Category: Metal Tuesday

This week’s Metal Tuesday concludes Iced Earth’s Gettysburg trilogy with “High Water Mark”. This song covers the third, and final, day of the Battle of Gettysburg.

Lyrics:

It was very close, yesterday
I thought for sure, they would break
But this attack, that I have planned
A massive strike across open land

In the center, they will break
(Will they break?)
But plan it well, everything’s at stake
We’ll hit ’em hard, not a silent gun
Before the Infantry’s begun

Execute it well, we risk everything
It’s in Gods hands now

General Lee, I must tell you straight
I believe this attack will fail
No fifteen thousand men ever made
Will overtake that ridge today
A mile charge over open ground
With Yankee cannon gunnin’ us down

We do our duty, we do what we must
And in my plan, you will trust
(Thousands die on this day)
Execute it well, we risk everything
It’s in Gods hands now

The rebel cannon break the silence
One hundred fifty guns make up their cannonade
They must destroy the Union Center
Before the Infantry can launch their grand assault

The Yankees are returning fire
(The Earth shakes violently)
In Washington D.C. Lincoln
Feels the earth shake

What happens here this day
The fate of this nation
In the balance it will hang
Consumed with the pain

The courage of the blue
The valor of the grey
So very sad but true
Consumed with the pain

The Virginians are the chosen
In wait behind the trees on Seminary Ridge
Longstreet’s slow to give the orders
The lines emerged a mile, fifteen thousand men

The charge begins in all its grandeur
(To the copse of trees)
For many of these men
They know it is their last

The slaughter now ensues
Bodies fall like rain
They valiantly pursue
Yet doomed to remain

At the double quick they charge
The canister rips through them
To the mouth of hell they march
Glory, the only gain

We’re almost there my boys
I’ve never served with finer
We must push forward boys
And bayonet the Yankee tyrants

To the copse of trees we charge
To crush the Union Center
And when they turn and run
An open road leads us to freedom

It’s over now we are retreating
I never thought that we’d be beaten
All this blood is on my hands
The thousands dead due to my plan

I am responsible, all of it is my fault
I thought us invincible
Is this gods will, after all?
I look across this blood soaked land

All this blood is on my hands
God forgive me, please forgive me
It’s all my fault
The blood is on my hands

This week’s Metal Tuesday continues Iced Earth’s Gettysburg trilogy with “Hold at All Costs.” This song deals with the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, and includes references to the charge by the Maine 20th.

Lyrics:

Just a mile or so away
Is my dearest friend in this world
He wears the blue and I, the grey
And God, it hurts me so

The last time we were together
I grabbed his hand and I pledged
If I ever draw my sword on you
May the good Lord strike me dead

The union flank’s in trouble
To the round top on the double
A bad decision, insubordination
Exposed our line in a dangerous way

The burden lies upon us
Surrender is not an option
We are the flank and if we break
The union crumbles, we could lose the war

Down below’s the carnage
The rebels charging onward
Push the slaughter forward, the peach orchard
Through the wheat field and devil’s den

The valor of the Texans
And Alabama’s best men
They’re unrelenting and devastating
The last full measure of devotion’s clear

We’ll know what we’re made of
When up against all odds, we hold our line
For the cause that we so love
We must hold at all costs

We’ll know what we’re made of
When our nation needs us
We’ll stay the course for the union we so love

We must hold at all costs

Wave after wave, they are coming
Their power must be waning
We’re out of ammo, we can’t fall back, no
A desperate measure, a means to end

On their next wave, we charge them
There is no other option
Disconcert them, force submission
On my command, fix bayonets

We’ll know what we’re made of
When up against all odds, we hold our line
For the cause that we so love
We must hold at all costs

We’ll know what we’re made of
When our nation needs us
We’ll stay the course for the union we so love
We must hold at all costs

We’ll know what we’re made of
(The burden lies with us)
When up against all odds, we hold our line
(We can’t fail)
(For the cause that we so love)
For the cause that we so love
We must hold at all costs

We’ll know what we’re made of
(With courage in our hearts)
When our nation needs us, we’ll stay the course
(We won’t fail)
(For the union we so love)
For the union we so love
We must hold at all cost

For the next three weeks, we will be doing Iced Earth’s Gettyburg trilogy. Each song covers one day of the Battle of Gettysburg. This week is the first day of the battle with “The Devil to Pay.”

Lyrics:

In July 1863
A nation torn in tragedy
A trick of fate, two great armies merge
Gods of war at Gettysburg

Devastation lies ahead
Fifty thousand bodies litter the land
Hell rages three full days
The reaper sows, there’s the devil to pay

The pressure’s on and the rebs attack
The yanks must hold, they can’t fall back
Just two brigades, two thousand strong
Against twenty thousand they can’t hold long

General Reynolds makes his way
Expect no mercy from the iron brigade
Until he shows they’re on their own
But Buford’s men have a will of stone

Bayonets gleam in the morning sun
Smoke and fire belching from their guns
Another volley and again they strike
Thousands more coming down the Chambersburg Pike

This tragedy and what it brings all the devastation
(The reaper has his way)
Men will kill and blood will spill to preserve the nation
(There’s the devil to pay)

This tragedy and what it brings all the devastation
(The reaper has his way)
Men will kill and blood will spill to preserve the nation
(There’s the devil to pay)

South of town down the Emmitsburg road
The first corps are starting to show
For Buford’s men, they’re here just in time
The desperate need to strengthen the line

Bodies dropping the blue and the gray
Muskets fire and the cannon blaze
The union fights defending the town
But they’re outnumbered and losing ground

From the north and the west more rebels arrive
Thousands more and the fight multiplies
McPherson’s ridge and the black hats strike
A rebel sharpshooter takes Reynolds life

This tragedy and what it brings all the devastation
(The reaper has his way)
Men will kill and blood will spill to preserve the nation
(There’s the devil to pay)

This tragedy and what it brings all the devastation
(The reaper has his way)
Men will kill and blood will spill to preserve the nation
(There’s the devil to pay)

Attack, attack, general Lee gives command
They’re overwhelmed, the situation demands
The federals retreat and rush out of town
But they have fortified and saved the high ground

The day ends, victory for the south
Lee’s as convinced as God’s will is profound
They are invincible and their cause is just
But long street is cautious and lacking in trust

Across the way the union digs in
The round tops, cemetery ridge and out to Culps Hill
Their lines are strong, no denying they’ll stay
When the confederates strike there’ll be the devil to pay

This tragedy and what it brings all the devastation
(The reaper has his way)
Men will kill and blood will spill to preserve the nation
(There’s the devil to pay)

This tragedy and what it brings all the devastation
(The reaper has his way)
Men will kill and blood will spill to preserve the nation
(There’s the devil to pay)

This tragedy and what it brings all the devastation
(The reaper has his way)
Men will kill and blood will spill to preserve the nation
(There’s the devil to pay)

This tragedy and what it brings all the devastation
(The reaper has his way)
Men will kill and blood will spill to preserve the nation
(There’s the devil to pay)

With the Fourth of July this Thursday, I felt Madison Rising’s rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” to be an appropriate song. I don’t really consider Madison Rising to be metal, but I’m willing to overlook it because their rendition of the national anthem is probably my favorite.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8C7i9kdEf8

If you don’t know the lyrics to national anthem, consider it your civic homework.

This week’s Metal Tuesday is Black Majesty’s “Firestorm.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLgnKaqufDE

Lyrics:

Now that the war is over I have returned to find myself
Things that I’ve said and things that I have done
Come like lead ricocheting off a steel wall

Lost in a dream reality a haunting song sings out a tune of sorrow
Never imagining what we once had lays buried beneath the sand
Buried beneath the land

Firestorm
You left us to fight on this holy land
Now alone
Eternally burnt in my mind is this firestorm

Clouds hanging low the bodies below are your children
They have died for your gain
Scared and confused you’ve lost what you found now you cry now you cry for mercy

Still in a dream reality a haunting song still rings this tune of sorrow
Never remembering what we once had lays buried beneath the sand
Buried beneath the land

Firestorm
You left us to fight on this holy land
Now alone
Eternally burnt in my mind
Firestorm
You left us to fight on this holy land
Now alone
Eternally burnt in my mind is this firestorm

Reality is not a dream no haunting tune to sing a song of sorrow
Always a memory what we once had
Lays buried beneath my sand
Buried my land

This week’s Metal Tuesday is Savatage’s “Beyond the Doors of the Dark.”

Savatage was one of my early favorite bands, partly because they were Tampa. They were also one of the first bands I caught in concert when they played the first Livestock back in 1991.

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p>Lyrics:
Listen to me, children of the night
Beyond the doors of darkness you will find
A thousand worlds for you to see here
Take my hand and follow me, ohh oh

Beyond the doors of the dark
Demon in your heart
Scream and thrash your head
Turn around, now you’re dead
Under the darkened haze
Lost here in glaze
Are you looking to be free?

A never ending suicide
Of nightmares you have inside, oh

Another day’s begun
Under the moon and sun
Circle has been drawn
Life has been prolonged
Hell is eternity
Hell is your destiny
I’ll tell you to die

A never ending suicide
Of nightmares you have inside, yeah

Ohh, beyond the doors of the dark, yeah
Beyond the doors of the dark, oh
Oh yeah

It’s time to meet your fate
Heaven can wait
All the walls are closing in
Things crawl on your skin
He’s grabbing down at you
There’s nothing you can do
No place to run and hide

A never ending suicide
Of nightmares you have inside, oh

Ohh, ohh
Ohh, ohh
Ohh, ohh
Ohh, ohh
Ohh

Oh
Ohh, ohh
Ohh, ohh
Ohh, ohh
Ohh, ohh
Oh yeah

He wants to take your soul
You know you’re dreaming
Call your precious little life
Under my knife
Hell is eternity
Hell is your destiny
I’ll tell you to die

A never ending suicide
Of nightmares you have inside, oh

Ohh, beyond the doors of the dark, yeah
Beyond the doors of the dark, oh yeah
Beyond the doors of the dark, yeah, oh
Oh, no no

Ohh

This week’s Metal Tuesday is Pyramaze’s “The Mighty Abyss.”

Lyrics:

Endless ocean, oh mighty deep
A billion years old, and you never ever sleep
Nightmare creatures and playful friends
God’s creations or natures circumstance

Look into the mirror of blue
And you’ll see

(chorus)
The almighty abyss
I often stare into
The almighty abyss
Always looking back at you…….oh……

Stop to listen, and you will hear
The songs of centuries, they’ll filling your ears
Shadows pass by just like a dream
Under the surface they’re watching through the years

Look into the mirror of blue
And you’ll see

The almighty abyss
I often stare into
The almighty abyss
Always looking back at you
The almighty abyss
I often stare into
The almighty abyss
Always looking back at you……ah

See
Hear
You will know
You will feel

The almighty abyss
I often stare into
The almighty abyss
Always looking back at you
The almighty abyss
I often stare into
The almighty abyss
Always looking back at you……ah

This week’s Metal Tuesday is Sabaton’s “Midway.”

The song is about the Battle of Midway, which occurred 71 years ago today. This was one of those battles that make World War II such a dramatic part of history. A daring gambit by the Japanese countered by a daring gambit of the Americans that ended up changing the course of the Pacific War.

Lyrics:

Send them over the waves
Our sentinels
They report in the news
Position of our foes
This battlefield´s been choosen, tactically in advance
Time to alert our fighters
We´re soon in range
Midway
We’ll meet at Midway
Naval War
Calling all men to deck
Got to be airborne
Head out into the sun
Decending on our foes
This is the crucial moment, in the heat of the war
To fly and hit our targets
Down in the waves
Midway
Display their might, ordering carriers, admirals at war
We’ll meet at Midway
To win the fight, tactics are crucial, naval war
Far from shore, a pacific war
bombs are falling from the skies
Its a bombrun day, it the naval way
A bloodred sun is on the rise

This week’s Metal Tuesday is Quiet Riot’s “Bang Your Head (Metal Health)”. Although, I consider this more hard rock than heavy metal, this was one of the bands that put me down the road to finding bands like Manowar, Metallica, Savatage, and Iron Maiden, who, in turn, would really light the metal fire in me.

Lyrics are in the YouTube video.

This week’s Metal Tuesday is brought to you by Metallica and the song “Of Wolf and Man.” I know what you’re thinking, why that song instead of one of Metallica’s bigger hits?

Probably because of this.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=guTTGJ_PK2Q

Lyrics in the YouTube post.