Virgin Steele - The Ritual of Descent

Pt. 1: The Claws of Your King

Dionysus as "The Stranger":
Staring now with anger in his eyes
the god is next to me
But blinded by your grave impiety
you still refuse to see
Damned by authority
You wrestle the wind and kill shadows on walls
But no chains of man will ever bind me fast
or override my will

Pentheus:
Kill him now, take on the claws of your king
Kill him now, tear down the world that he brings

Dionysus: Brother!
Madness...madness...madness...madness erupts

Driven to madness by he who was brave
The master has become the slave
Seduced by a role you should never have played
Your reasons become disarrayed

I gave you my heart, you tore me apart
But I own your soul...I am your soul
Now choke on the meaning of my empty tomb!

Towering branches of dreams of deceit
Thundering over your head
Mind rending passions, a heart wounded deep
Slumber-less dreams wake the dead

I gave you my heart, you tore me apart
But I own your soul...I am your soul
I gave you my life, I gave you my death
But I own your soul...I am your soul
From sheets of flame, headless remains

Let no words come between us
Shed your liar's mask
Let no words come between us
Learn what you have asked
And the nightmare begins again
with perfect stillness inside of me
Let no words come between us
Hell's within your grasp

Crowd:
Let no words come between us
Play the role we cast
Let no words come between us
Vengeance unsurpassed
Funeral birds fly from the mouth of our tomb
Crying ecstasies we bloomed

Dionysus:
Vengeance...Hell erupts!

Golden-haired zealots all frenzied with wine
waiting to tear me apart
Carry me back to your death in the dust
An Eden dismembered by love

Under the sea, under the sky
I own your soul...I am your soul
Imprison, defy, defeat and deny
I own your soul...I am your soul
Repent or revise, delusions unwise

The sun burns cold, the bull appears
Day's wasted...the horns rise

Pt. 2: Divine Intervention

Dionysus:
What say you now to death on the tree?
Do you understand all that you see?
Who has atoned for the sins of the world
the impious one here or me?

The Maenads:
Wisdom becomes vengeance, joy becomes terror
Life is corrupted, flesh polluted, savaged
unwashed, clothes rent, wracked by grief
We unveil tears of degradation and doom

Pentheus:
In a crowd of grave employment
I heard again
I heard again these words
A special fate will be yours

Bacchants & The Nysa:
Music from the mouth of Hell
With mournful voice we bid farewell...

Pt. 3: The Underworld

Dionysus:
The sky was black in mourning
when I came to life
I bind my soul to violence
and the birth that rapes me twice
I see myself...drowning in flame

Pentheus:
So eager to achieve
what never should be sought
A double suns dominion, senses overwrought
I see myself...but I am not here
I'm not here

The sun burns cold, the rite spawns fear

Dionysus:
Rebirth cries!

Pt. 4: The Claws of Your King Reprise

Kill him now, take on the claws of your king
Kill him now, tear down the world that he brings

Brother!
Madness erupts...