Moonlyght then played some shows in the Quebec City area motivated by the impressive response they were getting from Quebec's metal fans. Success was increasing but tension inside the band was starting to burst. For the next few years Moonlyght would have to rebuild itself with fresh and motivated musicians. The band was finally completed in 2000. Throughout those though years Moonlyght played a lot around the Quebec province and got a solid live reputation. The only thing Moonlyght needed to break out was to finally capture their songs on a full length cd and that's exactly what they did.
The 5 Moonlyghters entered Sonum Studio in October 2001 to record their first full-length album: "Progressive Darkness". In May 2002 after a year of hard work "Progressive Darkness" is released in Canada through Metal Disk records. The album features 7 tracks of progressive and melodic extreme metal totaling almost one hour of music. The album gets outstanding reviews : 10/10 at the Metal Observer (www.metal-observer.com) the largest metal related website in the world and 9.5/10 from the well know Canadian magazine Unrestrained. The album really seems to please heavy metal fans as well as music fans in general. In only a couple of months the first pressing of Progressive darkness is sold out. Shortly after the cd is released, guitarist Vincent Gauvin calls it a day, and leaves Moonlyght. Immediately, Fred Bedard shows up and demonstrates his interest in Moonlyght. With it's new line-up, Moonlyght gets a lot of on and off-stage experience, leading to much more dynamic and tight performances. In the following year and a half, they play a lot of gigs and are the supporting act for Opeth, Paradise Lost, Kataklysm, Strapping Young Lad and Anonymus to name just a few.
At the beginning of 2003, the people behind the Metal Observer website communicate their enthusiasm for Moonlyght's material, and become the official managers for Europe. Almost immediately numerous label show interest in the band and after a couple of weeks the band decides to go with Escapi record. Signing a contract for 2 albums and a dvd. The worldwide release of Progressive Darkness draws a lot of attention to the band from fans all over the world. Moonlyght is finally able to reach out to fans thanks to Escapi's partnership with major distributors such as Universal Music in Canada, Navarre in the U.S and Pony Canyon in Japan.
The band entered Nokturn studio, in Quebec City, in February 2006 to record the follow-up to Progressive Darkness. After two years, the band revealed that the album would be called Shining and be released in March 2008, but also that it would be their last.
Fantasy
Moonlyght Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He felt the joy of a thousand dreams
Yes, fly over the mountain of shadows
And shine without shame, without misery
Forming the pride of this fairy land
He was the one who betrayed the pain
From the world of the dead, returning with strength
Into the frost but with fire in his eyes
He used to be the king of this realm
In An nightly embrace, in tranquillity
Oh... it was fantasy
Oh... it was only fantasy...
When only dreams fall upon the light of dawn
When only, shame comes from the sun
But still we are blind...
Submerged by nothingness...
Fly away...
The warrior fights the hours of darkness
While glory still burn inside
But with a touch of sadness
Begins to drown...
Begins to drown...
He falls into the deepest slumber
No light to save his poor soul
Only total darkness and black misanthropy
To reign in his once beautiful kingdom...
... And when he came back it was reality
He felt the pain of a thousand wounds
Yes, go through the mountain of shadows
And bleed with all shame, with all misery...
The earth is raped by our filthy seeds
And worthless beliefs
The song "Fantasy" by Moonlyght is a poetic depiction of an individual's journey through a mythical land while dealing with personal struggles. The lyrics describe a person who wakes up to find themselves in a fantasy world filled with joy, an escape from their painful reality. The individual is the pride of the fairy land, and they seem to have the ability to leave the world of the dead and return with a kind of strength. The hero is a king in this realm, and he is fighting the hours of darkness to keep his glory intact. But the hero starts to sink into sadness and eventually slips into a deep slumber where there is no light. All he sees is darkness, and his once-beautiful kingdom is now ruled by "black misanthropy." The song is a profound depiction of one person's struggle to deal with feelings of pain and misery.
Line by Line Meaning
And when he woke up it was fantasy
He finds that his reality is not as good as his dream world.
He felt the joy of a thousand dreams
He is filled with happiness and contentment in his fantasy world.
Yes, fly over the mountain of shadows
He is encouraging himself to overcome obstacles and reach for the stars.
And shine without shame, without misery
He wants to be proud of his achievements and not feel guilty or unhappy about them.
Forming the pride of this fairy land
He is the hero who saved this beautiful world from destruction.
He was the one who betrayed the pain
He is the one who succeeded in overcoming his problems.
From the world of the dead, returning with strength
He came back stronger after facing difficult challenges.
With the day, with the night, triumphantly
He accomplished his goals both day and night with pride.
Into the frost but with fire in his eyes
He faces the danger ahead with bravery and determination.
He used to be the king of this realm
He was once the ruler of this dreamland, in control of his destiny.
In An nightly embrace, in tranquillity
He finds peace in the embrace of the night.
Oh... it was fantasy
He realizes that his dream world was not real.
Oh... it was only fantasy...
He accepts the fact that his fantasy world was only in his mind.
When only dreams fall upon the light of dawn
He is disappointed when his dreams don't come true in the morning.
When only, shame comes from the sun
He feels guilty and ashamed when he faces the harsh light of reality.
But still we are blind...
Even though we know the truth, we refuse to accept it.
Submerged by nothingness...
He feels lost and alone in a world without meaning.
Fly away...
He wants to escape his problems and fly away to a better place.
The warrior fights the hours of darkness
He fights against his inner demons and the darkness within him.
While glory still burn inside
Even though he is struggling, he still has hope for a better future.
But with a touch of sadness
He is overwhelmed by a feeling of sadness and despair.
Begins to drown...
He feels like he is sinking deeper and deeper into despair.
He falls into the deepest slumber
He falls into a state of deep sleep or possibly depression.
No light to save his poor soul
He is lost in the darkness with no hope of finding a way out.
Only total darkness and black misanthropy
His world is now filled with darkness and hate, with no hope of escape.
And when he came back it was reality
He returns to the real world, leaving his fantasy world behind.
He felt the pain of a thousand wounds
He experiences the harshness and pain of reality.
Yes, go through the mountain of shadows
He needs to face his challenges head-on to overcome them.
And bleed with all shame, with all misery...
He must accept his failures and the pain that comes with them.
The earth is raped by our filthy seeds
He sees the destruction and harm that humans have caused to the earth and its inhabitants.
And worthless beliefs
He realizes that some of his beliefs and ideas are not worth fighting for.
Contributed by Colton M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.