Lord of Light

[Anonymous]

      There are secrets that you keep
      There are secrets that you keep
      There are secrets that you tell to me alone
      I can't reach things I can't see
      You don't see this strange world quite the same as me
      Don't deny me what I am
      Nothing hidden still you fail to see the truth
      These are things you can't reveal

      These are things you can't reveal

      We are part of some strange plan
      Why the slaughter of the brotherhood of man
      Infernal sacrifice of hell
      Fire-breathing lead the way
      Mounds of bodies as they all burn into one
      Revenge is living in the past
      Time to look into a new millenium

      Spiral path leads through the maze
      Down into the fiery underworld below
      Fire-breathing lead the way
      Lucifer was just an angel led astray

            Free your soul and let it fly
            Give your life to the Lord of Light
            Keep your secrets and rain on me
            All I see are mysteries

            Free your soul and let it fly
            Give your life to the Lord of Light
            Keep your secrets and rain on me
            All I see are mysteries

      We are not worthy in your black and blazing eyes
      We gather demons in the mirror every day
      The bridge of darkness casts a shadow on us all
      All our sins to you we give this day

      Others wait their turn, their lives were meant to last
      Use yours wisely as the light is fading fast
      Free your soul and let it fly
      Mine was caught, I couldn't try
      Time returns again to punish all of us

      We are cast out by our bloody father's hand
      We are strangers in this lonely promised land
      We are the shadows of the one unholy ghost
      In our nightmare world the only one we trust

      (5:14 – Solo: Adrian Smith)
      (5:51 – Solo: Dave Murray)

            Free your soul and let it fly
            Give your life to the Lord of Light
            Keep your secrets and rain on me
            All I see are mysteries

            Free your soul and let it fly
            Give your life to the Lord of Light
            Keep your secrets and rain on me
            All I see are mysteries


Discuss...

 

[Raven]

Re: 'Lord Of Light'

The intro is very creepy...Bruce has some great vocal melodies on there, and the little melody shortly before the main riff kicks in (at about 1:06) is very chilling.  And that riff is very, very good.  A really good galloper, with some brilliant bridges vocal melodies.

 

[Anonymous]

Re: 'Lord Of Light'

I was expecting  something about the legend of the famous "Light-bringer", His Majesty Lucifer.

 

[Anonymous]

Re: 'Lord Of Light'

I definately think that Lord of Light is a nod to Lucifer . .

This song, to me, is about how we have pretty much already suffered the dreaded apocalypse without ever realizing it. All our sins we try and hide without ever realizing that the big guy above and the Lord of Light below can both see right through it all ..

What I love is how the lines -

Lucifer was just an angel led astray

&

Free your soul and let it fly
Mine was caught, I couldn't try
Time returns again to punish all of us

Almost make the song seem like Lucifer's last bid to get us to stop with out deciet and lies and surrender ourselves to the light . .

 

[Shadow]

Re: 'Lord Of Light'

"Just imagine there was a whole range of places between Heaven and Hell and that you got to pick, and that Lucifer is, in fact, the 'lord of light' downstairs, which is kind of what his name means. And all this stuff about the vengeful, eternal God wagging his finger and punishing you is all just a load of PR nonsense." - Bruce Dickinson

If we stick to the main idea put forward by Bruce, I think the song might reflect the thoughts of a man who never gave his life to the lord of light, perhaps someone who believed too much in the "PR nonsense" and realised the truth too late to fully embrace it - and is now urging other people to sort of take the step.

          I can't reach things I can't see
          You don't see this strange world quite the same as me

The first line might refer to the narrator's inability to grasp the truth and, consequently, his inability to "free his soul" , while the second implies that just because he couldn't it doesn't mean you can't.

          Nothing hidden still you fail to see the truth
          These are things you can't reveal

The first line here refers to people's inability to see what things are really like despite nothing really being in the way. The second reflects that since most of the world still believes in the "PR nonsense", which might be the reason they don't understand what things are really like and why the world is in the state it is, the truth may be dangerous to reveal.

          Spiral path leads through the maze
          Down into the fiery underworld below
          Fire breathing lead the way

The "spiral path [...] through the maze" could refer to the place in "the fiery underworld" where all the different after-life destinations between heaven and hell meet and you get to select one. "Fire breathing lead the way" indicates that Lucifer - the Light-bringer - is the one in charge of it all.

          Others wait their turn, their lives were meant to last
          Use yours wisely as the light is fading fast
          Free your soul and let it fly
          Mine was caught, I couldn't try
          Time returns again to punish all of us

This further indicates the narrator's failure to free his own soul ("mine was caught, I couldn't try"), but continues to encourage other people to "use theirs wisely" and not follow in his footsteps. "The light is fading fast" could mean that humanity is not getting any closer to the truth and is still too caught up with the "PR nonsense", refusing to learn from the past and committing the same errors as before. The last line can be seen as a similar reflection; time returning means the repetition of past mistakes. 

          Free your soul and let it fly
          Give your life to the Lord of Light
          Keep your secrets and rain on me
          All I see are mysteries

The chorus, finally, has the same basic message as the above verse, the last line implying that it was too late for the narrator to fully understand, it's all a mystery to him.

This is still just a vague theory, but I think there might be something to it, not least because the concept of someone being blinded and betrayed by his beliefs is a rather prominent one on the album.

 

[Raven]

Re: 'Lord Of Light'

I think that's about right.  The interesting thing is that there is never any direct reference to the 'War in Heaven' in the Bible...since sin and the Devil is present in nearly every book in the Bible, you'd think that more would be said about him, wouldn't you?  Another thing of note is that, in many accounts of Hell (Paradise Lost, The Divine Comedy), Lucifer is portrayed in contrasting roles.  In Paradise Lost, he is a proud fallen angel (a 'Lord of Light' as it were), while in Dante's Inferno he is just as confined in Hell as anyone else. 

Myself, I don't really think a single entity such as the Devil exists.  There is evil inside all of us, and there has always been, since civilisation began.  This is what, I believe, the story of the 'fall of man' is all about.  For, before there was civilisation, man did not worry about anything except keeping himself alive.  Warfare was extremely small-scale, and when wars did break out, it was only between rival groups of hunter-gatherers over food (Hey, it's the monkeys from 2001!).  Before c. 5000-3000 B.C., Man may not have lived long, he may not have had great literature, works of art or architecture, but neither did he have religion, politics or imprisonment to worry about.  It's really whether you think that the coming of civilisation, and the knowledge that caused it, was ultimately good for mankind.  Personally, I think that all the pain has been worth it, for the joy that civilisation has brought, but now we are slaves to our fears...our souls are not able to fly.  Perhaps what Bruce is trying to say is that we choose our own fates, and the choice between Heaven and Hell is ours to take...not in the sense that if you are evil you will be condemned to Hell, but that if you want to live a certain way, your actions will carry beyond to the afterlife.  Again, it's all a matter of perception.  I think...inside each of us, our fears whisper and nag at us, and our doubts constantly bite our thoughts.  Whether you fall prey to your fears or 'free your soul' of worry is up to you.

The song is an interesting one, lyrically, no matter which way you look at it, though.

EDIT: As a final note, the quartain

We are cast out by our bloody father's hand
We are strangers in this lonely promised land
We are the shadows of the one unholy ghost
In our nightmare world the only one we trust

Seems to show a different side to the song, after the almost enticing allure of the first few verses.  This verse seems to be seeking 'sympathy for the devil', so to speak.  It seems almost as if, after their condemnation, the fallen angels narrating this song decided to give up any chance of redemption...as Milton had his Lucifer say, 'Better to reign in Hell than to serve in Heaven'.  Again, it's another song about choice...and differing viewpoints.

 

[runningfree]

Re: 'Lord Of Light'

looking at the overall star ratings, it seems to me that people don't like this song as much as all the other ones on the album...
to which i ask...
WHY?!

IMO this is one of the best songs on the album along with for the greater good..., The Legacy, Brighter than a Thousand Suns, etc. and maiden has actually brought back galloping riffs! the song is so intense, especially during the verse, and the guitarists show amazing muscianship in the song, even more than always. and i can already tell this song is going to be great live. if maiden plays at a venue where there is a pit, i wouldnt be too surprised if a moshpit started...well during the verse at least...bruce sounds full of rage + the galloping riff = insanity. of course..youd need a lot of youngans there for that to happen..i think the older fans have probably outgrown that by now..at least most of em 

i think this song really deserves more 5-star ratings

 

[IronDuke]

Re: 'Lord Of Light'

I finally broke down and listened to the album. I'm impressed, for the most part.

That is, except for this piece of self-indulgent crap. The music is nothing spectacular, and it almost seems like there's techno remixing involved in much of it (I know it's some fancy guitar trick, but it sounds AWFUL)
The singing is rather lame. It sounds like they used a cheap synthesizer to change the pitch of Bruce's voice every now and then.
WTF is with the way they end it? The last few seconds of the song are a complete switch from the rest - completely off beat, and not relating at all to the tone of the song.

      Spiral path leads through the maze
      Down into the fiery underworld below
    .....
    We are not worthy in your black and blazing eyes
    We gather demons in the mirror every day

F**k me in the neck, how lame is that? I'm honestly wondering if this song was actually written by the band members, or if it was something done by someone else. A close analysis of the stanza structures seems to indicate a complete departure from anything we've seen from maiden in a long time.

In all, it sounds like "Fear of the Dark" and "Lord of the Flies" got REALLY drunk one night and had a messed-up bastard offspring - "Lord of Light". The bastard was then sent to "Age of Innocence", who, like Obi-Wan Kenobi, tried to show it the Force (in this case, how to have an awesome slow-tempoed intro), but like Darth Vader, it left before its training was complete. This is definately the Quasimodo of the album, and should be relegated to the Notre Dame bell towers of Maiden's repitoire.
(How's that for mixed metaphors!)

A real disappointment.

 

[Forostar]

Re: 'Lord Of Light'

No prob !
I love the track.   
Strangely enough I find the chorus the weakest part because of its strange vocal melody. The Lord of Light is all about chaos and evil and I guess the guys tried to represent that, also in their playing.

 

[Natalie]

Re: 'Lord Of Light'

I have to agree with one part of IronDuke's post. Lord of Light sounds alot, and I mean alot, like Lord of the Flies in the chorus and in some other parts. Since I quite like Lord of the Flies I have no problem with this, but it surprises me that Steve or anyone else didn't think that anyone would notice how very alike these two songs really are. True, why would they care if anyone noticed? Simply out of the viewpoint of a musician I would be rather ashamed of myself if I released two songs, one of which could be a longer version of the other, because I know that I'm not being truthful to myself and to others when I say these are two different songs. Oh no they're not, song B is song A done on Tuesday, really. Not very original, nor particularily creative. However, Lord of Light is a good song despite the strong influences from Lord of the Flies. They'd just better not play these two songs on the same gig.

@IronDuke - Good for you, welcome to the world of people who have listened to Maiden's new album!

 

[Urizen]

Re: 'Lord Of Light'

There is a book called "Lord of light", written by a famous science-fiction writer
Roger Zelazny.

 

[Anonymous]

Re: 'Lord Of Light'

In all, it sounds like "Fear of the Dark" and "Lord of the Flies" got REALLY drunk one night and had a messed-up bastard offspring - "Lord of Light". The bastard was then sent to "Age of Innocence", who, like Obi-Wan Kenobi, tried to show it the Force (in this case, how to have an awesome slow-tempoed intro), but like Darth Vader, it left before its training was complete. This is definately the Quasimodo of the album, and should be relegated to the Notre Dame bell towers of Maiden's repitoire.

What a brilliant post! Really made me chuckle. I don't rate the new album very highly, but I quite like Lord of Light, especially the section from c. 1 min 39 secs to 3 min 49 secs when it romps along for a bit. But you are right about the overt recycling of previous tracks and the 'classic Maiden' (TM) ending just sounds like a tacked-on afterthought. I think other songs on the album suffers from this kind of recycling, e.g. Different World has a serious whiff of Invaders and Judgement Day.

 

[Anomica]

Re: 'Lord Of Light'

Interesting how we differ in opinions. I think Lord of Light is one of the better songs on the new album (I love the whole album, but some songs are better than others). I especially like the soft part in the middle where he sings "free your soul and let it fly, mine was caught, I couldn't try". It's really emotional I think. And the solo when it speeds up again... Brilliant song!

 

[____no5]

Re: 'Lord Of Light'

this song is my favourite both concerning music and lyrics

the first solo (5:15 -looks like Adrian's job), accompanied by the gigantic Nicko's drums, is the peak moment of the record....jaws down

except the melodic and very emotional changes, the ending of the song turns into surprise by not following the same "intro-outro" formula that is widely applied in AMOLAD

I love also that speaks for the devil, by using an euphemism:

while some cultures turned him that brings the light to devil : which is a defamation

Bruce, with an euphemism brings things to their equallity : his name is Lord of Light because it was he, that brought it to you

once upon a time this one that brought the light, he was the handsome Titan Prometheus, and was much appreciated by the mortal people ....Now he is angly, discusting and he has horns and tail

 

[Genghis Khan]

Re: 'Lord Of Light'

Interesting how we differ in opinions. I think Lord of Light is one of the better songs on the new album (I love the whole album, but some songs are better than others). I especially like the soft part in the middle where he sings "free your soul and let it fly, mine was caught, I couldn't try". It's really emotional I think. And the solo when it speeds up again... Brilliant song!

Well it is time I comment on this song.
I like this song, as I like all songs on this spectacular album  but I do not consider it one of their best. 
Random comments:
- I love the main riff that starts at about 2:28.
- I love the vocal changes, the intro and the above one that Anomica mentioned.
- I love the speed changes, from slow to daemon speed. 
- The Adrian solo is superb, but Dave's is sub-par in this song.

To IronDuke: I know the lyrics sound stereotypically like a devil-worshipping metal band, but they're not.  Read the commentary if you want to know more (just in case you have not  ).  This song reminds me of Prometheus as the Lord of Light seems to wish to help or at least warn humanity of its stupidity.  I know the ending does not match the song, thankfully it is only a brief drum ending.  In this case there should have been no outro.

EDIT: I also love Nicko's drumming, especially before Adrian's solo.  How could I have forgotten that?

 

[Anonymous]

Re: 'Lord Of Light'

I actually think this is one of the better efforts from the new album. I'll admit it echoes some of Maidens past songs, but I don't think it's as blatant as some people think. Bruce's vocals are excellent throughout the strong, certainly after the song picks up pace at 1:50.
About a few of the lyrics;

Revenge is living in the past
Time to look into a new millenium

I think this particular line questions the continiuty of theChristian dogma of Good or Bad, and that maybe it is time to start working toward a place without such simplistic distinctions.

 

[Raven]

Re: 'Lord Of Light'

Well it is time I comment on this song.
I like this song, as I like all songs on this spectacular album  but I do not consider it one of their best. 
Random comments:
- I love the main riff that starts at about 2:28.
- I love the vocal changes, the intro and the above one that Anomica mentioned.
- I love the speed changes, from slow to daemon speed. 
- The Adrian solo is superb, but Dave's is sub-par in this song.

To IronDuke: I know the lyrics sound stereotypically like a devil-worshipping metal band, but they're not.  Read the commentary if you want to know more (just in case you have not  ).  This song reminds me of Prometheus as the Lord of Light seems to wish to help or at least warn humanity of its stupidity.  I know the ending does not match the song, thankfully it is only a brief drum ending.  In this case there should have been no outro.

EDIT: I also love Nicko's drumming, especially before Adrian's solo.  How could I have forgotten that?

I was never aware that there was a separation in the solo, but now I can see where one ends and the other begins.  I love the ending in Adrian's solo (all the whammy effects), and Dave's is a bit of a fretboard-wankery solo, but as a whole, the solo section is damn good.  I can't wait to hear Adrian's riff live.

Coming back to the lyrics at a later date, I can see the parallels between Promotheus and the 'Lord of Light'.  However, even though I don't believe in a such a being as 'Lucifer', I think that what the first part of the song is trying to convey is the sense of Lucifer's majesty and might...in the intro, he is taunting mankind with his immense power, and up until the first chorus, he is berating mankind for its self-destruction.

However, just before the first solo, the stanza beginning 'We are cast out by our bloody father's hand' is, I believe, Lucifer turning nasty, and trying to use aggression to get the 'sympathy vote'. 

The chorus itself is, now that I look at it closer, a bit of a two-sided affair.  If it is indeed Lucifer narrating the chorus, then he is asking mankind to follow him instead of God (I always believed that the idea of a 'Lucifer' figure giving mankind 'knowledge' was a bit of a stupid one...), but in the second part of the chorus, he tells us to 'keep our secrets' and all he sees are mysteries...in the supposed furthering of knowledge, close-mindedness is not helpful!  I think what is being conveyed here is that Lucifer (essentially, the evil within us all, rather than some giant demon (no disrespect to Gustav Dore and Dante Alighieri!)) is both opening doors and closing others-just as, if you murder someone, you may gain the ability to kill again without remorse...but you lose a part of yourself. 

Evil is often lucrative, but under its surface it is destructive (just as the final verse before the solos almost 'burns' with anger).  It's up to us to make the distinction and take our lives into our own hands-neither God nor Lucifer (if either exist in a singular form) will pop in to help us solve our own problems!

 

[Metal_made]

Re: 'Lord Of Light'

Once I read in an Iron Maiden interview (I think it was on this forum, but I don't remember very well) on which they said this album had some songs on which they experimented a lot, this song is to me the best description of those experimenting songs. 

I loved the song, I loved the lyrics, I really felt a hybrid with their new stuff, like the very beginning of the song, and the old stuff, that is, the part when the main riff starts.

My opinion on the lyrics is that Lucifer is the narrator saying that he is a prisioner in the killings, and trying to keep mankind from the right path, but that you can still save yourself.

 

[Genghis Khan]

Re: 'Lord Of Light'

I think that this song could have benefited from a double bass drum during Dave Murray's solo or since Nicko has professed his style makes it hard to start playing double-bass drums, he could have at least used the "cradling the pedal" (thanks Mav  ) technique as in Ghost of the Navigator.  This would have made the song even more "evil"  .  Despite believing this, I find myself liking this song more and more.

 

[LooseCannon]

Re: 'Lord Of Light'

So write a commentary on the music