Original guitarist Beverly Barrington replaced Annah in 2007 and Jason McMaster (Watchtower, Dangerous Toys) replaced Erika on vocals in 2008. The band will release a new album called "The Spider Queen" in September 2009.
Road of Bones
Ignitor Lyrics
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My eyes fill with darkness
I spoke against my country
And paid the price
Before me, foul Kolyma
Hungry maw swallows thousands
Feed her with the poor, the innocent
To work the mines
Ride, ride, ride on the road of bones
Die, die, die on the road of bones
Desolation does surround me
Permafrost is my cold bed
I'm a zombie of the Gulag
Dying slowly and living dead
Forty degrees below the redline
The purga blizzards howl
I curl up in my tent
To count my final days
Who I was no longer matters
I am nothing; I am no one
Just a tooth on this grinding gear
To break and be cast away
Ride, ride, ride on the road of bones
Die, die, die on the road of bones
Dread Vorkuta, whore of torture
Spreads her foul hands across the plain
In her clutches, Russia's children
Pray for death to end the pain
Discovered in this land of solitude
A message scratched into a frozen stone:
"We died here, our skin a frozen blue.
Remember us, the forgotten and alone."
On a day when the sun rose darkly
Body broken, spirit fled
The wind, it blew so hard,
My wounds scarcely bled.
Now I join the countless millions
Who in toil have died before me
Their bones ground into dust
To pave this road to hell
Ride, ride, ride on the road of bones
Die, die, die on the road of bones
The lyrics to Ignitor's song Road of Bones are a poignant and powerful reflection on the brutality and inhumanity of the Soviet Gulag system, and the toll that it took on its victims. The opening stanza paints a picture of a bleak and unforgiving landscape, as the singer is thrown into a driving snowstorm and speaks out against his country, only to pay the ultimate price. The reference to Kolyma, a remote region in northeastern Siberia that was notorious for its forced labor camps, further underscores the harsh reality of life for political prisoners in the Soviet Union.
As the song continues, we see the toll that the Gulag has taken on the singer. He describes himself as a "zombie" of the Gulag, dying slowly and living dead. The extreme cold and harsh conditions are vividly portrayed, with references to temperatures forty degrees below the redline and purga blizzards that howl through the night. The singer's sense of hopelessness and despair is palpable; he is nothing, no one, just a tooth on the grinding gear of the Gulag.
The final stanza of the song is perhaps the most haunting, as the singer describes the discovery of a message scratched into a frozen stone by those who came before him: "We died here, our skin a frozen blue. Remember us, the forgotten and alone." It is a stark reminder of the countless people who were worked to death in the Soviet Union's forced labor camps, their bones ground into dust to pave the road to hell.
Overall, Road of Bones is a powerful condemnation of the Soviet Gulag system, and a stark reminder of the horrors that it inflicted on those who were unfortunate enough to be caught up in it.
Line by Line Meaning
Thrown into a driving snowstorm
I was suddenly caught in a relentless snowstorm.
My eyes fill with darkness
I can't see anything ahead of me amid the snowfall.
I spoke against my country
I openly criticized my nation and its policies.
And paid the price
I was punished severely for daring to speak out against my country.
Before me, foul Kolyma
I'm now faced with the intimidating Kolyma region.
Hungry maw swallows thousands
This place seems to devour the lives of countless people.
Feed her with the poor, the innocent
Most of the people who get consumed by Kolyma are those who are poor and helpless.
To work the mines
They are subjected to hard labor in the mines.
Ride, ride, ride on the road of bones
Travel the grueling and notorious Kolyma Highway.
Die, die, die on the road of bones
Many people lost their lives on this harsh journey.
Desolation does surround me
I feel completely alone amid the emptiness and apparent lack of life here.
Permafrost is my cold bed
The ground beneath me is frozen solid, adding to my desolate living conditions.
I'm a zombie of the Gulag
I feel like I am nothing more than an unfeeling, broken person who has been imprisoned, likely due to political dissension.
Dying slowly and living dead
My life is slipping away, and I'm not even truly alive anymore.
Forty degrees below the redline
The temperature has plummeted far below what any normal vehicle could handle without damage or breaking down.
The purga blizzards howl
Dangerous blizzards are a common occurrence here, and I can hear the wind picking up.
I curl up in my tent
I retreat to the small cover I have in the hopes of avoiding any harm.
To count my final days
I'm counting down my remaining days here, as they seem to be limited.
Who I was no longer matters
My former identity, beliefs, or dreams don't matter anymore; all that remains is a shell of what I used to be.
I am nothing; I am no one
I no longer have any significance in this world.
Just a tooth on this grinding gear
I'm just another insignificant part of the oppressive system here, destined to be consumed by it and destroyed.
To break and be cast away
Like so many others before me, I'll eventually break and be tossed aside by this cruel system.
Dread Vorkuta, whore of torture
The city of Vorkuta is known for being a place of immense suffering and torture.
Spreads her foul hands across the plain
Like an oppressive force, Vorkuta seems to dominate and spread across every part of the terrain here.
In her clutches, Russia's children
In this city, too many young and innocent people are held captive and suffer greatly.
Pray for death to end the pain
They're so miserable that they beg for the relief of death.
Discovered in this land of solitude
In this barren and isolated place, something unusual was discovered.
A message scratched into a frozen stone:
Someone left a message on a stone that had frozen over due to the cold.
"We died here, our skin a frozen blue.
The message reads: Those who came before me died here, and their skin even took on an unnatural blue hue due to the extreme cold.
Remember us, the forgotten and alone."
That final message was an attempt to leave a mark and ensure that those who came after them remembered their lives and the struggles they faced.
On a day when the sun rose darkly
There was a time when the light barely pierced through the darkness here.
Body broken, spirit fled
For some, their bodies couldn't withstand the torment anymore, and their spirits were extinguished.
The wind, it blew so hard,
The wind was so relentless that it felt like it took a physical toll on those walking in it.
My wounds scarcely bled.
My physical wounds were so deep, but I no longer even noticed them.
Now I join the countless millions
I now join the overwhelming number of people who have fallen in this place before me.
Who in toil have died before me
They were all simply subjected to hard labor until it caused their untimely deaths.
Their bones ground into dust
And all that remains of the countless lives lost here, are their bones ground into dust.
To pave this road to hell.
Their toiling labor ultimately paved the way for the infamous, arduous journey: The Road of Bones.
Contributed by Callie G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.