The Last Emperor

On an auburn hillside, backlit by the dusk Three priests now stand before a horde of somber men Surrounded by the relics of saints now long dead Intimidated by the aura, they obey Blessed are you, you who go to war Blessed are you, you who fight for God The winds are howling, crying out for change The southern winds are baying, crying out for blood Here I find myself, a sinner with luck Never have I had to pay for my sins Weary and weak, yearning for absolution Burn! Feeling the blood course through my veins in a brief moment of respite Now there’s a chance to redeem myself and bring some honor back to my name Kill all who attack the flock Maim all who occupy our lands Burn those who stand in our way Praise all who die for the faith Settle the debt and clear out the past, that I might make it right with God God surely wills it He wills us to free every lamb that’s under the yoke Rise, Knights of Bouillon! Rise to the task! Stand up and fight for those who’ve been faithful and true — an unyielding frame This is truly the ideal resolve There, Jerusalem, a city of light! This is the place where I shall find absolution, mercy divine! This is the place where I shall die Hold back all your tears, steel all your hearts Wave after wave we shall deny Never again we’ll abdicate another yard of Christian soil Kill! All who hold attack the flock Maim! All who devastate our lands Burn! Those who stand in our way Praise! All who die for the cross Guitar Solo: Michael

Submitted by VladTheImpaler666 — Apr 25, 2025

Set the wheel in motion, unleash the wave This is the wondrous crusade! For the land is bleeding out in the east And we shall wash their wounds of filth Somewhere they suffer, somewhere they cry Somewhere the children are misled, deceived That’s where we’re needed, that’s where we’ll go That’s where the holy light will shine again Steel my shaking heart Bleeding realm Despite the courage I show, it’s fear that’s running strong below No matter what they might say, I still can’t bring myself to cheer Take up your cross, do not fear what’s to come Never you mind all the pain Live for today This hand directs me, that voice commands What choice then only rests with me? On day of judgement, you cannot say “It was my order to do so” Despite my calmness, I toil inside There’s not a beam of light and I’m alone God’s light has left me, I hear a hum Nothing for me to sense but moss and stone Somewhere they suffer, somewhere they cry Somewhere the women are caged, held down That’s where we’re needed, that’s where we’ll go That’s where the holy light will shine again Guitar Solo: Michael

Submitted by Celtic Frost — Apr 25, 2025

The air is thick with moisture on these greener pastures We’ve marched for weeks and now our food’s almost depleted Raining, cleansing waters fall on me Hail! Hail our pageantry, welcome us as friends Please support the march by feeding our men Bring your Baron here to stand before the Count Let the people gather all around He told the Priest where all the Jews did live and frequent And then we sought them out to take from them our payment Raining, screaming, gnashing jaws of anguish Tears! Screaming children weep, sitting in the mud Watch their parents mocked and beaten Help! Crying out for help, yet I still partake Ignoring the pleas from the ancient pariah Raining gold on muddy cobblestone Raining gold I feel ashamed - this ransom burns Raining gold coins, trying to buy themselves some time Girls on the second floor throwing down their gold Trying to distract our comrades Priest of the Hermit’s men now is telling them That they may as well convert or die Guitar Solo: Tony

Submitted by Corpse Grinder — Apr 25, 2025

The Kingdom! The savior will save us The Kingdom! The savior will be our guiding light For weeks now, it seems like we’ve traveled through limbo And at last we see her shine, Constantinople! Sinners and the saintly will kneel! Sinners and the saintly will halt for Alexios The saints reign from heaven The saints! Swear him oaths of fealty and he’ll open up the way Cresting, the waves of crusaders Spilling down from off the hill Resting, the Queen of all Cities Swear Alexios your word and then be on your way Expanses we traversed, starvation The desert, the hunger — it drove us to our breaking point The horses were cut and, little by little, the poor things were drained until one day they collapsed to the ground Sinners and the saintly will march! Sinners and the saintly will go marching to their fate The saints reign from heaven The saints! Spirit and the body unite when pushed to the edge Left behind Constantinople We swore to return what was theirs Blessed be the Queen of all Cities For all the lands and people lost, lost to Seljuk Turks Far off in the distance, I see Nicaea Far off in the distance, perhaps we’ll find relief Fortress in shrouds Shimmers on the lake Head in the clouds Coming down the hill Long did I seek for a path to salvation Never could I wash off the scales from my poor eyes Long did I struggle to free myself from my chains Never could I break off the bindings of my guilt and shame Sinners and the saintly will fall Sinners and the saintly are equals in the great abyss The saints reign from heaven The saints! When I take my last breath, I hope I can laugh and smile But how can I live with this burden? How can I ease my heart before I die? Grace to the ones we have plundered I will never sleep the same Grant me healing rain Rain now I will never be alone Weeping, trembling at the throne Golden eyes stare back at me Guitar Solo 1: Tony Guitar Solo 2: Michael

Submitted by Nargaroth — Apr 25, 2025

As you treat the lowest, so you treat The Lamb But suppose it were so, that you were the lowest Would it stand to reason that you should be kindest to yourself above all, as though you yourself were Christ? Deus vult! Crying for reason God’s will! Spiritual treason Deus vult! No room for saints here Gone asunder This is the moment of decision Every day’s a chance to be a righteous man Now is the time for your salvation In the end of it you must own what you do Soft determinism opens up my life to accept what may come, but still allows me to try I accept that I cannot change what is outside me Grant me only the power to improve my perspective This is the moment of creation Belonging where I am, I only take what’s given This is the time for absolution I let the weight of all my shortcomings dissolve Lay your burden down Enter the water without a ripple Sunrise, embrace! Arms outstretched Bless both friends and enemies The walls before me, the walls within Both will be shattered, both will give in Life as machine, so unaware I feel it draining like poisoned, dripping ichor This is the moment of baptism I cannot call my life a meaningless mistake This is the moment of renewal I preach to introduce democracy to heaven Guitar Solo: Tony

Submitted by Dahmers Fridge — Apr 25, 2025

Stand alone among the throngs, I blaspheme silently Nobody knows my private crime Walk with me Outside the city of Antioch Crusaders patiently laying siege Until the day came for Raynald Porchet The knight was captured and paraded on the walls “I will not plead or beg” Upon the walls, there on his knees He’s on his way back home No ransom, don’t you pay for my life or lift the siege You must persist Please fight hard, I’ve seen that behind the walls they are weakened Keep your resolve On his knees before the general, who offered anything if he’d apostatize The clever Raynald asked for some time to think about the proposition that he faced For days on end, so piously he prayed unto his God “I won’t apostatize” He used the time to pray and ask for the strength to be prepared for what God willed It wasn’t long before an interpreter found him out and saw he wouldn’t capitulate Just like the Jews who could not sing their song of God on foreign soil These blasphemies kept in my mind could turn into a cross to bear On the walls, Raynald was paraded before us Helplessly, I watched him kneel One last time, a smile he offered to me before he died The headless saint of Antioch Guitar Solo: Tony

Submitted by Dahmers Fridge — Apr 25, 2025

Morning dew and beams of the sunrise This is life! I’m one with the landscape We’re on the hunt, just like our ancestors Seal the bond between man and beast alike Such silence, the moment is shattered by a helpless scream Nothing but blood United through the ties of common faunal bloodlines Nothing but blood A line of heritage woven through the fabric of life Out of breath, and now paralyzed by the stunning sight of a brown bear so fearsome Its cornered prey -- a scavenging pilgrim Pounding heart, adrenaline starts to course Your moment, your window of opportunity to shine Nothing but blood I step between the two and stare the creature down Nothing but blood My blade is shimmering as the bear begins to charge Flowing, the wounds of myself and the bear flow You can’t tell whose blood belongs to who The soil is steaming It’s drinking deep the blood A heaving, a straining The wall of bones and fur falls down Nothing but blood My sword becomes a cane as I survey the carnage Nothing but blood The pilgrim has his life, but have I still the strength to lead? Antioch -- I’m grievously wounded “Rest, lord! Your men will wait for you to recover” Guitar Solo 1: Tony Guitar Solo 2: Michael

Submitted by Lake of Tears — Apr 25, 2025

On a silent, starless night Bohemond feigned retreat On a silent, starless night Antioch bled from every pore Helpless I watch, useless on this perch My wounds have healed, but still I cannot fight All that it took was one man’s betrayal Open the gates, behold the wrath of God Blessed are you, you who go to war Blessed are you, you who fight for God The winds are howling, crying out for change The southern winds are baying, crying out for love Such carnage, revolting It’s hard to stomach all the gore Mangled, contorted It’s tragic, but alas! They had a chance to surrender, and this is the way it’s always been For hundreds of years we were the targeted Kafir, fighting to hold onto each parcel of land The heart of the Jihad, pumping blood and destruction into the veins of Western nations Bohemond, clever and sly, arranged to steal away command of Antioch You’d break the oath you swore to return what was theirs? I call you coward, to cheat Alexios! Purged of my guilt and yet I feel no peace of mind We share the same blood as the beasts I feel it throb in every wound that I took on — balance me! Jerusalem is where it falls to cut out the rot from humankind Jerusalem is where it falls for us to choose to end the weakness in our hearts Under my leadership we took Jerusalem They offered me it's gold, coveted crown How could I wear a crown of gold in the same city where Christ did wear a crown of thorns? Lead as the King of Kings, and serve your fellow man lovingly Jerusalem is where it falls to cut out the rot from humankind Jerusalem is where it falls for us to choose between forgiveness and the beast Guitar Solo: Tony

Submitted by Corpse Grinder — Apr 25, 2025

On the field I can see him riding inspired All those legends that we have heard in our youth Now it's time to stand, measure ourselves against him Back to the French lines "Vive l'Empereur!" It's my desire to defend the name Back to the fire "Vive l'Empereur!" What I require was refused again But as my thoughts return to home and what's ahead I was a slave to what my family forged Thoughts of my son, I will not fail him now! I'll pass the light, give him all the might He'll be the King of Rome I'll pass the light safely through the night He'll be the King of Rome From the battlefield, I ride to my place of command There at the hilltop — thinking of your son! The heir-apparent, your time will come There in my shadows — no hope you can see! I'll fight despite them, too much is at stake But as my thoughts return to home and what's ahead I was a slave to what my family forged Thoughts of my son, I will not fail him now! I'll pass the light, give him all the might He'll be the King of Rome I'll pass the light safely through the night He'll be the King of Rome

Submitted by Sexy Gargoyle — Apr 25, 2025