KARA DE! — The Voice at the Door A3

Anatolian symphonic horror metal, blackened Turkish folk metal

[Intro: cold wind, lone bell, three dry knocks]
[V1: spoken, close]
Bir varmış... bir yokmuş... (Once upon a time...)
Zemheri çökmüş dağlara. (Bitter winter had descended upon the mountains.)
Kapımda annemin sesi. (My mother's voice was at my door.)
Annem altı kış önce öldü. (My mother died six winters ago.)

[Verse 1: crawling bağlama, bowed kemençe, heavy half time drums]
Gece üç kere kapımı çaldı, (The night knocked on my door three times,)
Ateş söndü, gölgem uzadı. (The fire went out; my shadow grew long.)
Yavrum, dedi, üşüdüm ben, ("My child," it said, "I'm cold,")
Sesimi duy, kapıyı aç hemen. (Hear my voice, open the door at once.)

I knew that voice, that gentle scar,
The song she sang beside the fire.
But underneath my splintered door
An iron comb began to score.

[Pre-Chorus: strings tighten, rising toms]
Ninem derdi, sakın ses verme, (Grandmother used to say, don't make a sound,)
Eşikten dışarı adım atma. (Don't take a step outside the threshold.)
Sorarsa kara diye cevap ver, (If it asks, answer with the word "black",)
Yoksa sesini çalar, gider. (Or it will steal your voice and leave.)

[Chorus: crushing guitar riff, orchestral strings, double kick, soaring solo lead]
KARA DE! KARA DE! (SAY BLACK! SAY BLACK!)
Black on the tongue, blood in the snow!
KARA DE! KARA DE! (SAY BLACK! SAY BLACK!)
Kapıyı açma, sakın ses verme! (Don't open the door; don't make a sound!)
KARA DE! KARA DE! (SAY BLACK! SAY BLACK!)
Bir kara sözle canını koru! (Protect your life with one black word!)
It sings her song to make me fall—
One wrong word, it takes it all!

[Break: hard stop, iron scrape across stereo, single bell]

[Verse 2: galloping bass, jagged riff, low dramatic voice]
Kapının altında buzdan bir iz, (A trace of ice beneath the door,)
Belinde çan, nefesi sessiz. (A bell at its waist; its breath is silent.)
Kıllı gölgesi kapıya vurdu, (Its hairy shadow struck the door,)
Annemin sesiyle adımı sordu. (It asked my name in my mother's voice.)

The latch bent inward, slow as grief.
No bootprints gathered underneath.
A borrowed lullaby came through;
It knew the things my mother knew.

Demir tarak tahtayı yardı, (The iron comb split the wood,)
Siyah tırnak eşiğe vardı. (A black claw reached the threshold.)
Buz tuttu odamın dört yanını, (Ice gripped all four sides of my room,)
Karakoncolos çağırdı adımı. (Karakoncolos called my name.)

[Questioning: drums cut, bass heartbeat, close whispered exchange]
[V1: low and unnatural]
Nereden geliyorsun? (Where are you coming from?)
[V1: controlled, shaking]
Karabağ'dan geliyorum. (I'm coming from Karabakh.)
[V1: low and unnatural]
Nereye gidiyorsun? (Where are you going?)
[V1: firm]
Karadağ'a gidiyorum. (I'm going to Black Mountain.)

[Breakdown: dry English vocal, rising sub bass, no drums]
The bells fell still. The iron withdrew.
I thought the black word pulled me through.
Then in her voice, so soft, so near,
It asked the thing I feared to hear.

[Bridge: instruments cut, voice directly behind listener]
[V1: stolen mother's voice, tender and hollow]
Beni tanıdın mı, yavrum? (Did you recognize me, my child?)
Söyle... ben kimim? (Tell me... who am I?)

[V1: small, unguarded]
Anne... (Mother...)

[Impact: breath cut, deep sub hit, chains scrape from left to right]

[Final Chorus: stolen V1 voice, mocking, savage double kick, full strings, bowed kemençe fighting guitar]
KARA DE! KARA DE! (SAY BLACK! SAY BLACK!)
Black on the tongue, blood in the snow!
KARA DE! KARA DE! (SAY BLACK! SAY BLACK!)
Kapıyı açma, sakın ses verme! (Don't open the door; don't make a sound!)
KARA DE! KARA DE! (SAY BLACK! SAY BLACK!)
Bir kara sözle canını koru! (Protect your life with one black word!)
It sings her song to make me fall—
One wrong word, it takes it all!

[Outro: instruments die, three knocks circle the listener]
[V1: whispered, now the stolen voice]
Sabah oldu, sesim yoktu. (Morning came, and my voice was gone.)
Kapımda ayak izi yoktu. (There were no footprints at my door.)
Bir sokak ötede gece olunca, (When night fell one street away,)
Benim sesim vurdu kapıya. (My voice knocked upon the door.)

[V1: unnaturally sweet, inches from listener]
Yavrum... (My child...)
Aç kapıyı. (Open the door.)
Ben geldim. (I've come.)

[End: iron bell, immediate silence]

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[Cast: V1 Inara] [V1: gritty female alto, precise Turkish consonants, intimate narration, fierce melodic hooks, controlled low snarl] [Tempo: 108 BPM] [Key: D minor, Hicaz colored melody] [Time Signature: 4/4, brief 9/8 accents] [Intro: cold wind, lone bell, three dry knocks] [V1: spoken, close] Bir varmış... bir yokmuş... (Once upon a time...) Zemheri çökmüş dağlara. (Bitter winter had descended upon the mountains.) Kapımda annemin sesi. (My mother's voice was at my door.) Annem altı kış önce öldü. (My mother died six winters ago.) [Verse 1: crawling bağlama, bowed kemençe, heavy half time drums] Gece üç kere kapımı çaldı, (The night knocked on my door three times,) Ateş söndü, gölgem uzadı. (The fire went out; my shadow grew long.) Yavrum, dedi, üşüdüm ben, ("My child," it said, "I'm cold,") Sesimi duy, kapıyı aç hemen. (Hear my voice, open the door at once.) I knew that voice, that gentle scar, The song she sang beside the fire. But underneath my splintered door An iron comb began to score. [Pre-Chorus: strings tighten, rising toms] Ninem derdi, sakın ses verme, (Grandmother used to say, don't make a sound,) Eşikten dışarı adım atma. (Don't take a step outside the threshold.) Sorarsa kara diye cevap ver, (If it asks, answer with the word "black",) Yoksa sesini çalar, gider. (Or it will steal your voice and leave.) [Chorus: crushing guitar riff, orchestral strings, double kick, soaring solo lead] KARA DE! KARA DE! (SAY BLACK! SAY BLACK!) Black on the tongue, blood in the snow! KARA DE! KARA DE! (SAY BLACK! SAY BLACK!) Kapıyı açma, sakın ses verme! (Don't open the door; don't make a sound!) KARA DE! KARA DE! (SAY BLACK! SAY BLACK!) Bir kara sözle canını koru! (Protect your life with one black word!) It sings her song to make me fall— One wrong word, it takes it all! [Break: hard stop, iron scrape across stereo, single bell] [Verse 2: galloping bass, jagged riff, low dramatic voice] Kapının altında buzdan bir iz, (A trace of ice beneath the door,) Belinde çan, nefesi sessiz. (A bell at its waist; its breath is silent.) Kıllı gölgesi kapıya vurdu, (Its hairy shadow struck the door,) Annemin sesiyle adımı sordu. (It asked my name in my mother's voice.) The latch bent inward, slow as grief. No bootprints gathered underneath. A borrowed lullaby came through; It knew the things my mother knew. Demir tarak tahtayı yardı, (The iron comb split the wood,) Siyah tırnak eşiğe vardı. (A black claw reached the threshold.) Buz tuttu odamın dört yanını, (Ice gripped all four sides of my room,) Karakoncolos çağırdı adımı. (Karakoncolos called my name.) [Questioning: drums cut, bass heartbeat, close whispered exchange] [V1: low and unnatural] Nereden geliyorsun? (Where are you coming from?) [V1: controlled, shaking] Karabağ'dan geliyorum. (I'm coming from Karabakh.) [V1: low and unnatural] Nereye gidiyorsun? (Where are you going?) [V1: firm] Karadağ'a gidiyorum. (I'm going to Black Mountain.) [Breakdown: dry English vocal, rising sub bass, no drums] The bells fell still. The iron withdrew. I thought the black word pulled me through. Then in her voice, so soft, so near, It asked the thing I feared to hear. [Bridge: instruments cut, voice directly behind listener] [V1: stolen mother's voice, tender and hollow] Beni tanıdın mı, yavrum? (Did you recognize me, my child?) Söyle... ben kimim? (Tell me... who am I?) [V1: small, unguarded] Anne... (Mother...) [Impact: breath cut, deep sub hit, chains scrape from left to right] [Final Chorus: stolen V1 voice, mocking, savage double kick, full strings, bowed kemençe fighting guitar] KARA DE! KARA DE! (SAY BLACK! SAY BLACK!) Black on the tongue, blood in the snow! KARA DE! KARA DE! (SAY BLACK! SAY BLACK!) Kapıyı açma, sakın ses verme! (Don't open the door; don't make a sound!) KARA DE! KARA DE! (SAY BLACK! SAY BLACK!) Bir kara sözle canını koru! (Protect your life with one black word!) It sings her song to make me fall— One wrong word, it takes it all! [Outro: instruments die, three knocks circle the listener] [V1: whispered, now the stolen voice] Sabah oldu, sesim yoktu. (Morning came, and my voice was gone.) Kapımda ayak izi yoktu. (There were no footprints at my door.) Bir sokak ötede gece olunca, (When night fell one street away,) Benim sesim vurdu kapıya. (My voice knocked upon the door.) [V1: unnaturally sweet, inches from listener] Yavrum... (My child...) Aç kapıyı. (Open the door.) Ben geldim. (I've come.) [End: iron bell, immediate silence]

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