LORD would like to thank our special guests for agreeing to be a part of Set In Stone - you have made this album into something very, very special.
(in no particular order):
Craig Goldy - legendary guitarist from Dio, and the brains behind Destiny Bridge - a service that helps aspiring artists make it in the industry. Check out Craig's site and learn more about Destiny Bridge here: www.craiggoldy.com
Pete Lesperance - guitarist for Canadian hard rockers Harem Scarem and his new project Fairground. We met Pete on a stop-over in Toronto and were blown away by his kindness and just how down-to-earth he was. Check out all of Pete's projects and amazing playing at: www.petelesperance.com
Glen Drover - ex-guitarist of Megadeth and King Diamond. Glen was the guitarist for Megadeth when Dungeon toured Australia and Europe with them in 2005. Amazingly fluid player that is offering online lessons and doing session work with some of the biggest names in metal right now. Check Glen out at: www.glendrover.ca
Felipe Andreoli - bassist from progressive metallers Angra, who Dungeon toured with in 2004 and easily one of the most talented players in the world. We're told we owe Felipe a good meal for his bass solo and we think it's easily worth that and more! Check out his official site here: www.felipeandreoli.com.br
Olof Mörck - guitarist for Dragonland, Nightrage and Amaranthe. We met Olof in 2003 on Dragonland and Dungeon's first tour of Japan and have remained great friends ever since. Check out links to all of Olof's projects here: www.myspace.com/olof_morck
Yoshiyasu Maruyama - guitarist for Argument Soul. We first met Maru on the 2003 Japanese tour and like Olof, we've also remained great friends. Maru has been invaluable in all of our Japanese tours and dealings with Japanese labels, media and companies. Maru appears courtesy of Black-listed Productions. Check out Argument Soul here: www.myspace.com/argumentsoul
Mark Furze - vocals and guitars for Falcon Road. Most people would know Mark from Australian TV, from shows like "Home And Away" and "It Takes Two", but what a lot of people don't know is he's a hard rocker at heart and a fine musician and songwriter. Mark is currently playing live and working on an album of killer tunes. Check out Falcon Road here: www.myspace.com/falconroad
Chris Brooks - solo guitar virtuoso, in our opinion one of the finest rock guitarists to ever come out of Australia. Chris contributed two solos to Ascendence that were so good we knew we had to invite him back to be a part of the new album. Check Chris out here: www.chrisbrooks.net
Stu Marshall - guitarist for Pain Division, Empires Of Eden and ex-guitarist of Dungeon. Stu was in Dungeon during some of the major tours we did to Japan and through Europe with Megadeth and left to do his own thing in 2005 just before the band broke up. With no hard feelings since the split, Mark and LT contributed solos to Stu's Empires Of Eden project and in return Stu contributed a solo to LORD. Check out all of Stu's projects here: www.stumarshall.com.au
Richie Hausberger - ex-guitarist of Enter Twilight and probably the best guitar tech we've ever had the good fortune of working with, "Moose" (as we know him) has been a great friend to the band over the years. Richie is working on a few new projects right now which will no doubt see the light of day really soon.
Chris Porcianko - guitarist of Vanishing Point, one of Australia's leading melodic metal bands. We've known Chris and Vanishing Point for over ten years and have played countless shows and festivals with them. They've been having great success worldwide and it was cool to have Chris be a part of the album. Check out Vanishing Pont here: www.vanishing-point.com.au
Juz - ex-bassist of Dungeon back from the early days of the band hitting the Sydney pub circuit. Juz contributed bass to the first LORD album and has been busy playing bass in several well known touring acts. He doesn't have a website of his own, but his "good friend" Demonica Lewinsky from Platinum Brunette does: www.platinumbrunette.com.au
Tania Moran - extraordinarily talented pop vocalist with several international releases under her belt. Tania contributed vocals to Ascendence and Hear No Evil, and we just had to ask her back to be a part of Set In Stone. Find Tania on the web here: www.myspace.com/taniamoran
(All liner notes by LT. Lyrics reprinted by kind permission.)
Spectres Of The Ascendant
Music and concept: T. Grose
(INSTRUMENTAL)
On a high ledge overlooking a ruined post-apocolyptic 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.
Redemption
Words / Music: T. Grose / T. Yatras
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
CHORUS:
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…
REPEAT CHORUS
SOLO: LT / MARK
REPEAT FIRST PRE-CHORUS
REPEAT CHORUS x2
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!
100 Reasons
Words / 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
PRE-CHORUS:
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
CHORUS:
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
REPEAT PRE-CHORUS
REPEAT CHORUS
SOLO: LT
REPEAT PRE-CHORUS
REPEAT CHORUS OUT
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.
Eternal Storm
Words: M. Furtner Music: M. Furtner / 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
PRE-CHORUS:
Once were dreaming
Now are living
Feel the rain begin to pour
Hear the wind lift off and soar
CHORUS:
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
REPEAT PRE-CHORUS
REPEAT CHORUS
SOLO: MARK
REPEAT CHORUS
SOLO: MARK
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.
Set In Stone
Lyrics: T. Grose Music: 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
PRE-CHORUS:
Got the hunger but we're wanting more
Forever reaching higher
Remember what we're fighting for
The writing on the wall is
CHORUS:
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
REPEAT PRE-CHORUS
REPEAT CHORUS x 2
SOLO: LT / LT / MARK / LT / MARK
REPEAT PRE-CHORUS
REPEAT CHORUS x 4 + AD LIBS
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!
Someone Else's Dream
Words: T. Grose / T. Yatras / A. Dowling 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
CHORUS:
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
REPEAT CHORUS
SOLO: MARK / LT
REPEAT FIRST AND SECOND VERSE
REPEAT CHORUS
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.
Forever
Words: T. Grose Music: T. Grose / A. Dowling / 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…
CHORUS:
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
REPEAT CHORUS
"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
REPEAT CHORUS x 2
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.
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.
Beyond The Light
Words: M. Furtner / A. Dowling / T. Grose Music: T. Grose / 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
CHORUS:
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
REPEAT CHORUS
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.
The End Of Days
Lyrics: 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
PRE-CHORUS:
The time has come; it’s the end of days
Our peaceful life: A ticking bomb
Our time has slipped away
CHORUS:
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
REPEAT PRE-CHORUS & CHORUS
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
REPEAT PRE-CHORUS
REPEAT CHORUS x2
... 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!
Be My Guest
Music: T. Grose / T. Yatras / B. McDonald
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
We have been really fortunate in our travels to meet some incredible musicians, both in well known bands and in their own personal projects that only their closest friends would know about. We make absolutely no secret of the fact that this song is just an excuse for us to get together with our friends and heroes to jam on some solos. Not the deepest bit of writing we've ever done, and most certainly tongue-in-cheek in places, but some of the most breathtaking playing you'll hear from anyone in the world from some of the world's finest musicians. This was a hell of a lot of fun to do and a massive thrill for us to be able to work with the guests who took part in this song.
New Horizons
Words: T. Grose Music: T. Grose / T. Yatras
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
CHORUS 1:
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
CHORUS 2:
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)
REPEAT CHORUS 2 x2
SOLO: LT
LORD has done a lot of touring over the last few 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.
