PRESS RELEASE:
Australian metallers LORD have released A Personal Journey: Revisited – a reimagination of the 2003 debut album, A Personal Journey.
LORD mainman L.T. explains, “It’s been ten years since LORD played our first show under the current name so it seemed like an ideal time to cast an eye back to where it all began, and to bring the one remaining ‘demo production’ sounding album into line with the rest of our back catalogue.
“A Personal Journey was recorded on literally zero budget, in a spare bedroom, on ancient hardware, into a computer less powerful than a current entry-level smartphone, and some parts of it were even transferred from a cassette into that computer. Although it eventually had professional mastering done to it, the album you hear today is still, more or less, that original demo. It’s both a blessing and a shame that this album is largely considered a little known collector’s item, despite boasting some really strong material.”
He continues, “In 2014 we revisited the early years of the band with The Dungeon Era box set, which featured all of the original Dungeon studio albums re-recorded by the current line-up, with modern production techniques and available in better-than-CD-quality HD audio. The positive response from that release set the wheels in motion to give A Personal Journey the same treatment, and finally give that album the production that wasn’t possible when it was originally conceived.
“We literally thought outside the box when doing this release. We chose not to do a CD pressing. Instead, we’ve made a collectible ‘Access All Area pass’ style USB key with the songs pre-ripped to MP3 and 24 bit HD FLAC. Rather than a small CD booklet, we chose to do an A5 sized saddle-stitched card-covered booklet, with larger artwork, lyrics, liner notes and lengthy retrospective of the last ten years. We think that gives people the best of all worlds with the convenience of digital files, the sound quality of an exact reproduction of the studio masters, a collectable physical product and larger than CD booklet sized artwork.”
Released March 31, 2016
Musicians that appeared on this album:
LT – Lead Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards
Andy – Bass, Backing Vocals
Mark – Guitars, Backing Vocals
Tim Yatras – Session Drums
Gustav Hoffmann – Additional Keyboards
Credits:
Produced, engineered and mixed by Lord Tim
Additional engineering by Tim Yatras
Videos from this release
LYRICS and LINER NOTES
The Dreaming
(Instrumental)
Liner Notes: LT: “This song was the original idea I had for the intro to Dungeon’s ‘A Rise To Power’ album (long before the title track was written, though) that just seemed a little too off-beat to use for Dungeon, especially considering the previous album was fairly straight-ahead power metal. If you listen closely, you’ll hear that underneath everything else is a didgeridoo – very Australian! 🙂 “
Words: n/a Music: T. Grose
Footsteps in the Sand
Tonight my spirit dances like an angel in the flames
While my body lay alone
I can fly outside of time
Where we all exist, all free to roam
Seeing tomorrow today
Every step of the way
(Is this) just a role that we play?
Like footsteps in the sand
It sometimes seems we’re following
A destiny that’s planned
Predetermined lives
I see the choice is mine
A million ways, a million dreams
A twisted path through time
The story still untold, the future now unfolds
Like Deja Vu and future dreams we have in stranger days
Icy fingers rake down your spine
The answer lies beyond our reach
Lies within subconscious minds
Thousands of ways yet to go
So much more left to grow
Leave this path that we know
SOLO: LT
Liner Notes: LT: “It’s been said that subconsciously we can travel outside of our linear existence to any point in the past, present or future. That would explain a lot about how precognition and Deja Vu works as well as past life experiences, etc. Here’s the interesting point – if we can travel to any point in time, including the future, how can that be if in our linear existence here we haven’t been to the future yet? That can only mean 2 things – our destiny is completely planned out and we’re just following ‘footsteps in the sand’ or that there’s an infinite number of paths we can travel down and our spirit has just happened to travel along that particular one we’re going along when we get Deja Vu. Intriguing stuff, no?”
Words/Music: T. Grose
The Traveller
He lived long ago in innocent times
When all seemed clear and right
A singer of songs, a teller of tales
The bringer of light
But he was shunned
Betrayed by the ones he once called his own
As once they did he
They promised him love, they offered their gold
Then turned him away
In the cold – They turned him away
Far from home – He’s travelling far from home…
He left for a land to follow his dreams
Far from his home
A stranger he was but they still took him in
Like one of their own kind
Where once was seen as a curse
His difference was praised, a gift loved by all
Small minds in his own homeland
Hypocrisy burns
Forever he’s turning his back on them
And the story goes on, it’s not just a tale
It’s happening now
So open your eyes and open your hearts
And embrace what is yours
Liner Notes: LT: “This imaginary fantasy story set in medieval times was really a reflection of what was happening in the Australian music industry around the time the song was written. The sad fact was that if you’re doing a style of music that isn’t being forced down our throats by the multi-national record labels and corporate radio stations (so therefore not deemed ‘popular’), getting support from anywhere in the mainstream music industry is quite the task if not an impossible one. Australian bands wanting to really make a difference have to head overseas to a larger, more open minded market place to prove themselves before being taken seriously back home. Like the song says, ‘open your eyes and open your hearts and embrace what is yours’ – if the mainstream media and government in Australia did that, could you imagine how strong the music scene would be? This is probably less relevant today with the rise of the internet, but we still face a big uphill battle with legitimacy unless we leave our own shores.”
Words: T. Grose Music: T. Grose / G. Hoffmann
Freedom
Betrayer, you’ve had your last chance
So enjoy your tainted prize
On a night such as this
When the moonlight’s kiss means goodbye
The tables have turned and the rules don’t apply
And you will know sacrifice
Now we’ve come to the time
When the lion becomes the lamb
No more control, no judgment toll
My life is my own
No more “can’t see”, no more “can’t be”
Now I’m free…
We know these are magical times
Creation that begs for release
Now I wander the world
And I walk through the fire alone
The choices are mine, my voice is my own
The secret revealed – mine to know:
Belief in yourself is the key
It keeps your heart strong
Call it ego, I call it self-respect
I believe I deserve much more than this
That place that we know deep inside our hearts
Follow your dreams and forever you’ll be free…
SOLO: LT
Liner Notes: LT: “This song was about two things things: Firstly, it was written a few years ago, just after Dungeon’s ‘Resurrection’ album was recorded and the band was going through a fairly rough patch with member changes, and changes to the overall dynamic of how the band worked. I had actually quit Dungeon to concentrate on a solo career since it was becoming so uncomfortable to continue to be part of it. Needless to say I rejoined not long after and things went from strength to strength since then! This is partly a record of my feelings at the time, but the other thing the song is about is self-belief. Unless you’re prepared to follow your dreams and believe in yourself, you’ll always be compromising something – usually your own integrity. You’re not an egomaniac if you have faith in your abilities and your judgement, so you shouldn’t be scared to stand up for yourself.”
Words/Music: T. Grose
One World
Our world is crying
Our children die in our arms
A life of hunger and disease
So are we trying?
A million miles away
Another day and no one cares
If we see beyond illusion
We’ll see we only have one world
Our world is dying
And we watch with jaded eyes
This silent cancer, apathy
Turn your back, denial
’til the day we pay with our lives
Wake up – it’s real, not some crazy dream
If we see beyond illusion
We’ll see we only have one…
One world, one life, one chance
To make things right
One heart, one mind – stop and think
Don’t leave this world behind
SOLO: LT
So rise above your scandalous lives
Rise above your greed
If we open our eyes to look beyond ourselves
One day we’ll see
We’ll see there’s just one world
One world, one life, one chance
To make things right
One heart, one mind, so be strong
Don’t ever stop the fight
One world, one life, one chance
To make things right
One day we’ll see – we’ll stop and think
We won’t leave this world behind
Liner Notes: LT: “There’s a whole world out there beyond our tiny lives, believe it or not! We all get so caught up in our own dramas and day-to-day lives that it’s easy to forget we’re all just part of a much bigger picture, one that we should take a bit of notice of every now and then. The world: Ignore it and it’ll go away. Think about it…”
Words/Music: T. Grose
The Richest Man
Old eyes stare beyond these lonely walls
Out toward the sea
In a darkened room, he sits and thinks of
All that might have been
Sure – there’s regrets
But he wouldn’t change a thing
He had it all and lost it all
But the memories remain
To you and me he may not seem a wealthy man
(but) If this is what we’re really worth
He’d be the richest man on earth
A young man so long ago, so full of hope
Of what he may become
Never scared to take a risk, a life so full
Would someday come undone
So, roll the dice
‘Cos the future isn’t clear
SOLO: LT
Liner Notes: LT: “What are we if not the sum of our memories and experiences? Who is the richer man – the one with heaps of money and no life experiences or the homeless bum who did it all?”
Words/Music: T. Grose
By George!
(Instrumental)
Liner Notes: LT: “One of the first guitar players to really make me sit up and take notice was George Lynch (Dokken / Lynch Mob / etc.). His playing was just so angular, melodic yet dissonant with heaps of cool vibrato and harmonics! You’ll hear a lot of Lynch-isms in my playing anyway but on this song, I tried to really capture the essence of his playing to fully explore how much of an influence he was to me. As it turns out, forcing myself to play ONLY in that style made me realise just how much I’m influenced by other guitarists as well, since a lot of my ‘standard’ licks weren’t really in the Lynch style after all, so it was an interesting exercise if nothing else!”
Words: n/a Music: T. Grose
Relections
(Instrumental)
Liner Notes: LT: “XXXX“
Words: n/a Music: T. Grose
Journey Through Hell
(Instrumental)
Liner Notes: LT: “This was one of the first songs I did for the original solo album demos back in 1994. Quite a long song and goes through a heap of different moods ranging from aggressive, to dark to brooding and anywhere in between. I wanted to create different sections that would give the feel of a journey to / through somewhere evil – you’ll hear screaming guitars portraying the sound of souls dying in the flames in some sections while in other sections it’s out and out speed and aggression in the soloing.”
Words: n/a Music: T. Grose
Behind the Mask
Now night time is falling and I sit here alone
With the sound of the waves and the setting sun
Walking the long mile from the sand to the sea
A personal journey of childhood dreams
A lonely road
So much more left to see
Hoping one day that this road leads to me
I walk alone on the beach in the night
Feel the wind that whispers memories
Sometimes it feels like you’re not in control
Of your life, but you live each day like nothing’s wrong
So what can you do
When your dreams all come true
The future’s bright, but you’re dying inside
Behind the mask is where you’ll find the real me
It’s true for every one of us
Behind the mask you’ll find me crying in the night
Shut out the world, I close my eyes
Living the lie – it’s so easy to do
Only to find one day a truth I always knew
Breaking away from uncertainty’s sweet embrace
I wipe the sand now from my eyes
In a blinking eye
Ten years pass us by
And all we’re left is wasted time
Facing my demons here alone
Down on my knees I shed my skin
SOLO: LT
Liner Notes: LT: “We all wear masks. Whether it be when someone asks you “how are you today’”and you say “fine” even though you’ve had a totally crap day, or you’re dealing with something more serious. Everyone has their demons, their own cross to bear, their own pain. This song is about that and about self-discovery and self-understanding. Over the years, more than a few people have said to me this song has really spoken to them, and I understand why completely. This was a song I really debated putting on the original album because it was such a personal thing, but now in hindsight, I’m very glad I did.”
Words/Music: T. Grose
Rainy Nights
(Instrumental)
Liner Notes: LT: “The original version of this song was written waaaay back in 1988, even before Dungeon existed! It had more keyboard parts in there and the structure was a little looser. The harp and big toms are more conceptual instruments than anything, representing aindrops and thunder. The placement of this song is very important too – I wanted to have something quiet, almost hypnotic to nearly send you off to sleep before getting snapped out of it abruptly by the horrible sounds of a bad car crash – which leads perfectly into the album’s closer, ‘Last Rites’. In many ways this is a companion piece to our 2015 release, ‘What Tomorrow Brings‘ where the crash leads the story to another ‘what if?’ direction.”
Words: n/a Music: T. Grose
Last Rites
One flash – I see my life in front of me
One crash – it’s fading from my mind
A journey incomplete, I was brought back from the light
Is this a destiny of fire?
How can this be?
I’m lying in front of me
Family and friends are gathered around
I scream
But no one can can hear me
Surrounded by people I know but so alone…
SOLO: LT
I’m watching from the other side
Bound to this flesh that clings to life
To life…
Can’t return – beyond the help of anyone
Can’t move on – so much is left undone
Can’t break out – set me free
So do what must be done – how can I make you see?
SOLO: LT
So many days here by my side
So many nights I sit and cry
Can you see me?
Can’t you hear me call your name?
Sometimes I’m sure that you can see
It’s like you’re staring (back at me)
But you walk away, walk away
Oh, can’t you hear my cries?
SOLO: LT
I see the world in a different light
I hear the words of those that think they have the right
The right to make a choice that isn’t theirs to make
Playing God
They can never hope to ever understand
SOLO: LT
Pull the plug, flick the switch
Let me leave this life of hell
Let me die in my own way – it’s my right
They say it’s wrong – they can’t see
They’d do the same if they were me
It’s time to set me free
It’s time to go
It’s time to leave – it’s time to say goodbye
It’s time to go
It’s time to leave – and walk into the light
It’s time to go
You will know I’ll be waiting for you on the other side
It’s time to go
It’s time to leave – goodbye
Liner Notes: LT: “Imagine this scenario – you wake up after an horrific car crash to find yourself standing in a hospital room looking down on your body connected to machines that are keeping you alive. No one can see you or hear you but you’re fully aware of everything going on around you. This song is about the loneliness and frustration of watching people grieve over you and then subsequently squabbling over your right to die. As long as your body remains alive, you can’t move on to wherever your spirit is supposed to go. It’s certainly a unique perspective on the euthanasia debate! Who gets to play God? What would you do in that situation?”
Words/Music: T. Grose
