(life)
I long for days like this
My heart pounds when you are near
The gift of life
Treasure it, for it is pure
Embrace it with all your heart
Not a thousand years of pain
Would be worth the loss of this
I hold for you a special gift
And on this day, a new life begins
(torn)
Facade the day of forest green
And calm my breath with words of plight
A question I ponder this hour
The light for me, or shadows engulf?
(death)
I am the answers you seek
You stand before me
And I see your sorrow
Even now, in your agony
You can have your doubt
For one last time
(torn)
Do I make make the sacrifice?
To walk among the restless souls?
How can I let this go on?
Torn between love and life
All is dead in my eyes
(death)
Close your eyes and welcome the truth
Innocence is so sweet
For only the aging of the flesh
Shall rain upon the sorrows of life
Admire this touch of heaven
Before it fades
I remember days of old
And through your grief, one stands clear
I can see you forge a smile
All these flowers are turning to snow
For all is lost in your heart
It's only her love that keeps you alive
Now's the time for your pain to end
(life)
How can I ever live without you?
This all seems so perfect
So perfect, until I dream of you
And your smile is my sunshine
(life)You deserve more than this
(death)Your saviour has come
(life)A strong soul to carry on
(death)To take you home
(life)I need you here with me
(death)Follow me now
(life)To pick me up when I fall
(death)Before the sunlight fades
- Novemeber's Doom (2002)
November's Doom is like Daylight Dies in that they have been around for a while and put out consistently great material, but managed to stay under the radar of the mainstrean metal crowd. I've known of their existence for a long time, but never really got around to listening to them. After hearing their latest effort, I was quite intrigued and decided to examine some of their back catalog. I was rewarded greatly by coming across this one.
The song is slow and melancholic. It is sung in 3 voices - a clean female voice (life), and clean male voice (torn), and a death growl (death). The conversation is a haunting one detailing someone about to make the ultimate sacrifice and the two forces pulling upon him. Both life and death are pulling on the hero, and he must make the decision on to which destination he must journey.
In a way I'm reminded of "Stay" by Shakespear's Sister, only this time we hear the voice of the lover in the story (how awesome would it be if Marcella Detroit and Siobhan Fahey were the voices of life and death here?). While the hero here must decide on whether to make the ultimate sacrifice, the song is a huge metaphor for choice. Everyday we make decisions, but none are more important than when someone is depending on you. A parent makes decisions for the child, where in this case the child is life and selfishness is death. A police officer makes decisions for the safety of the public... here life is that order and safety while death could be literal. As in the song, death represents the easy way out.
This is not by any means a happy song. It is filled with a darkness and sadness not often heard in song. One can almost hear the emotional honesty in life's voice. The music gets heavy when death speaks, giving us an idea of how big torn's decision really is. November's Doom has me hooked with this song and can count me as a fan.
What do you think, Mardi?
