Chris says: This song actually has the dubious distinction of being the first Northern Oak song ever written by us as a band; whether that's a good thing or not I can't quite say, since it's quite a simple song which, quite clearly, isn't written by a band at the top of their game. That said, I like the epic build-up at the start (the big war-drum intro was suggested by Dan in a practice, and still sounds great thanks to biiiig guitar distortion) and the galloping nature of most of the song. If I'm honest, the bit that doesn't really fit is Elliot's Keyboard Interlude (tm), but on it's own the interlude's pretty sweet- it just doesn't flow together as well as our newer songs do.
We stopped playing this song live a little while back due to that lack of complexity and lack of flow, but when we did play it, it was quite fun- provided that we got the tempo right! The galloping verse riff had a tendency to rip my right arm off if we went too fast, which we did all too often...
A burning spring sun shines golden death,
fated to slay mortal frost,
winter's flesh melting away,
icy blood staining the soil.
Preying on the ancient beast,
a huntsman of change bravely stands,
wielding a mighty thorned club,
spring tears its doomed quarry.
Locked in the cycle of seasons,
as the Earth revolves 'round the sun,
locked in eternal conflict,
'til Winter and Summer are one.
Slain lieth the fiend of winter,
crushed carrion sacrifice,
melted detritus seeping away,
devoured by the feasting earth.
Another year's gruesome battle,
the slaughter of the leeching evil,
but when the darkened times arrive,
the beast will rise again.
Chorus
Instrumental
Chanting
Chorus x2