Their first three albums ('In a Time of Blood and Fire', 'Tales of Mystery and Imagination' and 'The Sacred Talisman') feature the former vocalist Anders Zackrisson, while the newer albums are sung by Johnny Lindkvist. Also the musical style has changed a bit during the years; some demo's were something more like death metal, but then the three first cd releases pure melodic power metal, and on "Afterlife" they took a bit heavier approach with influences of true heavy metal like Masterplan and Dream evil and even some thrash metal riffs, though the melodic choruses were kept right in the core of the songs.
They have released a few more albums since, with the latest ones being 'Grand Illusion' that came in 2005 and '8th Sin' that came out in 2007. The band keeps on fighting on and remains one of Scandinavia's best known power metal bands.
On June 21st, 2008 it was announced that guitarist Nils Norberg has left the band. On May 9th, 2010, Chris Rörland joined Nocturnal Rites. A video of him playing and Fredrik Mannberg talking a bit about him can be seen here.
End of Days
Nocturnal Rites Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
How blood stains the ground at our feet
Mankind kills in the name of God
Holy vengeance, lies and deceit
Have you seen the fall of man
How wounded he crawls through the mud
Dust and bones still cover the soil,
While we measure our wages in blood
We've lost our way, the end of the rope
Our final day
We'll learn, bridges still burn
The end of days, now feel how we lost our way
Forgive the sins of those before
And turn the lies away
With eyes ablaze, now witness our end of days
A fading world for all to see, unfold the final decree
Dreams are spun in ivory towers
And fear in the game we learn
See the world, its barren soil,
The shackles that hold us will burn
It feels like we fade away
The world is dark and burning
We know, it's coming near
This is the end of days
The lyrics of Nocturnal Rites’ “End of Days” paint a picture of a world on the brink of destruction. The first stanza describes violence and the destruction of humanity and of the world. The song also explores themes of religion, deceit, and greed. The line “Mankind kills in the name of God” highlights the ways that religion is sometimes used as a justification for violence and conflict.
Despite the bleakness of the song, there is a sense of hope in the final verse. The singer urges us to forgive the sins of the past and turn away from lies. This message is particularly important in the context of the rest of the song, which highlights the ways that greed and deceit have led to destruction and division. The line “With eyes ablaze, now witness our end of days” suggests that there is still time for change, but that we must act quickly.
Overall, “End of Days” is a powerful commentary on the state of humanity and the world. It urges us to take responsibility for our actions and to strive for a better future.
Line by Line Meaning
Have you seen the fall of the world
Have you witnessed the catastrophic collapse of humanity and society?
How blood stains the ground at our feet
The evidence of our violent actions is visible all around us.
Mankind kills in the name of God
Humans commit murder and brutality under the guise of religious justification.
Holy vengeance, lies and deceit
Retribution and falsehoods perpetuate more harm and destruction.
Have you seen the fall of man
Have you witnessed the complete destruction of humanity and its values?
How wounded he crawls through the mud
Despite our injuries, we persist and fight through the dirt and grime of life.
Dust and bones still cover the soil,
Evidence of our violent past is still present in the soil and remains of the deceased.
While we measure our wages in blood
We trade in violence and conflict, seeing it as a form of currency.
We've lost our way, the end of the rope
We have veered off from the right path and are approaching our imminent demise.
Our final day
Our ultimate end and downfall is quickly approaching.
We'll learn, bridges still burn
Even in our final moments, we continue to destroy and burn bridges behind us.
The end of days, now feel how we lost our way
The apocalypse is upon us and we can now see how we strayed from our moral compass.
Forgive the sins of those before
We must forgive the transgressions of our ancestors to move forward.
And turn the lies away
We must abandon deceitful ways of thinking and acting to truly progress.
With eyes ablaze, now witness our end of days
We are now fully aware of our bleak future and it is terrifying.
A fading world for all to see, unfold the final decree
The world is descending into chaos and the end is imminent and obvious to all.
Dreams are spun in ivory towers
The wealthy and privileged create idyllic illusions that are unattainable for most.
And fear in the game we learn
We are conditioned to live in a state of fear and view life as a competition.
See the world, its barren soil,
The land and environment are desolate and unable to support life.
The shackles that hold us will burn
We will break free of the oppressive forces that have kept us down, even if it is in our final moments.
It feels like we fade away
There is a sense of slowly eroding and losing ourselves and our humanity.
The world is dark and burning
The world is descending into chaos and hellish flames.
We know, it's coming near
We are fully aware of the apocalypse that is fast approaching.
This is the end of days
There is no turning back, humanity's downfall is inevitable.
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