The Czar: Usurper/Escape/Martyr/Spiral Lyrics

Lyric discussion by Bandildo 

Cover art for The Czar: Usurper/Escape/Martyr/Spiral lyrics by Mastodon

I can't find out a direct reference to him going to Rasputin body. So I guess it is something implicit through the fact that the protagonist went to Khlyst era through the wormhole and now we face a death of a Czar. However, if you find out better evidences, please tell me, because these ones don't convince me.

Here we also find out what the Khlysts saw in our protagonists future (as explained in Quintessence) and the dangers that it involves:

"Don't stay run away He has ordered assassination Don't stay run away The henchmen are gathered and waiting Don't stay run away Your role as usurper is found out Don't stay run away Tsarina has warned of the danger"

And then they get killed while trying to take down the czar:

"It's your own fault That is what we wanted It's your own fault This is where we lay"

Now they must leave this world. However, when they try to do so, they find some problems in the way. Like some part of him doesn't want to leave this world. There are two souls (Rasputin's and the protagonist's) and part of Rasputin's doesn't want to leave that world.

"By the light of the moon You must escape into the deep black of the night Fight the devil inside Enemies poison deep within my second sight Wasting valuable time"

The following part I'm not going to comment. Unfortunately I don't have the sufficient knowledge of what happened to the real Rasputin (in real life, not in this tale) and his relation to the czar. But it seems the czar is usurped after, due the "shattered crown". I can't say if the "leave the czar to die" is a literal form or just figurative.

To end this part, it seems that Rasputin sacrifices himself to help our protagonist to escape through another wormhole:

"Spiraling up through the crack in the sky Leaving material world behind I see your face in constellations The martyr is ending his life for mine."

My Interpretation

Rasputin was found to have too much power over the royal family after his 'ability' to heal a royal family member. I don;t know for sure either, but I think he was the final nail in the coffin so to speak, and after he died the whole royalty was killed off.