This is one of my favourites off the album, so here’s my crack at describing what I think it means!
It sounds to me as if he (the person who these guys are singing on behalf of) has lost someone who was dear to him (at the start, there is a voiceover kind of voice that says: " 'tis the oldest story in the book: he desires the one thing he cannot have", which would make sense if his desire had transcended the barrier of life), and he has slain himself to be with her. Like, the "price too high" would be his life, and how he's "found the way to trick the ferrymen" and "deceived the ancient Gods" shows that his death was an unnatural occurrence that wasn't part of the greater plan.
The words "ferrymen" and "Gods" just remind me of Greek mythology wherein the deceased people's souls (in the realm of Hades, god of the dead) are ferried across the river Styx to reach the gates of the Underworld. If they didn't meet the standards to board the boat (such as if they weren't supposed to be dead), they were doomed to wander on the bank of the river for a hundred years, but since this fellow has managed to get past the ferrymen and the will of the Gods, he is now on the journey to reach his dead love, and every day he's getting closer.
In the bit after the first chorus thing, he has reached the land of the dead and goes to "reclaim his stolen bride" (he believes that the Gods had robbed him of his lover when they decided that she should die). Both his "crimes of passion" and "tragic victory" are his suicide, and the "palace of decay" is Hades' castle, so of course "death cannot win" because everyone there is already dead. "My pale queen finally stands to taste silent lips now cursed with her love" – he finally kisses her!
That’s a nice story; I like this song more now. :)
This is one of my favourites off the album, so here’s my crack at describing what I think it means!
It sounds to me as if he (the person who these guys are singing on behalf of) has lost someone who was dear to him (at the start, there is a voiceover kind of voice that says: " 'tis the oldest story in the book: he desires the one thing he cannot have", which would make sense if his desire had transcended the barrier of life), and he has slain himself to be with her. Like, the "price too high" would be his life, and how he's "found the way to trick the ferrymen" and "deceived the ancient Gods" shows that his death was an unnatural occurrence that wasn't part of the greater plan. The words "ferrymen" and "Gods" just remind me of Greek mythology wherein the deceased people's souls (in the realm of Hades, god of the dead) are ferried across the river Styx to reach the gates of the Underworld. If they didn't meet the standards to board the boat (such as if they weren't supposed to be dead), they were doomed to wander on the bank of the river for a hundred years, but since this fellow has managed to get past the ferrymen and the will of the Gods, he is now on the journey to reach his dead love, and every day he's getting closer. In the bit after the first chorus thing, he has reached the land of the dead and goes to "reclaim his stolen bride" (he believes that the Gods had robbed him of his lover when they decided that she should die). Both his "crimes of passion" and "tragic victory" are his suicide, and the "palace of decay" is Hades' castle, so of course "death cannot win" because everyone there is already dead. "My pale queen finally stands to taste silent lips now cursed with her love" – he finally kisses her!
That’s a nice story; I like this song more now. :)