1. THE HAMMER'S STRIKE

A storm is approaching that's pulling us down
Keeping our backs turned, we leave ourselves bound
Creating the tempest we're trying to still
Often forgetting we write our own will

[Chorus]
The hammer strikes hard searching for vengeance
The toll is high for a carried out sentence
When the gavel descends your freedom ends
And the cost of your choice like lightning descends

All your life you've kept your motives concealed
And now at last we find the reason revealed
Always trying to put your guilt on the shelf
Avoiding the term that you bring on yourself

[Chorus]

Enter the shrink who will search to find reason
Say that who you are can change like the season
Try and talk your way out claiming life has been bad
Point the finger to mom and surely to dad

It's been brought to my attention
That the need for this detention
Is not for you to pay your due
But for me to work and pay for you

Confess what you've done
Deceive no one
Support what you show
Prove what you know

Why don't you take what's coming?
Why don't you stop running?
If this is what justice demands
Then the price is out of your hands

When you try and lay blame
Where it doesn't belong
All you see is a mirror
Though the sentence you bear
Fails to undo the wrong
Does it bring redemption nearer?

Attorneys represent
Our country's slow descent
Sometimes it seems that their aim
Is to feed the corruption's flame

So many alibis
That hide too many lies
That lead us from the truth
So the courts become no use

The gavel that lies in your hand
Is the power that rules the land
The witness that lies at the stand
Is the coward the criminal planned

Won't someone please, please tell me
How we can let it slide so far
Won't someone please, please show me
How we've reached the point where we are

What's gone wrong, what's the cause?
Without enforcement what good are laws
What good is time if it doesn't fit the crime
What good are judges who aren't worth a dime

The gavel that lies in your hand
Is the power that rules the land
The witness that lies at the stand
Breaks the oath that was made with his hand

We let ourselves be overrun
When we fail to convict the guilty
And the hammer's strike sets free
Those who plague society


2. ALTERED STATE

Winding down life's dusty road
A highway carved from stone
Following a path of hope
My destination still unknown

Drifting through a silent dream
Afraid I've been betrayed
Focusing to reach the end
A message shared I must relay

I know I'll face all fear
I know a choice is drawing near
I know that all I feel inside
Leaves room for change I can't deny

[Chorus]
I've traveled far to reach the top
The mountain lies before me
I understand the choice I make
I've learned to live with what must be

Shifting out of where I've been
Seeing more than I saw then
Finding choice in what's been said
Seeing work in what's ahead

What I felt inside my mind
I had no doubt that I could find
I've reached the door without a key
Content with what I've learned to see

I know I'll face all fear
I know a choice is drawing near
I know that all I feel inside
Leaves room for change that I can't hide

[Chorus]

I know I'll face all fear
I know a choice is drawing near
I know that all I feel inside
won't let me fall, won't let me slide

[Chorus]


3. MISTS OF DARKNESS

a) The Mist

(Instrumental)


b) Washed Away

All alone in the silence of the morning
Wake to find there's nothing there
That's worth living for
That's worth dying for
Either way you don't care

Loss of interest in the things that once drove you
To a place where you could see
There's things worth living for
There's things worth dying for
They're things that set you free

You've fallen prey to the darkness all around you
Felt it wash away all that you are
And in the fallout you sense a new beginning
But you can't find the will and don't have the heart

And you feel you're falling
And you know you're drowning
And your chance is fading
And your strength is failing

[Chorus]
Sorrow, washed away in anger
Washed away in desperation all alone
Sadness, washed away in waking
Washed away in finding a way you can cope
With the things you must face
With the endless rat race
With the trial of today
With the things that they say
You don't need them
You can find a better way

Sleep the day away
It's the easy way
Too much pain today
Too much apathy

When your feelings are desperate
Your thoughts become dangerous
When your thoughts put you in duress
What's left for you is to bear it

Written on your face
Is nothing but a trace
Of where your pain is born
Of why your mind is torn

Swaying on the edge of a knife
To the brink of insanity
To the ruin of reality
Your perception of your life
Has warped what's going on
What's here you think is gone

Is there belief, is there relief
When the nightmare has begun
Will your mind reach for the gun
Or is there strength inside your soul
To give you back control
Only you could know

And you feel you're falling
And you know you're drowning
And your chance is fading
And your faith is failing

[Chorus]

c) Silent Suffering

Step outside into a world with so many people
Understand that life can be deceiving
Live in hope that you can cope for another day
Understand that giving is receiving

They say, oh I can feel the waves roll in
As time begins to slip right through my fingers

The silent suffering's all around you
It burns your soul as it surrounds you
It leaves a hole when it has bound you
It rides the waves in hope to drown you

Step inside and see a world without any people
Understand that this is not who you are
Live in trust that life's not just fearing your future
Understand that alone you've come this far

They say, oh I can feel the waves roll in
As time begins to slip right through my fingers

The silent suffering's all around you
It takes its place as it surrounds you
It hides its face from those who found you
It rides the waves in hope to drown you

They say, I want to reach another shore
I understand there's so much more
They know, inside their minds the battles rage
While placed upon life's empty stage

Find out why the suffering hides
And why each breath is filled with need
Presence of mind to reach inside
And find out why old wounds still bleed

They say, oh I can feel new life begin
As hope has found a grip within my fingers

The silent suffering's all around you
It burns your soul as it surrounds you
It takes its toll when it has bound you
It rides the waves in hope to drown you
Don't let it drown you


4. THREAD THE NEEDLE

He was made to travel
A place he'd never been
It's all the same
His time is running thin

A light that now shines dim
Once as bright as the sun
A door once open wide
Will now let through no one

[Chorus]
He threads the needle
He's walking the fine edge
He treats life like a game
And you know he'll end up dead
As he threads the needle
He can't remember what she said

Can you make a change
Before it grows too late
You'll never know your place in life
If all you love you hate

Don't expect my company
There's nothing left to say
And don't expect my sympathy
There's none to find today

[Chorus]

You've lived your life a gamble
And for what you cannot tell
I only hope you understand
I can't pull you out of hell

I've sacrificed all that I can
Yet you refuse to try
If you won't change your state of mind
Then I guess this is goodbye

He threads the needle
He's walking the fine edge
He treats life like a game
And you know he'll end up dead
As he threads the needle
He can't remember what she said
He treats life like a game
And you know he'll end up dead
As he threads the needle


5. EXIT WOUNDS

a) Farewell

Today's a day
That they knew could be coming
But it hurts the same anyway
The soldier is called
To take part in the battle
But he's still just dad for today

The table is set
The family is gathered
To send their father on his way
His country calls
The soldier that leads them
Is leaving to enter the fray

[Chorus]
Farewell laughter
Farewell to your boys
Farewell daughter
Farewell to your voice
Farewell father
Farewell to you son
Farewell brother
Until the war is done

What awaits no one knows
What war brings time will show
All that's certain is the cause and the man
All are hurting for the price war demands

[Chorus]

What can be said
When emotions run so high
There's a lump in his throat
And everyone he cares for is saying goodbye

Tomorrow he leaves for war
But that doesn't matter now
All that he cares about
Is enjoying this night somehow
But there's one who will suffer
More than the rest
Yet she will still remain hopeful
She will still do her best
To raise their children to be worthy
Of the freedom they possess
And to understand the sacrifice
Of a soul whose blood is shed

What awaits no one knows
What war brings time will show
All that's certain is the cause and the man
All are hurting for the price war demands

[Chorus]

b) The Soldier

Sailing far and away
From the place he wants to be
But his heart's still there
Though his job is across the sea

His thoughts are of reflection
The way he used his time
Though his life was not perfection
The moments of regret were few to find

And somehow he knows
That he won't be coming back
What he wonders the most
Is how his family will react

But now the battle draws near
Pulls him away from the past
With a sigh he moves out
Committed to lead the attack

Fear has left him and adrenaline surges
Straight ahead he sees the battlefield
The first explosion brings death closer
His mind is focused his orders clear

Believing in freedom
Enough to give his life
As the moment of truth arrives
He's not afraid to fight

Taking down the enemy quickly
He fights alongside good company
Willing to die for their country
Willing to fight to keep men free

Believing in freedom
Enough to give his life
As the moment of truth arrives
He's not afraid to die

Bullets fill the air as thick as a smoke cloud
The cost of war lay spread across the ground
No one panics as the fighting turns fatal
At any moment the death toll could sound

Sudden pain strikes and he looks at himself
As he clutches his side he drops his gun
Collapsing in darkness his eyes start to dim
And the next thing he knows he is gone

Believing in freedom
Enough to give his life
As the moment of truth arrives
This is his time to die

c) The Unbeliever

Never again will I see his face
It's already lost from my memory
He's dead and gone, no sense in praying
No time is left for him to love me

He'll never see me become a man
He'll never see me do the best i can
My hope has already begun to fade
There is no miracle to stop my rage

[Chorus]
Dead and gone, no life after death
I don't believe-don't preach to me
Call me crazy but I just don't see
I think your beliefs are just fantasy
I've lost my dad and I don't know why
Anyone would choose to fight and die
He left us here and I don't believe
That war is worth the pain and grief

What comfort and peace can I have?
Is there a way I can ease my mind?
Those who claim in life beyond
Are just the blind leading the blind

He'll never be here to share my dreams
To give advice when life is bleak
I feel abandoned in my hour of need
My anger builds, another flame to feed

[Chorus]

d) Daddy's Little Girl

Daddy's little girl
Just a little girl now
The pain so unbearable
That she simply shuts down

She's sitting in the corner
Not a word will pass her mouth
Since the news arrived
She's withdrawn into herself

So much crying
Too much denying
Her delicate heart shattered
Her frail emotions battered

[Chorus]
The point of ruin so near
For the child he held so dear
Can a girl so young survive the loss?
Can her will rise up and bear this cross?
Or for her is all life's meaning lost?

She cries herself to sleep
And sleep is all she wants
It's the only way for her to cope
Her refuge from the storm

Staring at the ceiling
Another day slips into night
As teardrops soak her pillow
His image fills her mind

So much crying
Too much denying
Her delicate heart battered
Her frail emotions shattered

[Chorus]

e) The Believer

I believe that there's more than just this life
And I believe in my son's sacrifice
I can see why my boy would join the fight
And I can feel him looking down from the other side

There's no need for regret
He did what was right in his eyes
Why should I diminish his life
By seeing his death in a negative light

There are many things that don't make sense
But I never dwell on them for long
I've fought in war and seen men fall
And I know that they're not really gone

If there's nothing to believe in
Then life would have no reason
If faith is seeing blindly
Then remove my sight from me
I'm unshaken

And when I falter
I'll work my way back
To solid ground
Because I have
Conviction in the
Wisdom I have found

If there's nothing to believe in
Then life would have no reason
And death would be so senseless
For everyone not just my son
I'm decided

f) Widowed

I can't accept
That he's left my side
The days are long
And the night leaves me terrified

Every morning I wake
And put my best face on
But everything reminds me
My best friend is gone

[Chorus]
Please god save me
And help me to see
With unshaken faith
I want to believe
Show me that death
Doesn't mean that he's gone
Give me a sign
That there is life beyond

I can't find a reason
To get out of bed
His last words to me
Are stuck in my head

I'd like to believe
That i'll see him again
I'll try to keep hope
That this isn't the end

[Chorus]

In the dead of night
I wake up screaming
From this nightmare
That's become reality
I'm all mixed up inside
And i can't reconcile
Because he's gone but I believe
In what he was fighting for

In the light of day
I find strength inside
But I cannot hide
The pain that's drowning me,
Drowning me

In the dead of night
I wake up screaming
In the light of day
I find some meaning
I'm all mixed up inside
What was right has all gone wrong
And still my life will carry on
Though I'm not sure what I'm fighting for

g) The Soldier Alive

I want to be
The man my father was
And if I'm half that
I'd be a better man because
I would have faith
I would never lack love
For the people that surround me
I could never give enough
And I'd see my freedom
In the light that it's meant to shine
I'd see that nothing that surrounds me
Is gained without a price

I want to be
The man he saw in me
And if I'm half that
I know that he will see