Altar of the Midnight Queen

[Intro: Hypnotic, swirling Hammond B3 organ with a slow, heavy bass groove] [Vocal: Low, rhythmic chanting chant in the background] [A weeping slide guitar cuts through the smoke] [Verse 1] There’s a candle burning down to a crimson wick, In a shotgun shack where the air is thick. She’s got a jar of pond water and a rusted nail, Spinning out a curse that’ll never fail. I can feel the temperature starting to drop, Like a runaway train that forgets how to stop. She’s mixing up the shadow with a little bit of bone, Building up a prison that I’ll carry alone. [Chorus: Full band drops in heavy, dark and thumping] It’s a black magic spell, it’s a witchcraft night! She’s stealing my spirit right out of the light! With a drop of my sweat and a strand of my hair, She’s binding my hands to the back of a chair! [Screaming: Raspy, full power] Yeah, she’s casting the circle! She’s calling the flame! And my own voice is choking when I try to say her name! [Verse 2] I saw the wax doll melting on a silver plate, With a needle pushed deep in the center of its fate. Every twist of the copper, every turn of the key, Is a brand new master plan controlling me. My boys call me up say I’m losing my mind, But they don’t see the thread that she’s trying to bind. She’s the midnight queen with a deck full of stains, And she’s pumping that voodoo straight through my veins! [Verse 3] (Guitars drop to a gritty, staccato chug—keeping the tension tight) Now the mirrors in the house don’t reflect my face, Just a hollowed-out stranger standing in my place. I found a circle of salt laid across my bed, And a crown of dead briars woven round my head. The clock strikes midnight but the gears are stuck, She crossed my path and she broke my luck. I can feel her fingers tightening up the twine, Squeezing out the last drop of what was mine. [Bridge: Music slows down to a heavy, crushing beat. Total distortion on the guitars.] [Vocal: Deep, growling delivery] One for the shadow... Two for the stone... Three for the marrow... Inside of the bone. [Build up with frantic drum rolls and organ swirls] The magic is rising! The circle is drawn! [Screaming] And I won't see the dawn! [Guitar Solo: Psychedelic and heavy, lots of wah-wah pedal and feedback, screaming notes] [Final Chorus: Maximum intensity and volume] It’s a black magic spell, it’s a witchcraft night! She’s stealing my spirit right out of the light! With a drop of my sweat and a strand of my hair, She’s binding my hands to the back of a chair! [Screaming] Yeah, she’s casting the circle! And I’m bending to her will! [Outro: The band stops. Only the haunting, swirling organ and a slow heartbeat drum remain.] [Vocal: Distorted radio filter, fading whisper] Under her control... Black magic spell... [Sound effect: The faint sound of a match being blown out] [End: Long guitar hum fades to silence]