As grey traces of dawn tinge the eastern sky,|the three travelers, men of Willowdale,|emerge from the forest shadow.|Fording the River Dawn, they turn south, journeying|into the dark and forbidding lands of the Necromancer|Even now the intensity of his dread power can be felt,|weakening the body and saddening the heart|Ultimately they will become empty, mindless spectres...|stripped of will and soul, only|their thirst for freedom gives them hunger for vengeance...'||Silence shrouds the forest|As the birds announce the dawn|Three trav'llers ford the river|And southward journey on|The road is lined with peril|The air is charged with fear|The shadow of his nearness|Weighs like iron tears||[II. Under the Shadow]||'Shreds of black cloud loom in overcast skies.|The Necromancer keeps watch with his magic prism eyes.|He views all his lands and is already aware of the three helpless invaders|trapped in his lair...'||Brooding in the tower|Watching o'er his land|Holding ev'ry creature|Helplessly they stand|Gaze into his prisms|Knowing they are near|Lead them to the dungeons|Spectres numb with fear|They bow defeated||[III. Return Of the Prince]||'Enter the Champion|Prince By-Tor appears to battle for freedom from chains of long years|The spell has been broken...the Dark Lands are bright.|The Wraith of the Necromancer soars|away in the night.'||Stealthily attacking|By-Tor slays his foe|The men are free to run now|From labyrinths below|The Wraith of Necromancer|Shadows through the sky|Another land to darken|With evil prism eye|
"Return of the Prince" is probably my favorite part of any RUSH song ever.
I just love the fade in of the guitar and then the overlay kicks in and it has such a great feel. The lyrics are so uplifting, then the solo at the end just COMPLETELY captures the spirit of freedom and joy. Love the last solo, so melodic and not more than it needs to be, just perfect.
Love the 'evil prism eye' reference to Suaron as well!
Nice work Alex!
This is a continuation of my By-tor and the Snow Dog fanfic. The first part is on this website in the By-tor and the Snow Dog song.
Basically, a Necromancer of Hades is tormenting the earth. He is especially tormenting these three travelers. Little did they know that they were exploring a dungeon that is owned by the evil Necromancer. The Necromancer sucks their souls from them. They have no choice but to become his slaves.
Things are looking dark, but then, a portal appears. Through the portal comes the brave dog By-tor. He used to be a slave of the Necromancer as well. But he broke free from his bonds, and learned the truth. He has come to defeat the Necromancer.
By-tor makes the first move. He strikes the Necromancer with a lightning blast. The Necromancer is strong against By-tor's attacks, but not invulnerable. So the Necromancer summons an army of the dead.
By-tor has a long battle with these spirits, fighting through the dungeon halls. There are many, but he fights them all the way up to the surface. But up there, the Necromancer has summoned such a large army. It looks like it's going to be the end for By-tor.
But By-tor will not be defeated. He uses all his might to conduct energy of no end. He defeats the army with one swift blow. He doesn't stop there. He focuses his power on the Necromancer. He damages the Necromancer to a harsh degree. Nearly destroyed, the Necromancer flees.
By-tor releases all of the Necromancer's captives. They all rejoice. The land has been saved!
For now...
this song is very similar to 2112 in that it is used as a dagger to the critics. when this song was written, Rush was really close to being released from their record company because they did not like the style of music they were heading towards. they pushed the band to change and head in the other direction, write more simple lyrics, and not be so different.
The Necromancer is about three travelers (from Willowdale, so obviously Geddy, Alex, and Neil) that approach a dark land ruled by the evil Necromancer. The Necromancer tries to capture them and bring them into his lair, like he does with everyone that intrudes onto his land. The Necromancer is meant to represent the record companies and media that urged them to change. In the song, they are going to be captured, but By-Tor saves them. This is meant to represent their music (by-tor and the snow dog). So, basically, their music and creativity saved them from being captured by evil. This was their way of saying "no" to the record companies when they pressured them to change.
i think it's kinda funny that once "the wraith of the Necromancer soars away in the night" the dark lands are then turned bright. in other words, if it wasn't for the media and record companies, music would be much better off!!
i want to see this and The Fountain of Lamneth performed live so badly. i know that will probably never happen, but as a 19 year old, one can only dream.
WOW! I'm amazed that noone has placed any comments for this amazing milestone. Rush's first epic. (BY-TOR and the Snowdog, doesn't count but It did lead the way , and this case the created the characters). I think this is the best song off of Carress of Steel. Much better than "The Fountain of Lamneth" in my opinion. But pt.III. Return of the Prince is an awesome song in its own right, my band loves to play it. For those who haven't heard it, I recommend it.
WOW! I'm amazed that noone has placed any comments for this amazing milestone. Rush's first epic. (BY-TOR and the Snowdog, doesn't count but It did lead the way , and this case the created the characters). I think this is the best song off of Carress of Steel. Much better than "The Fountain of Lamneth" in my opinion. But pt.III. Return of the Prince is an awesome song in its own right, my band loves to play it. For those who haven't heard it, I recommend it.
I've listened to this song a few times, I love the part that starts around 9 minutes-ish, it's awesome and sounds really familiar and I can't remember where I heard that from before... I think some song by The Who
I love rush and just heard this song for the first time today and i must say even if you hate Rush around 6:30 to 9:00 in this song will blow your mind
