I personally share VoiceOfWisdom's interpretation. It could certainly be the voice of leprosy, speaking about how it enjoys claiming its victims.
"Neath the lid all limbs tucked away
This coffin is your abode from now"
Evidently the victim of leprosy has died and been buried.
"Your body is mine to avail
Such a tragic sight you are
Slave under my creed
Spurring me with those tears"
The disease is basically talking about how it now owns the victim's body, and is looking over it and saying (Kind of ironically) what a tragic sight this person is.
"Sleep inside through days
In the wake of this relief
Shivering, longing for more
Insanity at it's peak"
This is probably a different victim. These certainly sound like symptoms of fever or sickness; perhaps the disease is claiming another victim?
"Keep the beast inside
Shackled within my hide
Screaming out too late
Losing to my hate"
The change from Mikael's growls to clean vocals suggest that maybe this is changing to the point of view of the dying victim. He knows that he is dying, and that nothing can be done to save him now ("Screaming out too late"). He also wants the disease to stay with him and not claim any more innocent people - "Keep the beast inside" and "Shackled within my hide" (ie Kept inside his body).
"Grew together with your skin
And paced the trails of sin"
I have a feeling this might be the second victim, now dying of leprosy, speaking to the first victim, who may have been a loved one, and was also who he caught the disease from. "Paced the trails of sin" suggests that maybe the first victim was careless, which led up to them catching the disease. That would certainly give the song the "lost love" undertones that many Opeth songs have.
"Your gaze covered with virgin snow
Rigid features"
This is back to the disease, looking over the second victim this time. The "virgin snow" may refer to the frozen gaze of the dead person.
"Deafening shrieks pierced the night"
The second victim's body has been discovered.
"A step from oblivion
Moving into the dim lights
Hiding within a reverie"
This is the second victim passing on into the afterlife.
"It was worth it for the wait alone"
I have a feeling that this can apply if it were spoken by both the disease and the victim. From the disease's point of view, it would mean that the disease has enjoyed waiting to claim the victim. From the victim's point of view, it would have been worth dying, because of the wait for death - in other words, life - or possibly the second victim's wait, after the first victim had died, to be with them again in the afterlife.
Well, that's my input. The whole "rapist" thing sounds highly unlikely, and I personally think that this interpretation that the speaker is the disease is far more likely. ;)
I personally share VoiceOfWisdom's interpretation. It could certainly be the voice of leprosy, speaking about how it enjoys claiming its victims.
"Neath the lid all limbs tucked away This coffin is your abode from now"
Evidently the victim of leprosy has died and been buried.
"Your body is mine to avail Such a tragic sight you are Slave under my creed Spurring me with those tears"
The disease is basically talking about how it now owns the victim's body, and is looking over it and saying (Kind of ironically) what a tragic sight this person is.
"Sleep inside through days In the wake of this relief Shivering, longing for more Insanity at it's peak"
This is probably a different victim. These certainly sound like symptoms of fever or sickness; perhaps the disease is claiming another victim?
"Keep the beast inside Shackled within my hide Screaming out too late Losing to my hate"
The change from Mikael's growls to clean vocals suggest that maybe this is changing to the point of view of the dying victim. He knows that he is dying, and that nothing can be done to save him now ("Screaming out too late"). He also wants the disease to stay with him and not claim any more innocent people - "Keep the beast inside" and "Shackled within my hide" (ie Kept inside his body).
"Grew together with your skin And paced the trails of sin"
I have a feeling this might be the second victim, now dying of leprosy, speaking to the first victim, who may have been a loved one, and was also who he caught the disease from. "Paced the trails of sin" suggests that maybe the first victim was careless, which led up to them catching the disease. That would certainly give the song the "lost love" undertones that many Opeth songs have.
"Your gaze covered with virgin snow Rigid features"
This is back to the disease, looking over the second victim this time. The "virgin snow" may refer to the frozen gaze of the dead person.
"Deafening shrieks pierced the night"
The second victim's body has been discovered.
"A step from oblivion Moving into the dim lights Hiding within a reverie"
This is the second victim passing on into the afterlife.
"It was worth it for the wait alone"
I have a feeling that this can apply if it were spoken by both the disease and the victim. From the disease's point of view, it would mean that the disease has enjoyed waiting to claim the victim. From the victim's point of view, it would have been worth dying, because of the wait for death - in other words, life - or possibly the second victim's wait, after the first victim had died, to be with them again in the afterlife.
Well, that's my input. The whole "rapist" thing sounds highly unlikely, and I personally think that this interpretation that the speaker is the disease is far more likely. ;)