The Crown and the Condemned

[Opening - massive slow guitar riff, bass and drums enter together, two bars] [Verse 1 - powerful gritty clean vocals, heavy sustained chords] I crossed the winter fields Where the bells had lost their voices His banners moved above A land that would not answer I carried the names of the lost Folded against my chest And followed the royal road Beyond the last hearth [Pre-Chorus - rising vocal intensity, deliberate drum accents] The gates stood open No challenge from the dark Only a voice beneath the stone [Chorus - commanding melodic vocals, weighty memorable riff] The crown and the condemned One shadow on the stair I came to bring him judgment But the throne remembers me [Spoken Refrain - deep solemn male voice, sparse sustained guitar, clear articulation] Doometh is he that pursueth his king, for he also pursueth himself. [Verse 2 - dark theatrical vocals, mournful guitar melody] Along the ruined hall The kings looked down in stone One wore the years of famine One the dust of fallen cities Beneath each broken crown The same familiar eyes I knew the face before me Before I dared to name it [Pre-Chorus - growing tension, heavy measured drums] I reached to break the likeness The stone was warm And somewhere, someone knelt [Chorus - commanding melodic vocals, weighty memorable riff] The crown and the condemned One shadow on the stair I came to bring him judgment But the throne remembers me [Spoken Refrain - deep solemn male voice, sparse sustained guitar, clear articulation] Doometh is he that pursueth his king, for he also pursueth himself. [Guitar Solo - eight bars, slow expressive bends, mournful melody over the main doom riff] [Bridge - sparse heavy chords, restrained vocals rising to a forceful declaration] I raised my hand to break the crown The hall grew quiet at my feet A thousand unseen faces bowed And waited for my first command [Final Chorus - full dramatic intensity, strong vocal harmonies, crushing guitars] The crown and the condemned One shadow on the stair I came to bring him judgment And found my sentence waiting [Spoken Refrain - deep resonant voice over the final heavy riff] Doometh is he that pursueth his king, for he also pursueth himself. [Outro - low sung voice, slowing final cadence] Beneath the crown I hear my footsteps coming [End - final low chord rings briefly, then silence]