The roots of TSO are found in Savatage, a traditional heavy metal band that gradually progressed into a symphonic metal act. Savatage's rock operas, starting with STREETS, began the experimentation with what would become TSO culminating on the track "Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)" from DEAD WINTER DEAD. This track was a minor hit for the struggling band, and demonstrated that there might be an audience for the symphonic metal approach to holiday themes.
The concept for a band playing Christmas carols in a rock opera style was not received warmly by the industry, but quickly proved a success with adults as well as young people. In the recording studio, Trans-Siberian Orchestra uses a full 60-piece orchestra and a choir.
As of 2004, their touring band included 14 vocalists, 14 musicians, and 2 narrators. Trans-Siberian Orchestra released their debut album Christmas Eve and Other Stories in 1996, and it remains their best-selling album. Their 1998 release The Christmas Attic was similarly a concept album with a Christmas theme. In 2000, they released their first non-Christmas album, Beethoven's Last Night. Beethoven's Last Night is a concept album about Ludwig van Beethoven's last night on earth, during which he meets Mephistopheles (possible Satan, or one of his underlings).
After a few years of touring, they returned to the studio with another full-length album, Lost Christmas Eve, and the accompanying DVD/3-CD release The Christmas Trilogy, which contained all three of their Christmas albums to date.
During their winter tours of 2005 and 2006, the band had announced that they were working on the new album, set to release later that year (this was said both years). During the summer of 2007, the official myspace for TSO stated that they were recording, with the expression 'inspired'. Finally, on October 27, 2007, the long awaited new album (and second non-Christmas) arrived "Night Castle". The album is another concept album, spanning 2 cd's, and is the telling of the story of a soldier's experience during the Killing Fields of the Khmer Rouge. As always, it's about faith, hope, fate and the inherent belief that there is good in all people. The album was received with mixed reviews, from the praise of the band's fans, to the near burning of albums by those that are less than receptive to the album. Along with the songs for the story, the album also includes 4 tracks that are not part of the story, and yes, it features the band's rendition of "Carmina Burana (O Fortuna)", performed as a preview by the band during their winter tours, as well as one cover of a Savatage song.
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Overture
Trans-Siberian Orchestra Lyrics
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Raised the sphinx out of the sand
And Apollo dreamed Athena
And men began to understand
That when darkness folds on darkness
In the restless tides of night
And lightning raises shadows And for moments gives them life
It's been said by those who ponder
That it surely is a sign
That a life touched by the stars
Is now running out of time
And that somewhere in that darkness
In the heart of that great storm
The world returns a soul
That the gods caused to be born
And this was such a storm
The kind one rarely sees in life
For in a room now filled with shadows
The great Beethoven was spending
His last night
The lyrics of Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Overture depict a powerful and epic scene that takes us back to the time when Ra and Isis raised the Sphinx out of the sand and Apollo dreamt Athena - moments that signify the beginning of human civilization and understanding. As darkness folds upon darkness in the restless tides of night, lightning raises shadows and for moments gives them life, making it clear that a life touched by the stars is now running out of time. The lyrics suggest that in the midst of this darkness and great storm, a soul returns to the world, a soul that the gods created to be born. And we learn that this was such a storm that one rarely sees in life, and that the great Beethoven was spending his last night in a room filled with shadows.
The lyrics here are incredibly rich and metaphorical, beginning with the creations of great gods of civilization and ending with the death of the greatest composer of all time. Through powerful imagery, the song evokes a feeling of awe and wonder, serving as a reminder of life's transience and the forces that govern it. The storms and the shadows represent the tumultuous nature of existence while the presence of great and powerful beings such as Ra, Isis, Apollo signifies that there is a higher power behind it all, one that we will never fully understand.
Line by Line Meaning
Since the time when ra and isis
From the era when gods Ra and Isis existed
Raised the sphinx out of the sand
And they brought the Sphinx out from the sand
And Apollo dreamed Athena
While Apollo had a dream about Athena
And men began to understand
When humans started to comprehend
That when darkness folds on darkness
Whenever darkness engulfs darkness
In the restless tides of night
In the unsteady waves of the night time
And lightning raises shadows
As lightning illuminates the shadows
And for moments gives them life
Bringing them to life for a short while
It's been said by those who ponder
Some say, those who contemplate
That it surely is a sign
It's a definite indication
That a life touched by the stars
That a person blessed by the stars
Is now running out of time
Is nearing the end of their life span
And that somewhere in that darkness
Somewhere in that darkness
In the heart of that great storm
Amidst that huge storm
The world returns a soul
The world welcomes back a soul
That the gods caused to be born
That was created by the gods
And this was such a storm
This was definitely one such storm
The kind one rarely sees in life
The sort that is scarcely witnessed
For in a room now filled with shadows
Because, in a room that was currently full of shadows
The great Beethoven was spending
The magnificent Beethoven was spending his time
His last night
In his final night
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Paul O'neill, Paul F. O'neill
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind