Set In Stone

(Instrumental)

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Liner Notes: On a high ledge overlooking a ruined post-apocalyptic city he waits, listening to the distant screams of the few tragic souls who still remain in the devastation. Eternal, silent, carved from ancient stone from a forgotten age. Suddenly cracks start to appear in the figure, shafts of crimson light tear upward from the rifts, releasing the ancient spirits once trapped within the timeless stone. Four eyes flash with glowing flame as the creature returns to life with a roar. Mankind’s redemption has now arrived.

Words: n/a Music/Concept: T. Grose

Oh no, what have we done?
Where do we go from here?
Oh… we see only sorrow and pain

Where is the light to guide us?
To help the children find their way?
Lay defeated and drowned by the rain

Oh, keep searching for the reason
The only way out
Is to search for the answer within

Oh – return from the cold and open your eyes
Redemption, arise
Oh – a spirit of gold, remember your pride
The hero inside, within us all

So now, where do we go?
Blinded we search for the sun
Oh… who will shelter us all from the rain?

To find the will inside us
Reach for the dawn of an unclouded day
Now free from the sorrow and pain

Oh, no more staring back in anger
Release your true self
And let the renaissance begin

SOLO: LT / MARK

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Liner Notes: This is the most “power metal” sounding song from Set In Stone and probably the song that bears the most resemblance to Dungeon on this album. It’s absolutely relentless and a lot of fun to play live!

Words: T. Grose Music: T. Grose / T. Yatras

The future’s bright I tell you
Another perfect day
All our baggage packed we climb
Aboard this sinking ship
And so we sail…

Takes a second to say hello
And forever to say goodbye
Turn the cheek of a blind denial
Into another lie

Oh, playing out this masquerade
Hold on to the dream
How long can we travel down this road we made?
Go on alone and leave me far behind

I tell myself we’re all okay
(I can) think of a hundred different reasons
For me to make you stay
I leave you now and go my way
To find a change of season
To help me get my feet back on the ground

Inside it’s so frustrating
A heart wrapped in golden chain
Always searching for the rainbow
Always waiting in the rain

SOLO: LT

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Liner Notes: LT: “When ideas were being thrown around for the album, I’d submitted a song called ‘Falling‘ that I had written with the intention of using for an 80s hard rock side project I was doing called ‘Clarity‘, but I wondered if it may also be a good song for LORD since we were looking for a good hard rock song to add to the album at the time. The guys loved it but something about it made me feel uncomfortable about it being used for LORD instead of ‘Clarity’ so I chose to pull it. To make up for it, I quickly recorded another rocker over the space of around two hours and presented it to be band the next morning. It turned out this idea was received really well and worked great with some lyric ideas of TY’s. ‘100 Reasons’ was born. What was the quickest song to write ended up as one of the most liked and commercially accessible songs on the album.”

Words/Music: T. Grose / T. Yatras

Vision born of dream-like lucid flames
Crimson light mastered by faceless names
Burning passion or a timeless force
Voices speak of shadows rising forth

Once were dreaming
Now are living
Feel the rain begin to pour
Hear the wind lift off and soar

Eternal storm
Restless souls
Eternal storm
Restless souls embrace the dying dawn

Nightmares destroying mortality
Creating dreamscape reality
Lost and forgotten our spirit sought
Forced upon us ways of lifeless thought

SOLO: MARK

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Liner Notes: LT: “When Mark properly joined the band, he’d submitted a couple of really strong ideas to use for what would be the next album, but no entire songs until this one. Even in raw demo form, we could tell this was going to be a monster! I re-worked the drum parts and slightly re-wrote the vocal melodies to suit my voice better and the song came to life.”

Words: M. Furtner Music: M. Furtner / T. Grose / T. Yatras

Staring out beyond the shadows
To see a world of faces all the same
And find the light behind those darkened eyes
And realise the skies are more than grey

Got the hunger but we’re wanting more
Forever reaching higher
Remember what we’re fighting for
The writing on the wall is

Set In Stone
Set In Stone

Ghosts of the past now far behind me
Follow the path towards a brighter day
Now a fire lights inside those darkened eyes
Crucify the lies of yesterday

SOLO: LT / LT / MARK / LT / MARK

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Liner Notes: Set In Stone was the first song written for this album and was originally featured on the “Hear No Evil” EP (although the album mix is entirely different). The original song had a groove similar to the intro riff all the way through until during a jam, TY played a double time feel that gave everything a real kick along. The sing-along part in the middle of the song always gets a great reaction live!

Words: T. Grose Music: T. Grose / T. Yatras

On this dark road I tread
Of despair and regret
Some days you long to forget
Searching for the light

Taking life one step at a time
Walk a path that’s only mine
Shit happens, a kick to the teeth
So look out for number one

Some say I’m just a selfish man
I say take hold of what you can
Learn to swim before you drown
Before life kicks you down

On the seas of life I sail
To find my way
And never to return
No self betrayal
I won’t live my life
Living someone else’s dream

Some may say this pain is just an illusion
Some say it’s all in your mind
Life builds us up to be proud
Then cuts you down like an empty lie

Find yourself in this tunnel again
See the light: (is it) just another train?
Finding shelter from the endless rain
Sometimes you find yourself
Always asking why…

I drag myself to my feet
And take what’s rightly mine

SOLO: MARK / LT

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Liner Notes: We’re all firm believers of “the right tool for the job” and that also extends as far as vocal stylings. This is an aggressive song about getting kicked in the teeth by life but not letting it get the better of you; finding your own path in life and not just blindly following in the footsteps of other people living their dreams. For such a defiant message we needed a harsh vocal to suit, but also a big uplifting chorus for the ultimately positive message we wanted to get across in the lyrics.

Words: T. Grose / T. Yatras / A. Dowling Music: T. Grose / T. Yatras

I’d walk to the end of the world
I’d do anything
Just to see you, to be near you
Feel you close for a moment

And I’m lost in your eyes
Charmed by your sweet smile
Lips that beckon, I count the seconds
‘Til I see you again

Get to know you
Want to show you I care
I’ll make you see how good we’d be
Together, so perfect

Feel so lonely
Oh, if only I could
Dare to meet you, touch you, but you
Don’t even know I’m alive

Together and never apart, my love
We were meant to be
And you’ll always have my heart
Our love is forever

Tried to speak to you
Tried to meet you but you
Looked right through me, just ignored me
As if I was no one

Now my world’s upside down
Is there someone else?
How can this be? You don’t want me?
In my mind it’s all so crystal clear

“I tried to show you that I care
That we were meant to be
But you don’t want me
You were everything to me and I’m nothing to you
Well, if I can’t have you, then… no one can.”

SOLO: LT / MARK

And now you lay here before me
In the pallid light
I have blood on my hands
Your face a mask of white

No respite for my memory
As I stumble and run
And my mind is in turmoil
What have I done? WHAT HAVE I DONE?!

I return to your side
And you lay there so beautiful, yet so still
I could almost believe you were sleeping

Can’t bear this world without you
So clear what I have to do
The choice is made, I raise the blade
My love, I’ll be with you soon

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Liner Notes: This is a love song… with a difference. On first listen it’s a beautiful story about a love that is forever, until you realise the object of the protagonist’s affections has never met him and doesn’t know he exists. Finally, he gathers up the courage to finally talk to her, which ends badly. In a blind fit of jealous rage her life ends and his life changes forever. The interesting thing about this song is the chorus remains the same every time but when you listen to it in context with the verse preceding it, it takes on an entirely different meaning each time. Very beautiful but very dark and tragic song.

LT “The original idea for the main melody was on a ‘riffs’ disc that Andy had sent me well before Ascendence was written. The idea was excellent but ultimately not used for that album and was shelved until now. This was one of the first ideas Andy ever wrote back when he was a teenager, so it just goes to show that you should never throw any ideas out because one day they could be the magic element to spark a very special song.”

Words: T. Grose Music: T. Grose / A. Dowling / T. Yatras

A heart strong with fire
The measure that I aspire
Living your life abounding
Like few others do

Torn from this world premature
Lost to all those who cared
I’m left behind alone to find my way

Now I look to the skies
Memories: rising tides
I feel a part of me died
The day you went away

Gone to a place never known
Free of sadness and pain
Brotherhood, the memories still remain

So wherever, wherever you may be
I hope forever you’ll be proud of me
So my brother, someday, I don’t know when
One day, together we will meet again
Far beyond the light

SOLO: MARK

And as time marches on
This heartache will always linger
I’ll shed a tear for you
On those sleepless nights

No matter where I may roam
I feel your presence so near
Gives me strength to see tomorrow’s dawn

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Liner Notes: LT: “Beyond The Light was born out of a jam between myself and TY and a rough idea I had for a melody. I gave it to the rest of the band to see what kind of lyric ideas they would come up with and we ended up with a heartfelt tale about the remembrance of a fallen sibling. Absolutely massive amounts of vocal layers in the chorus and a lot of 80s inspired keyboard parts. The positioning of this song on the album is important too; it’s wedged between the epics of Forever and The End Of Days and provides a good ‘cleansing of the palette’ that gives the surrounding songs more impact than what they would otherwise have if they followed one another directly.”

Words: M. Furtner / A. Dowling / T. Grose Music: T. Grose / T. Yatras

War
And so it goes
Two nations, single-minded hate
When treaties fail
Condemn the world, its ghastly fate

Of those who live
In troubled times, in terror’s shroud
Always fear the worst
But never dare believe it’s now

The time has come; it’s the end of days
Our peaceful life: A ticking bomb
Our time has slipped away

And when there’s nowhere to run
Fiery clouds of death that blanket the sun
And when the last war is “won”
No life remains, our world has turned to stone
And died in flames

Death
A grim demise
Black shockwaves herald toxic rain
And all who died
More fortunate than those who still remain

A tortured death
Blistered skin, the cancer grows
All lost, now feel the
Winter’s kiss, ill winds blow

SOLO: MARK / LT

Fate
The course of time
History’s path, a legacy of hate
All sense denied
Descending to the end we helped create

And nothing learned
We’re tracing circles once again
As the planet burns
Ashes to the winds

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Liner Notes: … And the band played on to thunderous applause, as the world ended in flames. This is a chilling tale about the end of the world, after the people with the fingers on the buttons take that final fatal step. Like ‘Someone Else’s Dream’, the vocals called for a harsh style to reflect the aggressive music and message. This was the most complex song on the album with compound time signatures, syncopated drums, literally dozens of guitar parts, choirs, orchestras, samples… you name it, it was in there! You know a song is going to be epic the moment we break out the glockenspiel!

Words: T. Grose Music: T. Grose / T. Yatras

Intro bass solo: Felipe Andreoli

Guitar solos: LT / Craig Goldy / Stu Marshall

Guitar solos: Glen Drover / Olof Mörck / Mark / LT

Bass solo: Juz

Keyboard solo: LT

Guitar solos: Chris Porcianko / LT / Chris Brooks / Olof Mörck / LT / Mark

Drum solo: TY

Guitar solos: LT / Richie Hausberger / Mark / Yoshiyasu Maruyama

Bass solo: Andy

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Liner Notes: On a high ledge overlooking a ruined post-apocalyptic city he waits, listening to the distant screams of the few tragic souls who still remain in the devastation. Eternal, silent, carved from ancient stone from a forgotten age. Suddenly cracks start to appear in the figure, shafts of crimson light tear upward from the rifts, releasing the ancient spirits once trapped within the timeless stone. Four eyes flash with glowing flame as the creature returns to life with a roar. Mankind’s redemption has now arrived.

Words: n/a Music: T. Grose / T. Yatras / B. McDonald

Another city passes in the darkness
Another country come and gone
And on this never ending road I wander
Seems like I’m always on the run

So long ago
I chose this lonely road
To follow new horizons
So far to roam
A million miles from home
So many more to go…

In another life I could have been the everyman
Another tale untold for me
Cursed by the gypsy’s kiss and driven onward
To reap the winds, forever free

So long ago
I chose this lonely road
To follow new horizons
So far to roam
But one thing I know
One day I’ll find that road
That takes me home

SOLO: LT / Pete Lesperance

Another plane, another train
Another thousand miles of road
And one more day, I’ll find my way
Home to you

Now I sit here waiting in the darkness
My thoughts a million miles away
Of all the things I’ve done, all the sights and wonder
Not one thing could make me stay (one more day)

SOLO: LT

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Liner Notes: LORD has done a lot of touring over the years. It sounds glamorous from the outside but in reality it’s usually endless waiting for flights, sitting in a tour van counting the hours or hanging out backstage waiting to go on-stage. The shows themselves are fantastic but there’s a lot of downtime every day where your mind wanders back to friends, family and loved ones back home. As great as it is being on the road, there’s nothing like the feeling of walking through your front door and knowing that you’re home… until the next tour, that is.

Words: T. Grose Music: T. Grose / T. Yatras