1. ADORNED IN ASHES

(Instrumental)


2. VELVET TONGUE

A thousand tears, a thousand eyes
My friends and I, we cry
Religion has raped us
Forever we rehearse the song
That strips our throats to blood
We bare our souls in transparency
But our velvet tongues will never please their ears
But are you holding on?
I'm holding on
Look at us dying
A field of human crucifixes, weathered and fading
Heaven hears nothing as the priests are wailing
And they're crushing our souls
We feel our lives
Sifting through our hands
But we're holding on
Look at my face
Look at God in my eyes
We stand


3. AND THE KISS OF GOD'S MOUTH - PART 1

I saw a tattered cloak, drawn about the face
A gesture of farewell, to the kiss of God's mouth
Kiss the image in a stranger's casket
What has become of splendour?
Twelve strokes have fallen
And the faintly heard breath
That argued my beauty
A ruined soul bewailing
Where the angels allow their wings bewilted
To droop, to bow to the bosom of a friend
Kiss me tenderly, savage God
My lips are dumb to speak a thousand inane words
And how sweet a toil
All is dark, all is blackened
All but an upturned face


4. AND THE KISS OF GOD'S MOUTH - PART 2

(Instrumental)


5. RENAISSANCE

And I looked to the air
But the breeze was not cold
I sought for your hand
To hold unto me
I lay awakened
The dew on my brow
Come take my life
God, I'm dying
And the spirits of slumber
Lulled at my side
They tormented my world
And praised at my grave
I gave them a portion
In pursuance of my peace
But they took it and broke it
Where is my hope?
Elegent, undying
Ella mo fare rifare


6. THE EVERLASTING

Breathe
A faceless one roams for my soul
The air is dense behind me
It follows, brooding, a presence that clamours for
And strikes at my soul
Shadows slant, the darkness clings and coiled
Hiding in corners it conjures none but fear
Yet my muted children testify, the everlasting
Not a sound to my ears yet my spirit is defeated
By cacophonous chatter
It follows and strikes at my soul
It follows
Give me silence
Why can I never rest from this aloof pursuer?
Please give me my peace
A wavering shadow
I wake to find it looming
Touched but never held
Its hand stops my breath
I am mourning, my eyes are stained
I feel his sacred tears upon me
His sobs strike against my heart
The faceless, haunts me
Scared but perfect and beautiful
I see the face of...
Lashed with my every burden
The air is dense before me
I cannot deny
But can I embrace?


7. CULT OF CRUCIFIXION

I will wander
I will gather my flowers
Withered and how soon forgotten
Sing with passion
Sing with vehemence
A grief too sad for song
I pick the gravel from my eyes
I need no words
I am a face rid of features
Curse this heedless folly
Am I nothing? A plaintive breath, a moment's vision
Curse this dead...
And words crowd to my blistered throat
Dip my wings in your magnificence
Separate my head from their crucifixion
I lay at length upon the earth
Gnats dance through my sable cloak
I lay at length upon the earth
Heaven is silent in travailed prayer
All darkness flaunts before me
I wish that peace would revisit my mind
Madness endeavours to soothe me
Beckon me nearer, whisper discreetly
When will the sun cease to climb?
That I may write my last farewell
To these gaunt residing shadows


8. BELOVED

How many times will I look at you?
Allured by the scent of your death
And the savage priests, to a suffering soul
Exult in a strangled song
I am soothed from anger into sorrow
As they knot their wreaths against my limbs
Help me understand the stench in my mind
Why do they impair our vision?
Can anyone taste my blood?
I have clung, quivering, with bruised flesh
Christendom rise and dress yourself
What delicious tears you've made me shed
Beloved, how many times I look at you
With suspended breath, and unguarded heart?
Like a cradled child you hold me
(With hysterical affection, to console this loss)
Beloved
Their semblance of love curses your beauty
In the blindness of my distress
In your dense black eyes
I see your silent grief


9. OUR WINGS ARE BURNING

We fell in love, with dust in our lids
And the pain of a severed soul
We lowered our heads and lifted our face
Placed our bodies in celebration
On the lips of a mutilated man
I carry the bones of a deformed child
And my own polluted breath
I speak the old man's words
In a persuasive eloquence
Bless the dust that hides
This unlamented head
On the crest of fire, our wings are burning
How glorious the pain
And the ways of God, shriek out of tune
All is lost but hope
On the crest of fire
Our wings are burning
To the wind's anthem
All is lost but hope