The project, originated in the mind of Daniele Mazza, started to materialize in 2006 after Daniele met with bass player Martino Garattoni. The first stable line up was completed in 2007, with Sara Squadrani as singer, Alessandro Carichini as drummer, and Claudio Pietronik and Fabio Balducci as guitarists.
In September 2010, Alessandro left the band, to be replaced by a new drummer Federico Gatti. The latest line-up change occurred in the end of 2013 after recording the third album A New Dawn Ending, when Balducci left the band for personal reasons. Permanent replacement for Fabio has not been announced yet, but for live shows in 2014 the band has been joined by Simone Bertozzi as a guest second guitarist.
Albums
The style and concept of their 2010 debut album, The Alliance of the Kings, has been seen as inspired by fellow Italian band Rhapsody of Fire. The album is the first part of The Black Crystal Sword Saga with each song making up a single "episode"
The Italian and German editions of Metal Hammer commented on the "sophisticated songwriting" in this release. The latter magazine also found similarities to Anette Olzon in singer Sara Squadrani's voice.
The band's second album, Soulless Child, was released in 2011. It continues The Black Crystal Sword Saga introduced in the previous album. The reviewers of Metal Hammer Germany and Rock Hard agreed that the album had a tendency towards kitsch. While Metal Hammer found several positive remarks about individual tracks, Rock Hard criticised a lack of original hooks.
In April 2014, a third album, A New Dawn Ending, was released. This concluded the first part of The Black Crystal Sword Saga, making that section a complete trilogy.
Ancient Bards announced their fourth album in June 2018 entitled Origine - The Black Crystal Sword Saga Part 2. It is the beginning the second part of The Black Crystal Sword Saga and was released on 25 January 2019. They also announced on their Facebook page that touring guitarist Simone Bartozzi had been made a permanent band member after touring with them since 2014.
In My Arms
Ancient Bards Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The men kept battling
But in the end nobody cares
What I went through
I felt him growing inside of me
Felt him moving inside of me
And I wondered, “How can I be so in love
with someone I don't even see?”
So here I am laid on the floor
And they keep battling
Sendor is both my enemy
And my kindred soul
How I wish that he still could see
His true love when he looks at me
In this battle against the inevitable fate
The one who really lost is me
He passed away, hopelessly
He passed away in front of my eyes
When his little life had just begun
You don't know what I'd give
Just to hold him once again
In my arms
In my arms…
Daltor is blind and not intent
But he keeps battling
He's so completely stuck inside
His vindictive mind
And while I'm making my worn out plea
He falls down landing on his knee
And now Sendor's really tired of this game
So he hits him and knocks him down
He passed away, hopelessly
He passed away in front of my eyes
When his little life had just begun
You don't know what I'd give
Just to hold him once again
In my arms
And feel the rhythm of his gentle breath here on my chest
While I sing to him a lullaby
And this pain I must endure
Fate's not ours to decide
We can't control our lives
We have to learn to cope
And move on…
(Anima mia, che riposi in tormento,
nei sogni ti sento, ritorna da me!)
He passed away, hopelessly
He passed away in front of my eyes
When his little life had just begun
You don't know what I'd give
Just to hold him once again
In my arms
And feel the rhythm of his gentle breath here on my chest
While I sing to him a lullaby
And this pain I must endure
We can't control our lives
I just try to cope—and to move on
For I do believe we will meet again
And I'll hold him tight
In my arms…
The lyrics of Ancient Bards’ song “In My Arms” tell the story of a heartbreaking battle that results in the loss of a loved one. The singer reflects on the futility of fighting and the inevitability of fate. She opens the song reminiscing on the passing of time and how people are consumed with their battles, but in the end, nothing else matters. The singer then expresses the profound love she bears for someone she has never seen and how she felt him growing and moving inside of her. She wonders at the strength of her emotions before the battle results in tragedy.
The singer laments losing her beloved, but death is portrayed as the inevitable fate. She wishes her enemies and friends could still see the love in her heart even as she fights. However, tragedy strikes again as she loses yet another person in the battle. The pain is too much to bear, and the singer sings of how she wishes she could hold her loved one again and feel the rhythm of his gentle breath.
The lyrics of this song paint a realistic and melancholic picture of love, loss, and pain. They express the frustration of battling fate and the helplessness of not being able to control one’s destiny. At the same time, they capture the profound love that can exist despite the brevity of human life.
Line by Line Meaning
As ages pass and fly away
As time goes on
The men kept battling
People kept fighting
But in the end nobody cares
In the end, no one pays attention
What I went through
What I experienced
I felt him growing inside of me
I felt my child developing in my womb
Felt him moving inside of me
I felt my child moving in my womb
And I wondered, “How can I be so in love with someone I don't even see?”
I marveled at my love for my unborn child
So here I am laid on the floor
I am lying on the ground
And they keep battling
People keep fighting
Sendor is both my enemy and my kindred soul
Sendor is both my foe and someone I relate to
How I wish that he still could see his true love when he looks at me
I wish Sendor could see that I love him
In this battle against the inevitable fate
In this struggle against destiny
The one who really lost is me
I am the one who truly lost
He passed away, hopelessly
My child died with no hope left
He passed away in front of my eyes
I witnessed my child's death
When his little life had just begun
When my child's life had just started
You don't know what I'd give just to hold him once again in my arms
I would do anything to hold my child again
And feel the rhythm of his gentle breath here on my chest
To feel the beat of his calm breathing on my chest
While I sing to him a lullaby
As I serenade him to sleep
And this pain I must endure
I must bear this agony
Fate's not ours to decide
We cannot control our destiny
We can't control our lives
We cannot dictate our fate
We have to learn to cope and move on…
We must learn to handle it and keep going
(Anima mia, che riposi in tormento, nei sogni ti sento, ritorna da me!)
(My soul, resting in torment, in my dreams I hear you, come back to me!)
I just try to cope—and to move on
I am trying to handle it and keep going
For I do believe we will meet again
I believe we will be reunited
And I'll hold him tight in my arms…
And I will embrace him tightly in my arms
Contributed by Jordyn J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@joefromravenna
As ages pass and fly away
The men keep battling
But in the end nobody cares
What I went through
I felt him growing inside of me
Felt him moving inside of me
And I wondered how can I be so in love with someone I don't even see
So here I am laid on the floor
And they keep battling
Sendor is both my enemy
And my kindred soul
How I wish that he still could see
His true love when he looks at me
In this battle against the inevitable fate
The one who really lost is me
He passed away, hopelessly
He passed away in front of my eye
When his little life had just begun
You don't know what I'd give
Just to hold him once again
In my arms
In my arms
Daltor is blind and not intent
But he keeps battling
He's so completely stuck inside
His vindictive mind
And while I'm making my worn out plea
He falls down landing on his knees
And now Sendor's really tired of this game
So he hits him and knocks him down
He passed away, hopelessly
He passed away in front of my eyes
When his life had just begun
You don't know what I'd give
Just to hold him once again
In my arms
And feel the rhythm of his gentle breath here on my chest
While I sing to him a lullaby
And this pain I must endure
Fate's not ours to decide
We can't control our lives, we have to learn to cope
And move on
Anima mia, che riposi in tormento,
Nei sogni ti sento, ritorna da me!
He passed away, hopelessly
He passed away in front of my eyes
When his life had just begun
You don't know what I'd give
Just to hold him once again
In my arms
And feel the rhythm of his gentle breath
While I sing to him a lullaby
And this pain I must endure
We can't control our lives
I just try to cope and to move on
For I do believe we will meet again
And I'll hold him tight
In my arms
@carlosvargas9117
As ages pass and fly away
the men keep battling,
but in the end nobody cares
what I went through.
I felt him growing inside of me,
felt him moving inside of me
and I wondered "how can I be so in love with someone I don't even see?"
So here I am laid on the floor
and they keep battling.
Sendor is both my enemy
and my kindred soul.
How I wish that he still could see
his true love when he looks at me.
In this battle against the inevitable fate
the one who really lost is me.
He passed away, hopelessly,
he passed away in front of my eyes
when his little life had just begun,
you don't know what I'd give
just to hold him once again
in my arms.
Daltor is blind and not intent,
but he keeps battling,
he's so completely stuck inside
his vindictive mind.
And while I'm making my worn out plea
he falls down landing on his knees
and now Sendor's really tired of this game
so he hits him and knocks him down.
He passed away, hopelessly,
he passed away in front of my eyes,
when his life had just begun,
you don't know what I'd give
just to hold him once again
in my arms I feel
the rythm of his gentle breath here on my chest.
while I sing to him a lullaby
and this pain I must endure.
Fate's not ours to decide,
we can't control our lives, we have to learn to cope
and move on.
Anima mia, che riposi in tormento,
nei sogni ti sento, ritorna da me!
He passed away, hopelessly,
he passed away in front of my eyes,
when his life had just begun,
you don't know what I'd give
just to hold him once again
in my arms I feel the rythm of his gentle breath
while I sing to him a lullaby!
And this pain I must endure,
we can't control our lives,
I just try to cope and to move on,
for I do believe we will meet again,
and I'll hold him tight
in my arms.
@brewswillis9783
Holy shit, it's 2021 and I've just discovered AB! Thank you Chase Carneson!! The highest complement I can pay is to say they are Nightwish level talent and hope they receive the same level of recognition, they deserve it!
@latch_7508
If you haven't heard it already, "all that is true" powerful song, epic solo, and I do mean epic 👌👌
@danzer5214
Virtuosísimos <3 <3 <3
@m2duebbie
Also found them through Chase, one of my favorite reactors. Sara has a phenominal set of pipes, and like Chase said, a great rocker tone and vibe. Symphonic power metal Pat Benatar!
@romangajdos1031
You are in the same situation as me. 😀 I've discovered them just 4 years ago. Together with Battle Beast.
@carlosdaudet6821
First song ever on making me cry. The lyrics plus how she sings, the feeling, make you go that a grieving mother goes through with the death of a baby. Just a masterpiece!
@TulliusHeuer
Same feeling here!
@lemmesmash5524
The song is beautiful, but when you understand the story of the Black Crystal Sword it's incredibly powerful and sad. She's mourning the death of her baby while watching her lover go crazy. Ancient Bards is full of amazing songs like this and I can't wait for their new story to begin.
@Nameless0061
Wooooow! I didn't know that, despite being love with the song and feeling a lot of poethic sadness behind it. Now I understand...
@stefanogalimberti
I liked this song so much that it made it check all the story behind it.
Knowing what it's all about and what happened to this point of the story, man it's like listening to another song. The emotion hits really hard here.
I really don't know how this band is not more widely known. Something must be really rotten in this world.