| War of Ages I. The Creation II. Of Beasts and Men III. Cryptic Sands IV. Olympus in Ruins V. Thunder Upon the Seas VI. A King Long Forgotten VII. Blades of Honor VIII. Home of the Brave IX. Crimson Nights X. On the Devil's Sunset XI. Streets of Fire XII. Cybergeddon XIII. Angelworld |
| War of Ages is a musical journey through the greatest eras of human history. We use the emotion and aggression of heavy metal to bring forth tales of battles and legends from the beginning to the end of human history. Though fictional and modern in presentation, War of Ages expresses the spirit, culture, and values of the past, bringing forth a diversely colorful picture. The songs stand alone as true representatives of this full image, but they also play a significant role in a larger concept: That humanity is forced to fight within a cycle of spiritual and physical battles to survive, and that we can only dream that this cycle may one day end. To purchase "War of Ages" please mail a $12 check in a self-addressed envelope to Christopher Stout 2000 N. Parkway Memphis, TN 38112 |
| Song Descriptions I. The Creation (human origins) This overture text-paints the events of the biblical creation, from the coming of first light to the birth of mankind. The biblical interpretation to this phenomenon serves as an excellent summary of this universal concept, thus making a great basis for the introduction of the album and keeping the vague subject matter more open to the music doing the work. II. Of Beasts and Men (primal man) This song is a war chant for early man's quest to escape the wilderness. Through this process, the first signs of civilizations are revealed. As the chosen "beast," humanity rises above the jungle but vows the oath never to forget their animal origins. The power rock body of the song mixes with a grinding opening, framing the contrast of man's animalism and civilized state. The War of Ages ventures forth as primal man fortells the coming of grander cultures. III. Cryptic Sands (ancient egypt) This song tells the story of a long-dead pharoah who begs the gods to raise him from the dead to avenge his people against his tyrannical descendants. The music keeps fast and heavy but still maintains the cultural flavor in the song's melody. Retaining melody and keeping heavy, this song is one of the War of Ages' strongest numbers. IV. Olympus in Ruins (classical greece) In man's newfound glory in philosophy and culture they blaspheme against the gods of their ancestors. Enraged, Zeus vows to destroy the empire that they have created. The choppy beat of the song carries into a more atmospheric bridge, transforming the point of view of the song from mankind to the wrathful Zeus, thus finishing the song strong and heavy. V. Thunder Upon the Seas (viking northlands) An all-out rocker, this song serves as a war ballad prasing the spirits of fallen heroes. In the glory of their death, the adventurers fight bravely and earn their place at Valhalla, the warrior afterlife. This song sustains the warrior spirit of the far past using the energy of modern-day metal. VI. A King Long Forgotten (dark age europe) A poor old man on his deathbed tells the tale of a long-forgotten king of another land who lost his kingdom at the death of his true love. Before his final breath, he confesses that the king was in fact himself long ago. This song, more than any, carries the medieval metal theme and diversifies its tempo and aggression to express the varying emotions of the story. VII. Blades of Honor (feudal japan) A samurai's master is slain by a higher lord, so the warrior must fight to his death to save his master's honor. But when he falls in love with a peasant girl he finds a new purpose to live and is torn by duty and passion. Clenching his slaughtered master's swords, he accepts his duty to fight but vows to be victorious and live so he may return to his love. The slow tempo and heavy texture mixes uniquely, making this song both a challenge and treat to indulge embrace. VIII. Home of the Brave (revolutionary america) This song is lyrically and musically very patriotic, praising our forefathers who fought and died for our freedom so that we may live in the greatest country in the world. Even in this later, more close-to-home era of history, the warrior code stands strong and forges the greatest of nations. IX. Crimson Nights (gothic romanticism) This song is more artistically and less historically based than the others. Carrying the dark, supernatural theme of Victorian-age romanticism, this song tells of lovers' spirits dwelling among us as ghosts of the night. Are these spirits condemned together from some other afterlife, or is their salvation simply found in one another on earth rather than some other heavenly existence? This song may be musically dark and even horrifying, but it is also inarguably the most beautiful of the War of Ages. X. On the Devil's Sunset (american west) In a fit of rage, a gunslinger kills his best friend after taking a fatal blow. Riding into the sunset to die in solitude, he is met by the devil and discovers that he has repeated the same day thousands of times and is in fact a spirit of a ghost town. He is ultimately cursed for his sin to relive the worst day of his life and forgetting his curse the next day, simply living it again. This more epic number mixes the acoustic-like rhythm of a western ballad with a heavy, fast-paced climax. XI. Streets of Fire (urban present) This song wastes no time. It is pure heavy metal. No more. No less. Based on the urban biker theme, it describes the long-past warrior code that continues to exist within these modern-day knights on horseback. XII. Cybergeddon (futuristic endtimes) The prophecies of Revelations come true in a futuristic age when technology has overcome our humanity. After abandoning the voices of the past, man has lost all hope in surviving this unknown threat. Only those who have not forgotten the oath of early man to remember the ancient ways are chosen to live. Mixing synths, guitar effects and metallic rhythms, this song retains the freshness of metal but conjures the mechanical setting of a doomed future-world. XIII. Angelworld (final kingdom) When all seems dead and gone, a newborn kingdom rises from the clouds and brings new hope for life. Living among heaven's angels, man has reached the final hour of the War of Ages and stands victorious against the eternal battle. But when they forget their place as the chosen race, the angels leave mankind with the new kingdom to rule themselves. With angel's blood in their viens, man is reborn as a new and perfect nephalim race. The War of Ages is won and the cycle at last has ended. Or has it? |