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Produced by Leon Macey and Lee du-Caine
Engineered by Leon Macey
Mixed and mastered by Leon Macey and Lee du-Caine at Dreaming Studios
Drums Recorded at Alphasound Studios, May 2003
Studio Engineer Lee du-Caine
Studio Technician Liam Kavanagh
Guitars and Bass recorded at Dreaming Studios May-September 2003
Vocals recorded at Alphasound Studios July-September 2003
Leads and Themes recorded at parts unknown 2001-2003
Synths on T1,T5 intro, T7 intro, T10 outro, T13 Outro by Leon Macey. No synths elsewhere on this album.
All music / arrangements by L Macey / R Coss
All lyrics by R Coss / L Macey
Artwork by Eddie and Paul from Detrimentum
Mithras logo rework by Paul Wilkinson
Layout by Allan Swan @ 7 Day Design (www.7dd.co.uk)
Band photo by Ester Segarra (ester@e-seggarra.com)
Recording Line-Up:
Oratory / Bass - Rayner Coss
Guitars / Drums / Synths - Leon Macey
(Click Track Titles for Lyrics)
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Leon: I guess
what needs to be said first off is that I based a lot of the imagery in
the music and lyrics on this record around concepts from my own dreams,
and came quite close in some instances, which might explain the crazy
vibe! Just to make it clear, the album has two main protagonists, 'The
Great Councillor' – a character in the form of a man (though not revealed
he is not quite human) with what you could term great magical and psychic
abilities. On the other side you have 'The Entity', a malevolent (at least
from mankinds perspective) inter-dimensional alien being that manifests
itself in many ways. We made it so all the tracks flow as a story, but
the perspective changes quite a bit and points of view move about. I guess
it can be read like a fragmented and incomplete history.
Portal
To The...
Rayner: This
instrumental track continues from where 'What Lies Beyond' (the final
track from Forever Advancing…… Legions) left off - in the opening section
the same sounds appear as at the end of 'What Lies Beyond'.
Leon: Yeah, the strange sounding guitar part which end the album 'Forever
Advancing...... Legions' start 'Worlds Beyond The Veil', musically linking
the two records together.
R: The track represents the 'Entity' crawling through space, time and
dimensions towards the earth, drawn both by the calling of unanswered
prayers of the masses and also the Great Councillor's dreams and visions
- they reveal to him that a great doom is coming.
L: Musically speaking, this track is very complex, lots of different sounding
sections. It took a very long time to come together and went through a
lot of changes but I'm extremely pleased with it. The guitar theme at
2.20 and the crescendo it builds to are awesome, it really epitomises
the record generally. Most of the weirder sounds are as always, guitar
based! The themes and sections in this track almost represent a condensed
version of the album as a whole, with multiple themes of light and dark
- like going through multiple heavens and hells almost.
The horrible sounding section with the hammering sound and the fluttering
noises was inspired directly from a dream I had where there was a vast
canyon split by a huge chasm separating it into two halves, a divide if
you will. This unexplainably strange and alien creature was floating in
the air far in the distance on the other side, and slowly but inexorably
started weaving closer, much to my horror. This is also referenced in
the lyrics to the next (title) track, with the “angelic enigmas” verse.
Worlds
Beyond The Veil
L: I always saw
this track as needing to be an extremely bold yet varied statement, musically
and lyrically. Like a lot of this record, getting the lyrics right took
me a very long time, although musically it came together quite quickly.
'Worlds...' sharply illustrates the difference between this record and
our debut record 'Legions...', from the very first beat really. 'Worlds...'
features such strange sounding arrangements and walls of blasting sound
and odd tones, and the even more crazed yet natural lead work...
I changed my drumming style on this record compared to 'Legions...', it's
more unusual but also more technical. Obviously this track has the much
talked about 300bpm kick section too, hehe. Another notable thing is the
first use of the vast lead sound after the shredding lead near the end
(3.20 onward), this is the first time on the record that this type of
section appears (although we had similar sections on 'Legions...'), and
it's become characteristic of my musical work since.
R: Conceptually the track 'Worlds...' brings the realisation that there
are worlds beyond our own, worlds more evil and sinister and that something
is breaking down the barriers between worlds to get to ours. The music
represents the alarm and panic which would be involved with this realisation
of this impending doom.
Bequeath
Thy Visions
R: This song
properly introduces the “Great Councillor” character in the lyrics who
now moves on to tell his followers what he has seen and learned in his
dreams. The song begins with him being woken from a dream by an alarmed
follower who saw he was having a terrible nightmare. It also reveals that
he has a psychic link of sorts with the coming Entity and can actually
feel it coming towards Earth. Towards the end of the track the Councillor
reveals what should be done to escape the coming destruction. The Councillor
and his followers then decide to take the next step of evolution in the
spiritual worlds - to pass to another world or plane beyond, something
which is detailed more in later tracks.
L: Musically, this track actually took a long time to become as I intended,
the feel never quite came together until we recorded it on the record,
with all the extra guitar work and vocal patterns. The main lead section
(2.03-2.32) was actually inspired by a strange place I've been to a few
times, a deep quarry right next to the sea in Devon which is a pretty
eerie place. When I was walking there I started humming the melody from
the lead and that eventually grew into the song. When we recorded the
vocals to this song in the studio, on playback there was a really strange
resonance in the bass region on certain notes, and it made the track sound
really different and cool. Sadly you needed to be in that particular room
to get the effect!
The
Caller And The Listener
R: The many religions
of the world are calling out for a saviour and for their prayers to be
answered, but they don’t realise that they are attracting something that
cares not for their prayers just for the destruction of their world. In
the final section of the song the Entity almost announces its intended
destruction of the human race.
L: I always pondered the idea of radio waves going out into space, and
wondered where they'd end up, what ears they could eventually fall on,
and this track is based around that idea. Lyrically it's quite scathing
about organised religion, in the sense of the abasement before a “godhead”
and the meekness inherent therein. Musically it's extremely fast, brutal
and almost a throwback to the style of 'Legions...' but much more alien
sounding. It's extremely hard to play accurately too - the ending section
where all hell breaks loose is quite baffling. There's an amusing bit
where I wrongly start a blast on the ride, then quickly move to the hihat,
that was a lucky save!
Break
The Worlds' Divide
R: Another song
based around a dream scene, the Councillor sees what he has prophesised
begin, in fact the text in the booklet with the track reveals parts of
the concept to 'Behind The Shadows Lie Madness' and the future for the
world we wrote about. It also touches on the idea that many people will
perish due partly to the fact they believe a saviour will come and that
they considered the Great Councillor and his followers foolish and decided
not to band with them.
L: Musically, this one tails off from the end of 'Caller...' and then
changes into something quite different. I envisaged the start sequences
as something out of a sci-fi film, like the intro or something. I recorded
the recognisable guitar melody that follows in a single take and always
intended to redo it more “accurately” for the record, but all my attempts
sounded dull and lifeless in comparison so I simply left it as it is,
and I reckon it's better for it.
Lords
And Masters
L: This track
starts to show the more melancholic elements in the melodies and arrangements
coming to the forefront on the record. I always saw 'Worlds...' as a journey
from a dark, foreboding chaotic place, to a serene yet somewhat mournful
place, and this song marks the change from the earlier dark, obscure sounding
tracks to the more blazing and searching sounding ones that come after.
I'm really happy with the progressive yet extreme drumming and the really
choppy guitars and complex riffs that characterise this track, it was
really cool to record and sounds great live.
R: This track shows the idea that the human race will always focus on
challenging each other and not really look much beyond their own existence.
Always fighting for power and control, yet if they looked a bit further
they could achieve so much more. The ending sections are a sad lament
almost, of the Councillor realising what has become of mankind and how
many are doomed to die.
Psyrens
L: This track
is my favourite track on the record, for a lot of reasons. I went about
writing the music on guitar in a really ritualistic manner, which I already
detailed pretty extensively in past interviews. The guitar leads just
came out spontaneously when I demoed the track, and I saved the original
takes and used them on the record proper, basing the timing of the album
recording around them.
I actually wrote the lyrics before the concept to 'Worlds...' had fully
come together, and thus they hold a meaning to me totally outside the
concept of the album, even though they fit really neatly into it and the
overall vibe. Musically and lyrically this track most closely represents
the 'thing' that I've always tried to represent/glorify with my music,
that sublime feeling of joy coupled with melancholy or however you want
to categorise it - quasi religious. The track is based around / echoes
a whole host of dreams I had around this time in my life. Although it's
not particularly about them, I always thought of the Greek Sirens of legend
as a base for the track and as a metaphor in the title 'Psyrens'. There's
even female voices singing at the start in amongst the waves. I don't
want to be anymore succinct about it, the lyrics speak for themselves.
R: If you look at it in terms of fitting into the overarcing story, this
track represents the scene whereby many of the 'followers' have passed
to the 'other' realm and are calling the Councillor to join them. He remained
on earth to try to save as many people as he can knowing that the link
he has to the Entity may attract it to the other realm before all can
pass through and everyone is saved.
L: Everything on 'Psyrens' just came together perfectly when recording.
We were quite worried about the vocal arrangements and the vocals having
the right feel for the lyrics, and really just winged it in the studio,
but the vocals just add even more to the track. We were actually most
worried about people not “getting” this song as it's quite different to
anything else we've done, and we loved it, but it's probably the most
popular track from the record, if not our career to date!
Voices
In The Void
R: Voices In
The Void shows the link between the Entity and the Councillor, and the
link between the Councillor and his followers now safe in the other realm.
At the end he finally starts to make his final preparations to join them.
L: I always visually imagined the character forlornly walking amongst
empty temples and buildings on a really vast windswept hillside, alone
in a deserted landscape. Musically it's quite varied and has a lot of
changes and sections. The clean guitar section in the bridge and the following
riff are about the only musical phrases I've used from the writing period
when we did a band pre Mithras (a thrash band called Reprisal). The lead
at the end was also recorded before the album recording session and then
added in, for the same reason as before, the vibe!! I've got about three
recorded versions of that outro lead, all with different nuances and characters.
Also worth mentioning is the way the drums and cymbal work starts to break
down near the end and groove out, it's cool.
The
Sands Of Time
L: I wanted to
do a purely instrumental track with a lot more “groove and rhythm”, and
I also wanted to try out some more sparse sounding parts, where the leads
take centre stage even more. So that's what I did with the first three
leads, which grow off a central musical idea or theme. They were notoriously
hard to get right in the studio, one of them taking 100 odd takes... The
approach I took with the leads in this track and the juxtaposition between
lead and rhythm became part of the “shtick” for the following record 'Shadows...',
particularly the titular track where I repeat this formula in the second
half of the song.
Search
The Endless Planes
L: This track
is blended into the previous one, and utilises the guitar technique that
characterises this entire record, the tapping sections and melodies which
resolve and grow and harmonise with each other. Most of this track is
guitar based, but at the end, synths and samples take over and lead out.
Extremely melancholic and otherworldly, meditative. The reason the song
is called “Search The Endless Planes” and not “Plains” is because it's
referring to the “Astral Plane” not the “Great Plains”!
R: In terms of the story, the Councillor drifts to the gateway to the
other world, revelling in the beauty of the spiritual planes feeling safe
from the evils that now seep across the planet.
They
Came And You Were Silent
R: Man's realisation;
that the saviour they have been calling for will never come and they are
doomed to be eradicated. Some lyrical sections represent the Entity which
almost mocks the peoples idea of a saviour, and starts to exterminate
them.
L: This song has some of the fastest sections on the record, 280bpm, 16ths
in the blasts. It's interesting musically, with the self harmonising delayed
guitars making up the backbone of the track, an approach which we used
more on 'Shadows...'. It's also unusual in that it ends on that tapped
out riff, which harmonises with itself to create a huge wall of sound.
I tried to do some different things with the drumbeats in this one too.
The vocals are really low pitched on this one compared to the others..
It's quite a forlorn and searching sounding track, but then the ending
makes things somewhat ambiguous.
Transcendence
R: The Councillor
begins to transcend to a purely spiritual form while despairing at the
masses who suffer a terrible fate when the Entity finally nears.
L: I didn't write this song to specifically represent the Councillor actually
transcending but the song is written from a singular perspective and can
easily be interpreted that way; which is why the album works as single
songs and also together as a whole while conveying multiple perspectives.
Musically it's really rapid fire, with no repetition, each section different
from the last. The lead work at the end of the track is some of my best,
and there's some real experimentation with crazy effects settings.
Beyond
The Eyes Of Man
L: We really
played on the idea of the Pied Piper story with this one and used it as
a metaphor for the story base for the song, although it's not exactly
the same. We wanted something semi-ambiguous to end the album so it didn't
reach a obvious finalised “conclusion” although the explosion right at
the end of the instrumental section signifies the final arrival of the
Entity. The lyrics to the song can be read like an old fashioned tale
or almost as a reversed allegory of what happens in the last days of Earth,
hinting metaphorically at what's happening without saying so implicitly.
R: A very sinister track! The song is almost a prophecy or tale of old
that tells of the horror of a hidden creature that followed men back to
their homeland and then revealed itself, but only to the children. It
then entices them away to the mountain for its own devious plans. The
way this track ends the album like a forgotten legend at the end of the
album is great.
L: Musically it's unlike all the other tracks on the record, as it's mid-tempo
without much blasting. It's obviously more on the epic side, with some
quite grandiose moments and melodies. It's pretty complex and involved
too, and is also cool to play live. The instrumental section at the end
was just the result of guitar experimentation, and signifies chaos, then
a final moment of lucidity and melancholy right before the end when the
hole to the other dimension opens.
Portal
To The...
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Words: Coss / Music: Macey
Drifting, I come to a gateway.
It opens. Singing voices overwhelm me, a choir of vocal beauty.
But yet beyond this divine eternity something sinister lurks.
It is not as it was...
Wait! Great eyes stare down on these beings, and onto me!
Two large eyes eternally watching! Staring! Obliviously they persist.
Something dominates the chorus of voices, a language of alien tongue.
They hear it not!
But yet it hears them, and is drawn to them! This must cease!
I call, call to them from afar, then I fall, fall into the seas of mother
earth.
I clamour for the surface in a sea of mannequins, the shores ablaze.
And in the heavens this watcher fixes upon me, as I feel my senses awaken...
Dragging me into the depths...
Worlds
Beyond The Veil
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Lyrics: Macey/Coss
/ Music: Macey
That which lies
beyond
Open your eyes
Awaken your senses
This I show you - now you shall see
And it will change your world forever
See to beyond
Past perceptions and physical senses
We shall fall into the
Worlds beyond the veil
Entranced by the turning vortex
Its views of splendour entice me
But yet there are things
Which I do not know or have ever seen
A portal opens
I fall far far down
Amongst the ones
Who call for me
Behold! This being gliding with form,
Yet no form
Transfixed yet horrified by this
Angelic enigma
Run! It senses us, it feels us
It's coming, can it cross the Worlds' divide?
Will we escape it?
Wait, there is more than this
Yes, there is terror beyond known terror
But all we have done must not be lost
We shall step into the light
Bequeath
Thy Visions
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Lyrics: Coss / Music: Macey/Coss
Awaken!
Your body rests yet you wander
Awaken!
What is it that makes you writhe?
Great Councillor
Unleash upon me your fear
You hesitate
Great terror hides behind your eyes
Bestow
Teach to me your learnings
Great one
Doubt grows heavy upon your brow
Brothers I've seen
I've seen the thing of greater terror
Fear, fear the words I am to speak
My dreams -
Contaminated by this horror
Relentless, these visions I wish to bequeath
Voices, I hear their voices
Its calls flood into my soul
Unleashing this greater terror
It seeks, beyond my eyes
Yet I see not the seeker
Its screams bringing me to my knees
The terror tears into my soul
I hear the singing, the beacon
Beckoning this beast
It listens
It hears their calls
It's time!
My brothers we must realize
Evolve, we must now evolve
It's near, it comes
We need to reach the greater planes
Oh my brothers it seeks us
This thing that comes ever closer to this earth
The
Caller And The Listener
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Lyrics: Macey/Coss
/ Music: Macey
The lowly
Piteous, weak but by nature abhorrent
The fallen
Throwbacks to a distant age
They clamour
United in aspiration
Grovelling for their redeemer
As prophesised
They turned their voices
Towards the heavens
Using the arts
They called out into the void
"Oh lord enlighten our souls"
In nescience
You know not what
Your exhaltations have unleashed
It hears
The ovation falls
On open ears
Yet you know not
What your exhaltations have unleashed
It hears and it doth come
You know not
what your exhaltations have unleashed
It comes
Sing the hossannas and it comes
Sing hossanas and the great host comes
You called for me
And you shall have me
Through your eyes
I shall pierce your souls with fear
And then you shall run
Break
The Worlds' Divide
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Words: Coss / Music: Macey
Pulled to the surface, I see the sky is ablaze.
The portal opens!
The heavenly facade is broken. The gods of humanity fall from their pedestals.
With little strength they await their destruction alongside mortal men.
What are these things?
I've seen them, beyond past perception and physical senses.
It comes, the moon shifts and the heavens burn.
We must now evolve, for it has broken the worlds' divide!!!
Lords
And Masters
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Lyrics: Coss / Music: Macey
I see you the many
United you stand against me
Me the divine creator
You dare challenge my might
How can the flock
Challenge me the shepherd
Risk all just to be rid of me
Thy lord, thy ruler
Lord of the condemmned
Show the might of your minions
I challenge thee oh lord divine
Die with gracious dignity
I see you - the lord
The tyrant that rules thy nobles
Unity of my thousands
Against your treacherous plots
How can your lowly few
Withstand our vast numbers
All shall battle for me
The leader, the master
Fiendish traitor - I shall dispatch
Your taunts weaken me not
You shall be crushed in glorious combat
And I'll retake all that's mine
Oh feeble lords and masters
I heed not your rule
Alone I stand against all
In the greater knowledge
Dear lords and masters
You know little of me
My knowledge grows vast of you
As does your ignorance of me
Psyrens
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Lyrics / Music: Macey
They call
Call to me from afar
I sense them / I feel them / I know them
But I know them not
They exist
But not in this reality
Calling me to return
Realms I've travelled
I will see you again
In timelessness I know you
And we are of one
Separated I wait
For the time
Of return
Unity
I feel their call
I know I'll have to leave
Soon I'll heed their call
Reminding me of what is / will be / was
On stellar waves I've travelled
And will so again
If I have to wait an eternity
I will
Voices
In The Void
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Lyrics: Coss / Music: Macey
Yes I retreat I've seen
That which you shall bestow
Upon humanity
But you shall never be victorious
For I evolve
And strive beyond
The influence of your existence
Be calm my bretheren
Your voices shall never go unnoticed
How could I forget
The ones who stood by my word
Fear not
For I am coming
I endure
My last breaths
I feel the entities
So familiar
Ah my brothers
It's time
I shall leave
Take me to the masses
Our separation has been too long
The distant cries
How I've longed for their embrace
Children can you sense it
The voyagers from beyond this realm
Man called to them
And they have come
Fear not
For they can harm you no longer
We shall embrace the sanctity
Of these distant planes
The
Sands Of Time (instrumental)
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Music: Macey
Search
The Endless Planes (instrumental)
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Words: Coss / Music: Macey
My body rests, yet I wander without comprehension of
the vast eternity of this everlasting revolution. As the known and unknown
combine, I drift without destination and see the vast colours of the galaxies,
knowing only that the few appreciate the sanctity of these distant planes!
They
Came And You Were Silent
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Lyrics: Coss / Music: Macey
Come to me
Children of mother earth
Worshippers of the gods
I have for you
Your redemption
Run the gods are not with us now
Run for our powers are useless
Call for a saviour
Realize the voices in the void
What are these things
Will not our god save us
We called and they came
And you are forever silent
Why?
Run your god is not with you now
Run your powers are useless
Call for a saviour
Realize the voices in the void
Transcendence
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Lyrics / Music: Macey
The call has come to return
To leave this mortal coil
Return to the eternal
Become as one again
To remove back to sprirt
I cast off these chains so binding
I ascend through separation
I aspire to transcend
The ultimate of man's fears
That which no-one "knows"
The key to the eternal
Passage off this earth
My spirit calls
For it knows the way
You "know" nothing
Blind you follow an idol
You are as nothing
For now I am the all
Beyond
The Eyes Of Man
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Lyrics: Coss / Music: Macey/Coss
I embrace great victory!
Ride spread the word
Take to my people the great news
We shall return
To our splendid Capital
We shall return
And bask in the glorious greetings
Bask you shall
Bask you shall
Fools
Senseless fools
Hark! Across the horizon - I see it
Our homes - great capital
Come forth and ride
March on and return
Our great victories
Will make us heroes
Our great battles shall make us nobles
What am I?
That follows
That which is
Unseen
We return
To our homes
Oh great city
We return
I follow
Come my lambs
I call to you
You shall follow
You feast your armies
- I'll take your sons
Lead me to your precious babes
I come for them
And yet you know nothing
Of all that I am
And return with that
Which shall take
All that it desires
All that it desires
Oh! Father
Can you see it... not?
It calls me
Beckons me to follow
I feel a will overpowering me
Save me - I must go
The elders see it not
Oh! Children follow
My will captures your souls
I take you and you shall follow
Watch as they follow
See not that which leads
Those fools they know not of me
But you my children
Shall learn all To the mountain
To the mountain
Come infant disciples
I shall grow eternally strong
You hear my song
It enchants your souls
You are in my power
I shall take you away
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There are currently no "Behind The Scenes" details for this release. Stay tuned!
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