The Crucible Of Man
Ninth studio album Released 5. September 2008 by SPV/Steamhammer Total time 59:17
In Sacred Flames Behold The Wicked Child Minions Of The Watch The Revealing A Gift Or A Curse? Crown Of The Fallen The Dimension Gauntlet I Walk Alone Harbinger Of Fate Crucify The King Sacrificial Kingdoms Something Wicked (Part 3) Divide Devour Come What May Epilogue
In Sacred Flames (1:29)
Music / Lyrics : Jon Schaffer Convocare, Caelestis Bestia, Excidium Hominum Mortalis Dies Natalis, Nefarius, Detestari Dies Natalis, Odisse, Mortalis Dies Natalis, Odisse, Mortalis, Dies Excidium, Hominum, Excidium Convocare, Caelestis, Bestia Excidium, Hominum, Excidium, Excidium Hominum, Excidium, Hominum Hominum, Mortalis, Dies Natalis Nefarius, Detestari Convocare, Caelestis, Bestia, Excidium Hominum Mortalis, Dies Natalis Dies Nefarius, Natalis Bestia Excidium, Convocare, Caelestis Bestia, Excidium
Behold The Wicked Child (5:38)
Music / Lyrics : Jon Schaffer Rise up with fervid zeal Salvation's at hand Forged in flames as stars collide Recite the sacred rites Evoke the astral beast Black magic, astrology In sacred flames it congregates The ancient rage and priest Fusing the fetus and beast The Setian redeemer Man's blood must infect The weapon, the grand architect (Chorus) Behold the wicked, the child is born Coalesced of the celestial beast Divine equation, the prophecy Rejoice in the birth born is he Disciples and minions Spread word, born is he Thrust hell upon humanity Baptize the wicked child The math upon his crown On this day we consecrate (Chorus) Behold the wicked, the child is born Coalesced of the celestial beast Divine equation, the prophecy Rejoice in the birth born is he (Chorus) Behold the wicked, the child is born Coalesced of the celestial beast Divine equation, the prophecy Rejoice in the birth born is he Embrace the power of this sixth hour On the sixth day of the sixth month Behold the child, our path to light We'll guide him with undying love
Minions Of The Watch (2:06)
Music : Jon Schaffer / Lyrics : Matt Barlow When he was born The Elder gathered in the night They gave him shelter Clothed him, fed him with insight They taught him of the course Of Human and the Setian ways Curriculum just shy the telling Of the End of days (Chorus) Minions gather 'round Round this child Watch over as he grows Little does he know This child is the one Salvation Fulfill the prophecy Bring about our destiny As he grows His minions gather in his light His future though Not clear to him He holds the second sight He has seen most of this world Yet does not know his way They will place him on the path To the End of days (Chorus) Minions gather 'round Round this child Watch over as he grows, Little does he know This child is the one Salvation Fulfill the prophecy Bring about our destiny
The Revealing (2:40)
Music : Jon Schaffer / Lyrics : Matt Barlow The Revealing comes, now that he's thirteen Told of his coming trials, what is meant to be Told the arts of the ancients for the mother's sake Time manipulation, and of shifting shape He is held on high, minions flock to him Told of the birth in fires, this boy messiah Told the arts of the ancients for the mother's sake Time manipulation, and of shifting shape
A Gift Or A Curse? (5:34)
Music : Jon Schaffer, Tom Morris / Lyrics : Jon Schaffer I feel a heavy burden A million souls upon me weigh Though I've felt uncertain The more revealed I've found my way Am I a gift, am I a curse? I'm one and all of God and Earth And as the order guides me The trials beckon brutal days The oath of the Travelers The Ghost Dance And the Shifter's Way Am I a gift, am I a curse? I'm one and all of God and Earth At times there's doubt within me To ask as much of one so young Yet I believe in the prophecy And the framing that's been done (Bridge) And I know I possess the strength They've molded me from birth The catalyst of all that's planned Cleansing Man from Earth Inject the venom into my veins Of the vile beasts of Earth The transformation now takes place The Shifter's art is learned The dimension gauntlet lies ahead I master every age I am a God that walks the Earth The embodiment of rage Now the trials are over I am complete What I was born to be The crown awaits the Chosen And I begin my destiny I am a gift, I am a curse One and all, a God on Earth
Crown Of The Fallen (2:49)
Music / Lyrics : Jon Schaffer Many lifetimes have come and gone In elation for this day By the order's hand The minions forged his way At age thirteen Dawn the days of revealing The human forms will rue the day We crown the astral beast (Chorus) Crowned is the king of the fallen Rejoice his light, they live again Crowned is the king of the fallen Celebrate the subjugation of all Man His countenance, the venom burns The wraps conceal the pain Done the shroud and armour Deeply stained Now place the crown upon his head The scepter in his grasp Kneel now before you stand The wicked god of wrath (Chorus) Crowned is the king of the fallen Rejoice his light, they live again Crowned is the king of the fallen Celebrate the subjugation of all Man
The Dimension Gauntlet (3:12)
Music / Lyrics : Jon Schaffer I face the gauntlet as my final test Thrusting through the vault of time and space Intergalactic, interstellar quest From this day forth, I manipulate! I am the Wicked one Crowned this day, we celebrate I walk this Earth two thousand years The demise of Man, we consecrate
I Walk Alone (4:00)
Music : Jon Schaffer, Tim Mills / Lyrics : Jon Schaffer I am your inner fear Your kind refused to hear I am the Light, I am the Way But the fallacies of Man Are easy to embrace And I, in purest form I always weather every storm And though you fail to see The Truth is the path that leads to me Mankind's dishonesty lays them to waste (I will divide) I am the Truth and I walk alone Human hypocrisy exacting their fate (I will devour) I am the the Truth and I walk alone The flaws in your design Are breeding fear inside your mind And lies lead to disgrace A failure to reform The failed human race Mankind's dishonesty lays them to waste (I will divide) I am the Truth and I walk alone Human hypocrisy exacting their fate (I will devour) I am the the Truth and I walk alone
Harbinger Of Fate (4:43)
Music / Lyrics : Jon Schaffer When I was young I was different There was more inside of me So alone yet a sense of purpose The guiding light of the order nurtured me Daunted by the truth revealed What am I? What's my destiny? A million souls, the priest incarnate I am the one, I am the Astral Beast (Chorus) I am the wicked the dealer of fate Harbinger of sorrow I'm the assassin, the dealer of fate Framing Man's tomorrow I thrive as the lone traveler Trough the folds of time and space The chosen one to foreshadow The hand of god will eradicate this race I am the past, I'm cure for sorrow I am the now, I'm the every age I'm the future ending Man's tomorrow the hand of god, the harbinger of fate (Chorus) Kingdoms will fall, empires crumble Seizing on the politics of hate I am the one, the devil in the details The hand of god, the harbinger of fate (Chorus)
Crucify The King (3:58)
Music : Jon Schaffer / Lyrics : Matt Barlow Look at you now Exalted no more Scoring's left your blood Soaked into the floor For having the sight You will pay a heavy price Martyr for Mankind Contrived sacrifice (Chorus) Let all your children pray You've washed their sins away I'll bring the suffering Let all your children pray I don't come their way I'll crucify their king Look at you now You pathetic little man With spear I pierce your hide Destiny in my hand For all mine have lost Your fate will intertwine Your death will polarize Resurrection will divide (Chorus) (Bridge) Like all false seers, you're formed to fit the plan Unsuspecting pawns to the detriment of Man And as your worlds collide War will bring the suffering And to that end I'll crucify I'll crucify the king (Chorus)
Sacrificial Kingdoms (3:57)
Music : Jon Schaffer / Lyrics : Matt Barlow It does not take much to destroy a Man Give him rope and he will hang Same can be said for dynasty So fat with itself, can no longer feed Rome will burn when it's time has come Ottoman tribes fate away The social cults empower puppet men Leaving me to pull the strings (Chorus) Kingdoms fall to the ground Crushed by their own greed An un-quenching need to destroy Empires fall by my design Lust of power speeds Time people need to destroy Your future's clear if you can look back Every culture's earned their fate Your gluttony as my tool of choice You've proved your worth less every day (Chorus)
Something Wicked (Part 3) (4:32)
Music : Jon Schaffer / Lyrics : Matt Barlow I walk the Earth The wicked one Baptized in fire Vindication's only son Through folds of space and time I've sown my evil seeds Till Mankind is erased My last prolific deed He walks the Earth The wicked one I walk the Earth Injecting our will Till Man's time is done Your time is done The Watchers Eye Has sealed your fate I've sealed your fate Upon your deaths The Elder wait I am the one I am your Antichrist Destroyer of Mankind Forged in sacred flames My power is divine I am your coming curse Hellfire in my eyes For your crimes on my kind The human race will die He walks the earth The wicked one I walk the earth Injecting our will Till Man's time is done Your time is done The Watchers Eye Has sealed your fate I've sealed your fate Upon your deaths The Elder wait I am the one I'm the one born of flames Your hatred has brought me to this place This is a dying world I'll bring it new life in form of your dread In the sixth hour On the sixth day Of the sixth month I was born into this world Now that the wheel's in motion Unstoppable force, undaunted by your pleas There's no sympathy in this soul Just hatred within me
Divide Devour (3:15)
Music / Lyrics : Jon Schaffer Through the folds of time I forge the way Messiah to my own and sent to slay I am pure embodied rage Made of a million souls that dearly paid The icy pulse that's pumping through my veins Sanctifies the end of human ways I am pure embodied rage Born of a million souls unjustly slain (Chorus) I am the weapon that strikes In the hearts of Man I thrive Feeding their fear with lies I will devour I will divide I am the god of hellfire Inside of every Man there lives a liar Before their gods they cower I will divide I will devour Antichrist or harbinger of fate Prophet and priest born of the ancient rage I will assassinate their way Annihilation of the human race (Chorus) I am the weapon that strikes In the hearts of Man I thrive Feeding their fear with lies I will devour I will divide I am the god of hellfire Inside of every Man there lives a liar Before their gods they cower I will divide I will devour
Come What May (7:24)
Music / Lyrics : Jon Schaffer As I watch through the ages And gaze upon this world The troubled race of Man So impetuous and afraid There's potential in this race A Man can spark hope But in mass they do regress A constant downward slope How have they come so far Yet have so far to go It seems evolution stalled On the nature of a Man From living in caves To manned flights in space And for all that is worth Still the sad pathetic race (Chorus) Can't you see what's plain as day It's always been there inside of you One saving grace that's hard to face Embracing the truth will change your fate It's up to you and the path you choose To be led to the slaughter or lead the way The quest for light, a worthwhile fight Will you have what it takes? Come what may (Bridge) If you'd just look Look inside yoursef You'll find the answers to your pain The hardest road The hardest road to enlightenment Presents a constant test Of your resolve Time for you Time for you is running out The human race must evolve Must evolve (Chorus) Can't you see what's plain as day It's always been there inside of you One saving grace that's hard to face Embracing the truth will change your fate It's up to you and the path you choose To be led to the slaughter or lead the way The quest for light, a worthwhile fight Will you have what it takes? Come what may (Backing vocals) As I watch through the ages The troubled race of Man Seems evolution stalled Still a sad pathetic race Will you have what it takes? Come what may
Epilogue (2:21)
Music : Jon Schaffer Instrumental
Matt Barlow - lead vocal Troy Seele - lead guitar Jon Schaffer - rhythm guitar Freddie Vidales - bass Brent Smedley - drums Guests: Dennis Hayes - bass (on Behold The Wicked Child) Tom Morris - guitar (on A Gift Or A Curse?)