Siberian Divide

It bothers me that there is no proper ending, he basically just gains the strength to carry on, but the end of his journey is unknown.

It wouls have been interesting to hear how and if he got to the top and placed the skull there, and what happens next

Yeah, that's what I always thought too, Ddadutta. Still, the band's said before that their albums all deal with certain elements (Remission=fire, Leviathan=water, and Blood Mountain=earth). Maybe in the sky cd that comes next they'll continue the story. From what I've seen, they enjoying writing concept albums.

hmm, there is something "evil" that has told him to take the skull to Blood Mountain. I dont know if he succeeds, i think that the last part :

"Landscape ebb 'n' flow Think I felt the end of time Skulls aglow as crystal shines And starts to warm the empty climb"

tells us that he dies, he can feel the end of time and is hallucinating and sees crystal skulls.

You can also think that he succeeds and dies short after. Then the "warming of the empty climb" means that he has succeed and die without worries now.. and "think i felt the end of times" maybe putting the skull on Blood mountain made something happen.. I dont think that it would be a good thing --> "Evil lives atop my crooked spine" i think that the one who forces him to put the skull on Blood Mountain hasnt got a very nice plan :S

I think Cedric only sings the falsetto like at the end of the song. He doesn't sing words, he just sings. Adds a great dynamic to the song too.

This song is an amazing finish to the album. Hearts Alive ended Leviathan with the perfect mood. This one really sets the scene of the despair of freezing on the mountain top, and that crazy chorus part with the mega chords, falsetto and screaming is epic! I like the way this ends with a non-conclusion, kind of like in The Thing, where he just about gets out alive but is freezing in the snow and is still going to die and the other guy could still be a 'Thing' - you just don't know! Epic epic storytelling in song format - let's hope they don't go an ruin it by making a film about it :D

Anyway also I think that besides the main story, let's not forget that Blood Mountain is also about the bands struggle to make this album. They're almost at the end, but they can't seem to find a groove, and they're budget is running low. "No direction known Running with the band Provisions wearing thin". And sorry about the stuff I said earlier, I didn't mean to bash the song.

I think the three faces statue represents all the inhabitants of blood mountain, since the front face has an eye in the middle of its head= cysquatch, i think its a god that rules the muntain and i agree with the idea that the blood running from its belly fuels the mountain.

Not quite Hearts Alive, but an okay outro I guess

Just so you know, the whole album is based on an original story made up by the band about a man's journey up Blood Mountain and the creatures and hardships he faces on the way.

As for the song, I found out that this is what Brann had to say.

The main character is caught in a blizzard where he becomes frostbitten and frozen and he's starving and starts to hallucinate. Then this snow queen appears before him and tells him it's OK to start eating his own flesh. And then he starts to do that. Then an aurora borealis appears, and he thinks it's God, and it starts affecting this crystal skull he's been toting up the mountain, and it starts to warm his body. That, coupled with the knowledge of the aurora borealis being God, gives him the strength to start to carry on again.

If you look at the lyrics again in that light, it all makes sense.

The ending doesn't matter. The journey is what's important. Ya know, all of that artsy bullshit.