Theocracy (Official Thread)

[LivingDead]

Re: Theocracy

I actually find them to be very christian. You can especially tell in the songs The Writing in the Sand and Absolution Day. They are my favorite songs though on the albuim, so I don't complain. This band is pretty great. Thanks again P&C for the recommendation.

As the circle forms tonight
And I take my place to execute my "right"
Call the filthy ones into my sight
Bring the sinners one by one
Stones of judgment shall avenge the things they've done
But then I raise my head and stare into the Son

Oh, then I feel my blood run cold
Eyes like the sharpest blade
That ********* to the bottom of my soul

Words of truth that cut so deep
You write the lines of mystery
I stumble and the stone I held in hand is cast away
When the mirror's shown to me
I see my own hypocrisy
And weep upon the writing in the sand

All the things I try to hide
All the times that I avoid your eyes
Thinking somehow I can live the lie
When the truth becomes too great
And I can't try to clean my rotten, filthy state
Or the hidden sins that doom me to my fate

Oh, I can't hide it from Your sight
You search out the secret things, the darkest dreams
And reveal them in the light

Words of truth that cut so deep
You write the lines of mystery
I stumble and the stone I held in hand is cast away
When the mirror's shown to me
I see my own hypocrisy
And weep upon the writing in the sand

When the writing in the sand has washed away
I could never turn and walk the other way
For the words are carved into my very soul
And the light exposes everything I know
And all I've ever known
Let him who had no sin
Cast the first stone

When the mirror's shown to me
I see my own hypocrisy
And weep upon the writing in the sand
Words of truth that cut so deep
You write the lines of mystery
I stumble and the stone I held in hand is cast away
When the mirror's shown to me
I see my own hypocrisy
And weep upon the writing in the sand


I'm not very religious, so I don't know for sure, but I think this whole song is a reference to a specific part in the Bible.

 

[Prime]

Re: Theocracy

Their christianity is definitely in the lyrics, but you wouldn't notice it if you weren't paying attention. You'd just think they were lyrics, that's sort of how it was for me though.

However, taking the time to read the lyrics, yeah, they are very christian, but they're very subtle at showing it.

 

[Prime]

Theocracy have a new album coming out in November. An album teaser has been released, and it's already got me pumped:

 

[Magic]

THEOCRACY Celebrate Mosaic Album Release With Lyric Video For Opening Track "Flicker"

US progressive power metal quintet, Theocracy, have risen after 7 years of musical silence to offer their new album Mosaic to the world. While the band are set to celebrate its release on stage at Loud And Proud Festival this weekend, they also want to share their new music. That's...

bravewords.com

flicker

Mosaic

Return to Dust

 

[TACdtf]

Oh Hell yes, a Theocracy thread "magically" appears!!!!

I LOVE Theocracy. A topic for another day, but how many "favorite" bands came to you as an adult, that you didn't bring with you from your youth?

I was 23 when I first heard Dream Theater, so not counting them, there's only two Top 15/20 bands that I discovered after college... Hammerfall and THEOCRACY!

Mosaic took a while to come out, but it was worth the wait. 2023 AOTY!

Don't think Red Sea has been linked, but this is the epic from the album..

Re: Theocracy

From what I have heard so far, they have bit of a power metal sound to them.

I think this is fair, especially their early stuff, but they somehow mold everything I like about Metal into one band.

I like Power Metal.
I like Thrash Metal.
I like Melodic Metal.
I like Progressive Metal.
I like fast metal.
I love soaring vocals.



Here's is their classic epic Mirror Of Soul. Again, this is a TOP 5 all time song for me. A real late in musical life find!

Listen to the tale I tell
A haunting dream I know so well
When walking home alone one night
My path revealed by candlelight
Ahead I see an open door
With no idea what's in store
I glance inside the door to see
A hall of mirrors beckons me
I take a breath and step inside
A tale of love and shattered pride
The door slams shut, I start to run
And it seems my journey has begun...

I run and turn from side to side
With fear and panic in my eyes
The vastness overwhelming me
Mirrors far as the eye can see
I see myself in every one
I see the things that I have done
A thousand forms of flattery
The fear soon turns to haughtiness in me

Different mirrors, different shapes
My different strengths accentuate
Each mirror has a name and face
And all reflect me in some way
I look at them to see myself
To judge my life by someone else
The metaphors within replete:
The mirrors are the people that I meet

Look at the man you see - in the mirrors
The things you can be - in the mirrors
The glory of me revealed in the mirror's eye
The mirror never lies
The fire in my eyes - in the mirrors
The vanity rise - in the mirrors
The power of pride comes alive in the mirrors

Gazing in the mirrors I behold
All the greatest chapters of my story ever told
In the mirrors
The world is turned to gold

At the end of the Hall of Mirrors
I behold a golden door
I imagine all the beauty
The other side must hold in store
So I quickly reach out my hand
To enter the next room in this promised land
I pull the giant door open wide
To continue my journey, I step inside
But it slams shut behind me, and I'm back outside
The pouring rain welcomes me
Into the arms of the coldest, blackest night

The light of the mirrors has faded away
Into distant memory
As the rain keeps coming down
My candle extinguished
I struggle to walk a path I cannot see
And the rain keeps coming down

The darkness grows with every step
I could cut it with a knife
As the rain keeps coming down
I can't see a thing and I've never felt
So alone in all my life
But the rain keeps coming down...

Caught in the fury of the storm
(The darkness suffocates)
Body and soul weary and worn
(Another twist of fate)
Never been so afraid before
(The ending of this tale?)
Never should have opened the door
(From euphoria to hell)

I question my fate, my end
To die in this storm
Maybe this was the plan
Back from the day I was born
But in the hall of mirrors I had felt so high
I cannot walk another mile in this flood
So resigned to my fate, I just collapse in the mud
If I cannot go on, I'll just lay down and die

Suddenly a light I see, shining in the distance
I make my way toward it with my fading hope reborn
As I draw near, the light is clear
Though the rain beats its resistance
But I press on and pray this is a shelter from the storm
Advancing now toward the light
I'm quickly moving forward
This hope has given me new strength
I thought I'd never know
But I take a step, and fall right back
For the ground is gone beneath me
And I behold, illuminated in the light's warm glow
A dark chasm, a great abyss
A vast expanse of nothingness
A pit that has no bottom as far as the eye can see
It spans the whole horizon, and there is no way across
My lonely heart is shattered and all hope I had is lost

I'm startled to feel a hand on my shoulder
I turn to see a shadowed figure standing in the rain
But somehow I'm not afraid of him
Even when he speaks my name
And somehow I can tell that he means me no harm
Just by the peace that I see in his eyes
And even though I've never even seen him before
It's like he's known me all my life
"Why are you crying?" the stranger asks
As I wipe away the tears
I point toward the great abyss
The source of all my fears

"I must get across and get to that light
For it represents my only hope tonight
But when I saw the chasm, all that hope was lost
I've spent so long in the dark and the rain
That the sight of the light made my heart sing again
But the gulf's so wide, and there's no way across"

The stranger smiled, and took my hand
He said, "But you are wrong, my friend
You cannot cross the gulf yourself, that's true"
He led me down toward the edge
And pointed just over the ledge
And said, "Behold, I built a bridge for you"

I cross the bridge toward the light
The stranger saved my life tonight
I turn to try to thank him, but he's gone
A long way to the other side
I'll make my way without my guide
No time to waste, for I must carry on

The bright light shines forth from behind
A door beyond description
Blood and scratches mark the door from ages of abuse
I'm confused no more, for above the door
Is a weathered, old inscription
"All who would see reality, enter the Hall of Truth"
And so I do

As I step inside
I can see another mirror
A mirror so bright
That my eyes must turn away
A mirror so high
I start to question all the others
And as I stand there in the Hall of Truth
My heart can only say:
"Show me the truth, I don't know what to believe
For the mirrors all showed something different to me
And my pride has given way to misery
I've spent so long in the dark and the rain
That the sight of the light made my heart sing again
And the stranger built a bridge across for me"

"BEHOLD THYSELF" a voice rings out
In paralyzing thunder
It echoes all throughout the hall
And sends me to my knees
When the voice calls my name
I'm overcome with fear and wonder

As I slowly start to rise
And face the great mirror in front of me
When I open my eyes, I have to close them again
But still the image is burned into my mind...
A face with eyes as black as night
A terrifying sight
The flesh rotting away in sickness and decay
It's mangled by disease
I'm unable to breathe
Tell me what manner of creature this could be
'Cause it's not me

I run away as fast as my feet will carry me
Back to the door leading out into the night
Even the storm that almost claimed my life
Was better than this
And so I throw open the door and see a man
(The figure of a man)
The stranger from the storm returns again
(To save me once again?)
I see understanding in his eyes
(He's seen this all before)
Maybe he can tell me what I saw behind that door

"Tell me what I saw in the mirror
Before I ran away
Tell me what I saw in the mirror
That face of sickness and decay
Tell me what I saw in the mirror
That left me terrorized
Who was that I saw in the mirror
With the lifeless, blackened eyes?
Was it a demon
From the fiery waves?
Was it the undead
From beyond the grave?
Oh the face that I beheld in the mirror
Left me paralyzed
Won't you tell me what I saw
In the mirror on this night?"

"The light from the mirror you saw from afar
The Mirror of Souls shows all men as they are
You entered the hall and you asked for the truth
The man that you saw in the mirror was you"

"No! Don't show me the truth
'cause I don't want to believe
What the Mirror of Souls
Has revealed unto me
And the face I saw reflected cannot be me
Dying and lost in the arms of decay
I do not recognize the face I've seen today
And if you say that's my face I must disagree"

The meaning of these things I saw:
The mirror is the holy eyes of God
The truth unveiled before me
With these words of the stranger:
"The mirrors you saw in the hall long ago
Were mirrors of lies, not reflecting the soul
When you look unto others to see what they see
You see an illusion, deception, false reality"

I have seen my soul in the mirror
And it has broken me
I have seen myself so much clearer
Than I had ever seen
"Can't you take away all this sickness
From my soul and set me free?
You can save me... I believe"
And then he said, "Arise, my child
Your faith has made you reconciled
Now gaze into the Mirror once again"
We walked together through the door
And I looked in the glass once more
But the only one reflected back was him
Somehow the only one in the mirror saw was him

Gazing in the Mirror of my Soul
Staring at the man who took my place
And made me whole
In the Mirror
The Mirror of my Soul

 

[Magic]

I am not too familiar with Theocracy. I will rectify that situation!

I came to the heavy metal listening experience very very late. I believe it was around 2009 when I got my first real exposure. Of course I had already been listening to Ozzy solo, but didn’t actually consider him heavy metal. An old friend urged me to venture into the metal realm, and I have never regretted any of my discoveries.

 

[TACdtf]

I am not too familiar with Theocracy. I will rectify that situation!

Yes!!
They only have 5 albums but they are all amazing!

• Theocracy (2003)
• Mirror of Souls (2008)
• As the World Bleeds (2011)
• Ghost Ship (2016)
• Mosaic (2023)

On the first one, Matt Smith plays everything and it was released with programmed drums. They did release an updated version a few years ago with ACTUAL drums.

Lots of great links already posted in this thread.
You need to hear Laying The Demon To Rest!


Here's their epic from their amazing 2016 Ghostship album..Easter

 

[Magic]

@TACdtf
I will report back in this thread as I listen to each album…..I promise!

 

[TACdtf]

@TACdtf
I will report back in this thread as I listen to each album…..I promise!

Mosaic is absolutely amazing, and I love Ghostship as well. I mean, they're all awesome.

 

[Magic]

Mosaic is absolutely amazing, and I love Ghostship as well. I mean, they're all awesome.

I am listening right now to the debut…the 2013 version. I am on the first opus, Serpents Kiss.

I promise I will report back! Got some stuff to say….