomes of the dead

He recited scripts, iniquitous

In wicked tongues and hex

Under light of the moon

There grew a disquieting mood

As mammatus clouds loomed

Clad in the darkest of hues

It seemed the storm had arrived

Bringing the bleak skies to life

Thunderous bellows to provide

A pulsing theme for the night

Dressed in naught but his shame

The count drew blood from a slave

Bled her upon an altar as bait

A gift for the Devils to claim

Should they arise from the depths

Of whichever Hell they transgress

A seeping mist soon plumed dense

And cast the room in darkness

From the shadow grew

A contorted figure of deathly pall

Risen from beyond

To hear the Count’s relentless call

To offer him relief from the grief

That had amassed within

To see Her face one final time

And quench his thirst again…

THE COUNT:

“Come to me Ghoul

Break the stranglehold

The grip of death

Upon Her fragile soul”

Mephisto glared a thousand daggers

At this impending Faust

But spoke in almost sombre tones

When addressing the dishevelled Count

MEPHISTO:

“We will strike a deal

And on my terms

Shall you be damned

But for this price

I’ll grant you any wish

That you demand”

THE COUNT:

“Grant me a glimpse

Upon my bride

Whom wrongly died for sins

Her portrait eyes

Painted black as coal

By those heartless charlatans”

Mephisto’s eyes flickered fires

Burning sulphur filled the air

The Devil’s presence fading

As his Faust wished in despair

THE COUNT:

“Bring Her back to me

And take what I behold

It matters not to me

Let your price for Her be known

What you wish is yours

For Her I’d sell my soul”

And so the pact was sealed

And poured away the shades of life

For the Count who fell to darkness

Now a Devil’s concubine

I've waited and craved for a moment like this

As I watch you appear before me through the swirling mist

Draped in a dark shroud which hides all but your eyes

And those lips, their pursed perfection surely still awaiting mine?

But beneath the pounding rhythm

Of my fractured stained-glass heart

My mind still defies the notion that

We shall no longer be apart

And so in your presence I seek a sign

That this is no trickery nor dream

Despite the doubts I have

I place my trust and faith in you

I mourned and I swore we'd be together once more

And now you glide back to my side emerging from beyond this mortal coil

You allow the drapery to fall cascading over your milky limbs

As it pools around your feet I feel you bare against my skin

Here in your arms I fall far beyond my wildest dreams

As your lips caress my skin and stir desires from within

And here I will stay with you until the glorious end of days

Where we shall not be bound by fate, I will remain

Here in your passionate embrace

My hands caress your form exploring every daring curve

Upon the fallen autumnal leaves we let our tongues unfurl

Entwined like nesting vipers hissing in fits of ecstasy

I feel your lips upon my neck, as if to bite and drink of me

Here in your arms I fall far beyond my wildest dreams

But cruel lies reclaim you at Dawn and the truth is revealed

That here I must stay, alone through the wretched end of days

Where I shall have no place with fate, I shall decay

Without you I will fade away...

The journey leads on

Through the vast wilderness

Ever left from the path

I can no longer resist

The passage of time

Grows skewed like my plight

Each step takes me

Another world further from You

Fooled once I was

By pure “Love” and trust

Forsaken by all

Now left broken, corrupt

The passion and life

Drained from my eyes

These now hollow chambers

Of darkness consumed

Once I was blinded by rage but now I can see

This unjust world is no place for me

I slip from the past into the stream

But the deeper I go, the darker thoughts grow

And I see Your face so gaunt, haunted, shallow

My fangs bare to make my fury known

A fallen Angel to some

This wretched fool that I’ve become

A mockery made flesh most of all

But should I stand tall?

Reclaim my throne and call for war

Or leave it all?

Let all of their transgressions slide

Turn my back

And continue to hide

Or let this mark the end of my descent

And return with this

Unquenchable thirst for revenge!

I was fooled once again

All hope now denounced

Dashed many times

Too innumerable to count

My rational facade slips

To reveal the true primal side

Sin is ripe

And I covet Her fruits

The process is done

Rising from the proverbial grave

Of self loathing and of loss

And all those years that I bayed

The beast I’ve become

Has licked its own wounds for too long

It’s time I unleashed my curse

A vengeance fuelled coup

At last I can ascend from those dark depths

To take leave of this purgatory rest

And shift my focus to my enemies

Where once I was tamed by sorrow

Now I reach far beyond the brink to oversee

This fixed game of chess to set me free

The last lonely glint of sundown

Bows her head to the mighty dusk

Wherein nocturnal creatures stir again

To resume their nightly hunt

The music made, yes, oh so sweet

Orchestral manoeuvres in the dark

The sounds of their feeding an inspiration

For my next work truly avant-garde

With every line erased

And each stroke I paint upon the bloodsoaked page

I find myself in post orgasmic malaise

Snarling grimly as I spit on their graves

The Nemesis of opulence

A dreaded eidolon

Each “Horrorshow” a shot across the bow

For the unwitting victim next in line

The first sign of prey approaching

A suffocating scent pervades the air

Fooled by charm, a string of deception pulled tight

Something her corset and our bodies now share

Within the privacy of her chamber

Bejewelled with riches like her chest

Which now pounds heavily between the gasps

I hang on Her every dying breath

With fresh wine imbibed

To commemorate this vendetta across all time

My one man war upon the affluent

Justified in my reddened, sullen eyes

The Nemesis of opulence

A ripper of glutinous swine

Each victim stricken akin to the thickening fog

Lifted from my vengeance sodden mind...

Lurking in the shadows

For another chance to come

Like a cobra poised to strike

I hiss my restless serpentine tongue

And when the move is mine to make

I’ll blot them from my wishlist one by one

An alpha predator like an unbiblical flood

Come to cleanse Earth of this stubborn scum

With the times we change

To accommodate our vast hypocrisies

One man's war of valour

Is but another’s terrible tyranny

The Nemesis of opulence

A Zeitgeist of the times

Each victim like a burden lifted

From Hell I bid you all a final goodbye

Where will it end?

I question all the notches I’ve inscribed

Is this to be my quest

Until the very end with no respite?

Or should my focused eyes

Set upon the most monumental prize?

Dream a little bigger, darling

In the grander scheme of taking life

Tracing bloodlines back

To when this curse came over me

Until the last drop is drained dry

Upon my mouth and sets me rightfully

Finally free...

The toll of midnight strikes

As passion taunts me in my sleep

Her legs so pale and slender

Rend me arisen and primed to feed

Under the moonlit clear night skies

I find her awaiting me

'Neath her satin, lace and leather reveal

A Heaven and it's seraphic lead

Above the world we writhe

Our limbs performing many scenes

Of lust and lore that many thought

To be acts of filth, debauched

A bloodlust fills my eyes

The scarlet lenses fully formed

I lay my kiss upon the pulsing throat

With lips and fangs and more...

Over many nights I sate my thirst

And avenge the crimes

The last kin of those heartless

Hunters in my sight

With a taste for sweet revenge

I play the hand of Fate

Swindling the odds through time

To beat her cruel game

In trancelike state

With a Devil tonight she dines

Beneath my smile

Burns a malice cold as ice

Without compassion I take my fill

Of her precious wine

And leave her deflowered

In my arms and drained of life...

The burden of days and the sprawling nights

In the silence of solitude there is no place to hide

From the past and its sins, the reflections within

The ravaging tides of time leave me gnarled, indistinct

The tolling bells of years gone by

Echo in the distance every chime

A shrill reminder of those once dulcet tones

Such goodness wrenched away from these fragile bones

But how the beaten organ can still sputter a pulse

For those moments in the sun, the thrill of the hunt

Oh spare me from nostalgia and her accursed front

Which may rend me man again for a taste of this spell that is spun

Around the cobwebbed coves of the darkest side

Midst the dank dungeon dregs of a derelict mind

Which sheathe my feats from the driving gale

Make swift my end like those I once assailed

Prey, we come closer with every breath

Brought slowly back together by encroaching death

The lurker in the shadows, sole victor of this game

Set in motion by vengeance now recalled as shame

The scapegoat still bleats I grind my jagged hooves

Head hung low, drunk with power, bemused

A mere pawn led to march in this terrible war

Revenge a crueller mistress than ever accredited for...

This hall of shame bears down on me

As it crumbles from the inside out

I can barely breathe

It all begins to tumble down

The edges blur

And then the pain subsides

I succumb to a sedated numbness

Until the next time

I choose to close my weary eyes

The arrows turned, the swords repel

I throw the flag

And set sail for the end

In flames I swear this sinking ship

Will be dashed to the depths

And never found

Torture artist not my chosen nom de plume

But this sordid desolation of my creation

Holds to this unspeakable truth

There is no place to flee, no haven

There are no more roads to roam

When all the paths inevitably

Still lead back to You

The musings of a madman on the edge

Still reeling from the feeding of the basest needs

My curse, this lover's pledge

And so it ends, this embittered tale

All the dragons slain, the piper paid

Now doomed I walk alone

On this scorched earth…

Spectral shadows shift

About the dying land below

Flowing fabrications from

Forty thousand thoughts ago

Creations crawling constantly

Across credence's court

Melding more with time

My murky mind meanders on

Blissfully beyond the border

Beckoned by bestial fiends

Watchful over a world where once

We would sate our needs

The dreams they seem to twist and weave

Together tethered thoughts

From lust to dusk, to harvest moons

And an Angel midst a storm

Reflections of the past

Illuminated by the stars

Distorted by the ripples

And ever destined for the dark

Reckless and enraged

The intricate path we paved

Disregarded like wilted flowers

Left to rot upon a grave

The long days and lonely nights

Waiting for seas to part

And lead the way through misty veils

To rest within Your arms

The longing and the throbbing pulse

Revives this sunken heart

And bleeds the red and impassioned blood

That keeps us tied as one

Passing time with those once pined

Proving even pure passion pales

When greeted with the graceful gait

Of Gorgeous, Love untamed

Heaving from Her Heaven’s scent

My hastening heartbeat

Yearns to sink twin puncture wound

Deep into Her throat

But plagued by these troubled dreams

The light begins to wane

The antithesis of my crisis

As these nightmares never end

Deeper do they delve

With their deviant Devil dance

With songs for Steel and Samhain feast

And tales of an epic romance

So quiet, so gentle, so far away

I wish I knew the words

To wend together our fate

To turn tail on this world and all of its flaws

Say "au revoir" to this realm

My hand pressed against yours

HER BRILLIANT LIGHT

Live Performance Only 2nd Verse

In silence I wonder "What would you say?

If you knew these feeble words

Could carry such a heartfelt weight"

We'd turn tail on this world and all of its flaws

Say "au revoir" to this realm

My hand pressed against yours 

HER BRILLIANT LIGHT

Gone.

In a beautiful blaze.

Such a pity.

Such a terrible waste.

Gone.

When routine bites hard

And ambitions are low

And resentment rides high

But emotions won't grow

And we're changing our ways

Taking different roads

Then love, love will tear us apart again

Do you cry out in your sleep

All my failings exposed?

Get a taste in my mouth

As desperation takes hold

Is it something so good

Just can't function?

No more

Then love, love will tear us apart again

I've never known a girl like you before

Now just like in a song from days of yore

Here you come a knocking, knocking at my door

And I've never met a girl like you before

You give me just a taste so I want more

Now my hands are bleeding and my knees are raw

Now you've got me crawling, sprawled on the floor

And I've never known a girl like you before

You've made me acknowledge the Devil in me

I hope to God I'm talking metaphorically

Hope that I'm talking allegorically

Know that I'm talking about the way I feel

And I've never known a girl like you before

Never, never, never, never

I've never met a girl like you before...

Too dangerous to keep

Too feeble to let go

And you want to bite the hand

Should have stopped this long ago

Go now, you've been set free

Another month or so you'll be gorging on me

With your lovely smile

I see you slither away with your skin and your scales

Your flickering tongue and your rattling tail

Like a real reptile

Had you coiled around my arm

How could you ever know

How I loved your Autumnal eyes?

But that was long ago

Go now, you've been set free

Another month or so you'll be poisoning me

With your lovely smile

I see you slither away with your skin and your scales

Your flickering tongue and your rattling tail

Like a real reptile

And I should have believed Eve

When she said we had to go

She was the apple of my eye

It wasn't long ago

Take a trip take a ride
Through Darktown don't be shy
Gather by the clocktower take your seats
Glad you're here it's for keeps
Festering wounds from years gone by
Toxic waste you buried inside
In Darktown

Take a turn step on down
Through an alleyway you'll find
By the backstreet trash resides
The underworld you tried to hide
And from a dark corner where walls loom high
You'll hear the sound of a small child's cry
In Darktown

Legions of hate schools of fear
Proudly accomplished their mission here
A hidden agenda behind the eyes
For the gifted ones they most despised
They couldn't do it in the X-rated world
But presided over the boys and girls
In Darktown

It's all on camera it's all on film
On the couch in the shower
The stains are there still
Drink to the ones who dished out the marks
Rabid animals right from the start
It's happy hour shut the beasts away
Come along children it's time to play

...