| Fates Warning – A Pleasant Shade of Gray Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| Love it. Hardly any explanation really needed, since the lyrics are extremely straightforward on purpose. Awesome album - so bleak but cathartic at the same time. | |
| Fates Warning – Exodus Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Some of my favorite lyrics of all time. Definitely a metaphor for a personal quest for enlightenment and freedom, with the desert imagery fitting to describe the world as dry, desolate, and full of mirages (also possibly to reference the biblical exodus into the desert, but I may be just grasping at straws with that). The song comes off almost as gnostic: "False guardian I will compel False as the fear of Heaven and Hell I should have known its all a mirage just as well" suggesting that traditional views of the divine are only roadblocks to "Arcana." The ultimate goal is to exile the medium of bondage, which, presumably is how we're all living now. There are lots of themes and gems hidden throughout here (and that's not even touching on the music itself!) including disappointment, disgust with the spiritual state of the world, and lack of control in one's own destiny. The "esoteric sisters" are likely the Fates of Greek mythology, which the band references in its name and several times lyrically in their first three albums. This song is a masterpiece that captured metal's obsession with the mythical and hunger for freedom...the cold, twisting guitars and Arch's ghastly vocals make for an intense and atmospheric experience. |
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| Dream Theater – Only a Matter of Time Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Great song - I'd just like to point out a quick bit of wordplay here that makes the song all the more meaningful. When the phrase "Only a Matter of Time" is first used in the song, it refers to other people looking at the musician, feeling assured that it won't be long before he fails in his career and has to go back to the common life. But by the end they turn it around and know that it's only a matter of time before they succeed - which, as it happens, they turned out to be right about. In a broader sense, the song is about taking risks in order to find greater happiness in the end, and the phrase here that they chose for the album, "When Dream and Day Unite" seems to refer to the point in life where your dreams are waking - you're living out your dreams day to day. Also, I believe a vocal melody here is reused on Take the Time. |
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